3. FIRST STEP(5)

Ogden, Utah. Harrison Blvd. Weber State University, Dee Events Center.

*FWEEE*

"Good work! That's it for today!"

"What? Already?"

I had actually noticed this since before. Training time was extremely short.

Practice that started at 4 P.M. was over before it was even 6 P.M. That meant if you combined morning and afternoon practice together, it was not even 4 hours. In Korea, that's about how much time we spent in just the morning half.

"You have to get used to it, buddy. This is a rule."

"Rule? Who? Stanley?"

"No, the NCAA."

No matter how much of an athlete you were, if you're a student, you're required to make studies your main priority. So, a rule was set that a student was not allowed to practice for more than 4 hours in a day.

If a team was to break this rule, you would receive a fine and have limits to participating in certain tournaments.

Was it even possible to improve if you could only practice 4 hours a day?

But the answer to this question was very simple.

"Yikes. I have to go to the library and study a bit. What about you?"

"I think I'm gonna go home with Anna."

"Yeah? Okay then, see you tomorrow!"

As Leon was sitting on the bench to study, he quickly got up and walked out. Other players also grabbed their bags and headed outside.

As I looked around, I saw Stanley and Colin cleaning up equipment that we were using for practice. Should I go over there for now?

"Huh? You don't have to help us."

"I don't have anything better to do. I don't have any classes."

"Haha. Oh yeah? Well, follow me. Stanley?"

Colin took me and walked toward one direction, we ended up in front of a big shelf with crates of basketballs.

"You may have already heard, but the NCAA's rule is not to exceed 4 hours of practice a day. However, there is no set limit for personal training."

"Ah…"

"Lillard used to stay behind and shoot balls here. Try to think about it. How many do you think he shot?"

As Colin pushed the crate, he said there were around 50 balls in each crate on this shelf. So that would be around 500?

Shoot 50 of those balls, put them back, and shoot it again.

If you were to do this 10 times in a row, 2 hours would fly by quickly.

"Haha. You're gonna have to multiply that by 2."

"Really? 1000 balls?"

"Yeah. And that's only counting the shots that went in. Thanks to Damian, there were always balls bouncing around in this gym, even at night. There is a reason why he is so good at basketball."

I never believed that Lillard was naturally good at basketball.

"Yeah? Well, then it doesn't matter. Most average players don't know how much effort a good player has to put to achieve that status. When the 4 hours of practice finishes, they would stop there and move on with their day. But Leon isn't like that either. He also stayed every night and shot hoops separately."

"Are you saying I should do this too?"

"Maybe? That's not up to me. I was just telling you."

Colin pushed the cart into my hand and pointed out where the light switches were, then headed out of the gym along with Stanley.

I was left alone without anyone else on the court.

"Hmm."

I wasn't sure what to do so I headed over to my backpack and grabbed my cellphone. I decided to tell Anna to go home first.

I headed back over and picked up a basketball.

*TANG* *TANG*

If I thought about it, I've always liked the sound of the echoes in an empty basketball court. From the sound of the dribble, when the ball hits the backboard or rim, even when the ball hits a wall.

Oh yeah, my issue with the shooting was my release, huh?

I decided to first shoot the ball as I always did. If Lillard was able to shoot 1000, I don't see why I couldn't do the same.

"Oh man! Right as Lillard graduates! Not this again."

I kept shooting balls into the night until the clean-combed security guard had to kick me out.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ogden, Utah. Kingston Drive.

"Ah. I feel like dying."

"Well, who told you to shoot the ball so much?"

As David came to pick me up at a little past 9 P.M. he started to nag at me. Not only was my body deathly sore, but David's nagging made the situation even worse.

"Go in and wash up first. I'll give you a massage."

"You know how to do things like that too?"

"Shut up! Just hurry up and wash up. Ah! Also, Anna's friend is here."

"Huh?"

"What was her name again? Heather? She's going to be spending a night here."

I couldn't help but to snap my attention at hearing what David said.

Heather's over here?

I couldn't forget her beautiful smile as if she was in front of me now. With hopes that she was in the living room, I headed in that direction, but there was only Baron playing a video game.

"Hmm? Wanna play too?"

"No, it's okay."

For some reason, I got tired and decided to lay on the sofa.

As 20 minutes passed with me just laying there and watching Baron play his game, I could only hear laughter coming from the second floor now and then. Heather didn't seem to want to come down.

I wonder if she smokes too?

'Eh, who cares?'

I tossed myself off the sofa and headed to the shower and wet my body with hot water.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

March 31, 2012. Ogden, Utah. Harrison Blvd. Weber State University, Dee Events Center.

It's already been 5 days since I started to practice.

We were to practice all 4 hours in the morning only and have the next day off. Leon told me this was the regular practice schedule for WSU.

"Huh? You're not going?"

"I'm gonna stay and help you practice. I may be using crutches, but I can at least bring you back the balls. I also haven't been able to touch the ball lately."

"Not because you're fighting with your girlfriend?"

"Shut up! Damnit. She's still mad at me and it's driving me crazy."

If there was anything I had learned about Leon, it was that he was living on a tightrope. He said he was going to propose to his girlfriend when they graduated, but he just got caught trying to go to the club this weekend.

Since he had been caught cheating once, he had no choice but to take a beating. Even though that "cheating" was him simply sending text messages back and forth with someone.

I do want to meet Leon's girlfriend at least once.

"Anyway, Fat tells me. You stay here after practice and shoot balls?"

"Fat?"

"Oh. I mean Earl. He's fat. So, we just call him Fat."

Fat Earl. Wouldn't that make him mad?

"Did you know? Earl is actually the most popular DJ here at WSU?"

"What? Don't lie to me!"

"Seriously. There's going to be a party here on Thanksgiving, so you'll be able to see first-hand."

"…"

Although Leon was the type of guy to always lie to me and mess with me, it seemed he was being honest this time. But it's hard to imagine someone who looked like the neighborhood uncle to be the most popular DJ.

If possible, I wanted to see this myself.

"Okay. I'll get the rebounds for you. I can't get the balls that bounce off too far."

"That's good enough for me."

Seriously. Picking up the balls alone took half the time.

From what I've learned so far, I wasn't able to shoot balls past 10 P.M. Earl would say something to me at around 9 P.M. but I could squeeze out another hour.

But if it was past 10, he could get really upset.

"Wait, hold up."

"Hmm?"

"Your form. Was it always like that?"

No. There's no way.

When I was in 8th grade, my basketball coach switched, he immediately said my form was bizarre and changed it immediately. I used to shoot the ball from the crown of my head, but gradually, it went lower down towards my forehead.

"I see. Hmm. It just looks uncomfortable."

"How so?"

"I don't know how to put it. It just looks a little uptight."

I didn't feel that way at all. However, I had been told multiple times that my shooting mechanism was a bit problematic.

I had watched countless videos on the internet, but I couldn't figure out how to properly shoot the ball. Even now, I put an effort to shoot the ball in different positions to find the right one.

"Woah. There's no need to do that. You can't learn to shoot the ball comfortably by following a video."

"What do you mean?"

"Hmm. One second."

He pulled his phone out and tapped it a few times and he pointed toward it. So, I put the ball by my waist and looked at what he was trying to show me.

"This is Kyle Korver. I think he's one of the best shooters in the NBA."

"Yeah?"

"Yup. Anyways, that's not what's important. Watch how he shoots the ball."

"…"

The Caucasian player shot the ball as if he was a robot.

"You see? He has one of the best guide hands in the NBA."

"…what's that?"

"Uh oh! Well, my right hand."

Ah. I see.

"You see? Kyle Korver always puts his left hand on the same spot on the ball. Then he figures out the most efficient way to shoot the ball."

"…"

The guide hand was extremely important because it helped balance your entire body until you shoot the ball. If it was not the hand that you shoot the ball with, your other hand would not be able to keep it steady.

The moment you jump, or when you go into the shooting stance, you will lose all your balance. Leon was trying to say the problem with my shooting release wasn't in my form, but before that point.

"It looks like it's a habit, but your body is too low. And your right hand seems to move around too much. This isn't a girl's boob. It's not good to fiddle around with it."

"What???"

Even as I questioned his strange metaphor, he continued to sincerely and seriously give me advise.

"So, do you know what I'm saying? Since you've been playing for a while, holding a basketball shouldn't be awkward. It means its just a habit. I told Colin to tell you to practice like this because I noticed your issue. What do you think?"

"…"

The best way to get rid of a habit was by planting a different habit in place of that one.

It would've been nice if Stanley and Colin told me in a nicer way, but I'm sure they had their reasons. Now that I look at it, Leon was a really smart fellow. If he was to join his father's business, he was going to greatly succeed.

I went back to my spot, put the ball in my hand and got into my shooting position.

"Huh?"

It was true. Out of habit, I spent a lot of time figuring out where to put my right hand. Not because I didn't know, but because I felt I had to do this to securely hold the ball.

It was probably during my middle school years where I picked up this bad habit. During that time, I had to correct everything about shooting and, putting my right hand in the right spot, took me a while to figure out.

Because I kept putting my right hand on the opposite end of the ball as my left, it eventually turned into a habit.

"Hey, Leon?"

"Hmm?"

"I'll pick up the balls, so could you just pass the ball to me?"

"Of course. Why not?"

Dribbling and shooting the ball alone wouldn't help me get rid of this habit. Instead, I decided to shoot the ball immediately after it was passed to me.

Although it may be uncomfortable for the time being, I planned to surprise Stanley and Colin. I also wanted to prove it to Artemis. He only had 2 months before graduating.

"Nice! You were much faster this time!"

As it was just a little past 8 P.M, I heard Leon's satisfied and approving voice.