The Prodigy

Julian stood on the playground for the fourth night that week. After school, he finished his homework as fast as he could, then ran down the street to the neighborhood court, to practice until dinner. After dinner he would hit the court again. It was the one thing he loved more than anything else, and he was good at it. The high school coach had invited him to practice with the JV team a couple of months before. Even though he was only in seventh grade, he had run circles around every member of the squad.

“Less flash, Julian. You missed an easy layup because you wanted to showboat,” the coach had told him. “Do your drills and you might be varsity before tenth grade.”

So that’s what he did. As much as he could. Of course, he had worked really hard on his three-sixty dunk. He had it down. During the pick-up playground games, he hit it just about every time.

Two years later he was in the ninth grade, he was starting on the varsity team, and he was still on the neighborhood court at least three or four nights a week. He didn’t get to play many pick-up games anymore. Too many people knew him. College scouts were already showing up looking for him.

It was everything his mother had wanted… for basketball to provide him with a college scholarship so he could have a good life. For Julian, though, he just loved playing. He loved it when people watched him playing.

The only thing that he loved as much as playing was watching his hero, Robert Michaels. Everybody said he was the greatest player of all time, and Julian Evans was set on being better. He had watched every move Michaels made and spent hours perfecting it.

As the lights over the court flipped on, a guy walked over. He was tall, thin, with a wild shock of hair.

“You any good?” he asked.

“That’s what I hear?”

“Play some one-on-one? I could use a challenge,” he said, walking onto the court. “My name is Larry.”

“I’m Julian.” He bounce-passed the ball to the newcomer. “Bring it in.”

Larry dribbled and then spun around, dropping in a three-pointer.

“Cheap shot, Larry.”

Larry tossed him the ball and went to cover the youngster. Julian rushed in, spinning past Larry as he dribbled the ball. Larry backed around and get between Julian and the goal. Julian rushed in for a layup, opting to pull his signature three-sixty dunk. Halfway around, as pulled the ball around his back, Larry stripped the ball from him and jogged away, crossing it back to the halfway point to carry back in.

Julian set up for defense as Larry head faked left, then broke right, spinning back left again as Julian tried to spin back around between the older man and the goal. Larry’s arm came up with the ball and swished it.

“Nothin’ but net,” Larry said, laughing.

They spent an hour battling back and forth. During the first part of their game, Julian pulled out a lead, but then, only a few points from their agreed upon winning score, Larry mounted a comeback. Eighteen-eleven in a twenty-one-point game, and Larry pulled up to nineteen points before Julian got to twenty.

“You playin’ with me, man?” Julian said a few minutes later. “If you gonna beat me, just beat me.”

“Julian, you are pretty good. You could be great if you worked at it.”

“Almost every night, Larry. I’m out here almost every night. I’ve been working at it since I was barely able to bounce the ball.”

“Who is your favorite player?”

“Easy, man. Robert Michaels. He’s even from around here. He’s the greatest… and I want to be better than him.”

“One day, you might be, Julian. You know, I’ve played with Michaels. When he was your age, he played a lot like you. He liked to showboat… the spins, the triple-pump fakes. But then, he met his match.”

“Who, you?”

“No, man. Just a guy.”

“What was he like… Robert Michaels?”

“Good kid. Like I said, a lot like you. Great with the ball. Liked to show off. Man, when there were girls around, he couldn’t help himself.” Larry smiled.

***

“Julian Evens is certainly one of the greatest college players of all time,” the announcer almost yelled into the microphone.

“Yeah, Jimmy, there is no doubt. Colleges were scouting this kid when he was a sophomore in high school. Just look at the way he plays… he’s a living, breathing highlight reel.

“Las Vegas odds have him as the favorite to be the number one overall draft pick if he enters the draft this year.”

After the game, Jimmy Ryan walked over to Julian Evans as he stepped out of the locker room. The cameras were rolling as he asked him who it was that influenced him the most.

“Well, Jimmy, Robert Michaels has always been my favorite player. It’s been my dream to play with him or against him… just to be on the same court as him. But, back when I was fourteen or fifteen, I used to shoot hoops at the court in my neighborhood. There was a guy named Larry I started playing one-on-one with. I don’t know how many games we played… almost every week for a couple of years. Nobody ever pushed me as hard as he did.”

Julian Evans turned and looked directly into the camera, “Larry, if you are out there, thank you brother. I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t been there.”

***

Julian walked into the arena. He looked around at the empty seats. He walked out onto the floor and stood at center court. It was the culmination of his dreams. Of his mother’s dreams. But mostly his. This arena, in this city. On this team. He was the first draft pick.

“Julian,” a man said, walking out onto the floor from the locker room, “Robert Michaels… the guys call me Rob. Pleased to meet you,” he said, walking to center court.

Julian turned and saw his boyhood hero standing in front of him. Six foot six, thin, head shaved smooth. Exactly the way he’d always looked. Julian had never been star-struck before, but at that moment, he was mute.

“I’m a big fan, Julian. Been watching you play for a while. You are gonna be great one day.”

“One day?”

“You’re young. One day, though… you might be better than me,” Michaels said with a laugh. As Julian smiled back at his hero, he told himself he would be better, if he wasn’t already.

***

“I tell ya, Gord, this team needs to get out of this slump. Michaels and Evans can’t seem to find it in themselves to work together. Especially Evans, he seems more worried about his stats than about the team winning.”

“Well, when he played in college, he carried the team. Their whole strategy… and a strategy that worked for them… was to get the ball into Evans’s hands. No matter where he was on the court, he was a threat. But he’s facing a tougher level of competition here, and he is no longer the only weapon in the arsenal.”

They were halfway through the season. Julian and Rob battled back and forth for top scorer on the team. But the team was losing game after game.

***

“Julian,” Rob said as they sat alone in the gym, “we need to make a change… you and me. If we don’t work together, we can’t work apart.”

“You worried I’m gonna pass you?”

“No. You will eclipse me. Just like I passed Bobby Jacobs. He was a good guy. He was my hero when I was a kid. And he taught me a lot.”

“So, what did he teach you?” Julian asked.

“Humility. And I didn’t learn it easily.”

“So, how did he teach you?

“Let’s go play some one-on-one… you and me. Half court, just like we both did when we were kids,” Rob said. Twenty minutes later they were out on the court, playing one-on-one, just the two of them.

Julian brought the ball in, spinning past Rob. As he head-faked left, Rob anticipated his move and cut him off. Over and over, they battled, the score going back and forth. Neither of them managed to pull out much of a lead, and as soon as they did, the other would negate the advantage. One game turned into best of three, then best of five. In the end, they were both bushed at three games each.

“You know, Rob, I haven’t played like that since I was a kid. We need to do that more, man.”

“You were pretty good when you were a kid, Julian. Who gave you a run for your money?”

“There was a guy named Larry. He actually told me once that he used to play ball against you. You know who that is?”

“Yeah… in a way. Want to go for a ride?” Rob asked.

A few minutes later the two men were riding across town in Rob’s Audi. Before long, Julian recognized the neighborhood. It wasn’t his, but it wasn’t far. They drove past a little half-court, a lone teenager out there as the lights came on. He pulled into a parking spot fifty yards away.

“Why don’t you go play with him?”

“Huh?” Julian said.

“They say he’s a prodigy… just like you were. He only needs a little direction. I’ve seen him play. You might learn something.”

Rob reached behind the seat. He grabbed a bag and pulled it up to his lap. He reached inside and pulled out a wig. He shook it out and handed it to Julian. The younger man turned and stared at his boyhood hero. After a moment, he pulled it on and stepped out of the car. He walked across the open field to the court.

“You any good?” Julian asked the kid.

“That’s what I hear,” he replied.

“Play some one-on-one? I could use a new challenge. My name is Larry.”

***

Julian walked back and sat down in Rob’s car. He looked over at the other man, then pulled off the wig. He took a deep breath.

“I must have played a hundred games of one-on-one with Bobby Jacobs when I was in high school. I had no idea. He taught me everything I needed to know about basketball while we played those games. Like I said, I was a lot like you. I was ready to be the star.”

“Was that when you passed him?”

“No, but I got to meet the kid that was going to eclipse me. I knew it then, that first night we played one-on-one. I knew then that you would be the person that would be next to sit on top of the pile. And you will.”

“Why don’t we make it tougher for Antonio to climb the ladder?” Julian said with a smile. “But no matter how far we push each other, I will pass you.”

“I’ve been playing ten years in the pros. I only have a couple years left. And in about ten years, that kid over there might be hammering you up and down the court.”

“Pesky rug-rats,” Julian laughed.

***

“I don’t what happened in the three days this team was off, Gord. But I tell you what, Evans and Michaels have flipped a switch. And if they keep this up, they will be unstoppable.”

“Absolutely. You know, this reminds me of Michaels’s first year here. He and Bobby Jacobs couldn’t agree on a movie. Then, all of a sudden, they turned a corner and changed the whole dynamic of the team. They went from being in the bottom third of the league to championship contenders seemingly overnight.”

“Maybe we’re seeing a return of the magic, Gord.”

Below them on the court, Julian and Rob high-fived after Julian pump-faked and passed to Rob, who dunked the ball.

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