Free Triple Threat by Eric Walters Page B

down, hit the rim and bounced wildly away. JYD came out of nowhere, grabbed the ball out of the air and threw it down with a thunderous two-handed slam!

    The crowd went crazy! People were screaming and yelling and running onto the court, slapping him on the back and just plain jumping around. He accepted a bunch of high fives and then shooed the people back onto the sidelines.
    â€œSorry about that,” JYD said quietly to Kia and me. “I just couldn’t resist.”
    â€œNo need to apologize,” Kia replied. “No need to resist. That was … that was … ”
    â€œAmazing,” I said. “Just amazing.”
    The people kept on cheering. At that point I realized the crowd was getting bigger by the second. It looked like the whole rec center was emptying out—there was a stream of people coming toward the court. And there were cars … lots of cars … with more coming. The parking lot was filling up. I guessed word had gotten out that JYD was here, and people wanted to see him and find out what was going on. I knew that if I wasn’t playing but had heard about it happening, I would have got here pretty fast. I did a quick scan of the crowd—thank goodness I didn’t see any of our parents.
    Once again Ethan inbounded the ball to Devon. Kia went out after Devon this time while I cheated over toward Ethan. Ben was underneath the basket,fighting for position against JYD. I watched him battle and lose as, each time he tried to secure his spot, JYD swam around him, arms and legs and body, and overwhelmed him. Ben kept fighting, though. I had to hand it to him. He wasn’t giving up. Despite being outsized, outmuscled and out-skilled, he wasn’t quitting.
    Meanwhile, Devon was putting on a show for Kia, showing her the ball and drawing it back every time she reached out for it. Two things were obvious—he was good with the ball, and Kia didn’t have a chance of getting it. He put on a move, breaking her off at the ankles, and drove around her. As JYD came out to cut him off, Devon sent the ball in to Ben. He had an easy lane to the net and laid the ball up and—JYD swooped out of nowhere, swatting the ball away! It went back to Ethan. He turned for the net, measured the shot and then put up a fifteen footer that dropped.
    â€œYou got yourself a really nice touch there, Ethan,” JYD said as he came out and gave Ethan a pat on the back.
    â€œThanks,” Ethan gushed.
    JYD turned to Ben. “How old are you, son?”
    â€œI’ll be eighteen in September.”
    â€œI’m impressed. I didn’t have your size or your footwork when I was your age. Hey, Johnnie!” JYD yelled over to his brother. “These boys can play some ball, can’t they?”
    â€œIt’s like Nick and Kia told you, these boys got game,” Johnnie answered.
    We walked out to the top of the key with the ball.
    â€œWhy are you being so nice to them?” Kia asked.
    â€œI try to be nice to everybody. Being nice doesn’t cost nothing. Besides, they
are
pretty good players.”
    â€œYeah, but do we have to tell them?” she asked.
    â€œWhat should we run now?” I asked, before Kia could stick her foot any deeper into her mouth.
    â€œYou’re the point guard. You call the play.”
    â€œOkay … I … umm … want you to start at the top by me,” I said to JYD. “You break for the net, arms raised, screaming for the ball. I’m going to fake an alley-oop pass to you. Kia, you swing from the left to the right side along the baseline. I’m going to put the ball in to you. Take the shot. If you miss, JYD is there for the board.”
    â€œYou got it, chief,” JYD said.
    JYD stood right at the top. Ben and Devon were draped all over him.
    â€œBreak!” I yelled, and JYD fought through the two players.
    â€œNick!” he screamed and I faked a pass, drawing all three players to him.
    Kia,