The game was fast and hard to keep up with. After the initial dunk, Noah didn't even get to do much. It was like a duel between Josh and McCain against the other team.
The tryouts were trying to move and distinguish themselves, but they didn't get to do much.
The ball occasionally reached some of the freshmen's hands, but they quickly lost it or just forced a shot that didn't go in.
The main problem was that they were trying to rely on speed and strength to make their way to the basket, but the defenders were often as physically capable as them, and the other players were always lurking.
If your handle wasn't tight enough or you dribbled into a bad spot, someone would poke the ball from behind or turn your one-on-one into a one-on-two.
And after that, they usually passed the ball to the opponents by mistake or tried rising for a shot.
Noah could see what was happening to an extent. His team was playing zone defense and testing how the tryouts worked in a system.
While Leeroy's team played man defense and tested your individual chops.
The opposite could be said for offense. Sometimes Josh would kick the ball out to Noah and just completely turn around, expecting Noah to make a shot on his own. They were testing if he could attack on his own, same with his teammates.
Coach Lester had organized the team and talked to his seniors about how to play. It looked spontaneous, but Noah saw the masterful design.
Most times once he got the ball, he just passed to one of the freshman tryouts and tried screening for the guy.
But now he needed to change things up
Josh passed him the ball, so he dribbled up towards the top of the three-point line, protecting the ball using technique he got from Neil's memories.
Once he got there, he waved McCain for a screen. At first, he thought the senior would be annoyed that a tryout was calling him up. But McCain came immediately.
As Noah expected, Derick lingered behind McCain; he wouldn't step up to defend Noah after the screen. Once the freshman defending him hit the screen, he faced the basket and shot the three-point shot.
Derick immediately boxed McCain out, blocking him from rebounding. Leeroy ran inside for the rebound.
They expected him to miss completely.
So when the shot went in, Noah grinned at Leeroy, backpedaling towards his side of the court. The freshmen tryouts on his team high-fived him as they ran by.
"Hit another one," McCain said, slapping him on the shoulder. "We'll force Derick to step up then you pass, okay?"
"Passing was the first thing on my mind," Noah joked.
McCain actually laughed a little. "Sure, lil bro. Come on, we're locking up Derick this time."
The defense they played on Derick made him pass out to one of the freshmen, who missed his own three-point shot.
It was the guy in charge of guarding Noah; he gave Noah a venomous look before running back on defense.
Well, at least I know I can control that guy.
He followed McCain up the court, once again looking for the screen and three-point shot, but this time the freshman guard jumped out of the screen and slapped his arm.
The whistle was blown for the foul, but the shot went in, and the teams on the sideline let out a loud shout.
"And one!" Cam roared, pumping his clipboard.
Lester glanced at him, and Cam shut his mouth quickly, dragging a snicker from Noah's mouth.
"No free throws, get back on defense," Lester cleared up when everyone glanced at him.
McCain started running back and they all followed him wordlessly. Noah didn't mind; he was just happy he actually made the shot, because they needed it.
"They should have given free throws," one of the tryouts murmured.
"Wanna do a pick and roll with me, Lenard?" Noah asked in response. "But i'll pass to Seb."
McCain looked over to him. Lenard, the freshman, also looked to McCain to check if that was okay.
"Do it," the senior said. "Seb, that's your name, right?" he said, pointing at the other freshman guard. "If you can't get open don't drive, fake the shot then run up the three-point line and get the ball back to Josh."
They all nodded, excited to actually have some instructions on what to do and not just running up and down aimlessly.
On their defensive side, they managed to stop Derick's powerful drive, but he just passed to Leeroy, who got a decently easy basket from the smaller Josh.
"Can I guard him next time?" Noah asked Josh suddenly.
McCain was watching them from the side; he would have been angry if Noah asked him, but asking Josh quietly was good, even if Josh would never get offended.
"Yeah, thanks," Josh said simply, receiving the inbound pass from McCain. They all ran up the court and began looking for the play that Noah wanted to do with the freshmen.
Josh easily passed the ball and took Leeroy, his defender, to the other corner of the half-court, while McCain lingered behind Derick. They were opening up the left side for Noah.
Okay, now, how to use a screen properly.
He drew from Neil's memories and tried to compare them to the situation they were in, but there wasn't much time. The screen came from his teammate and Noah took off.
Another defender switched onto him, running to try and keep up with Noah's sudden explosion of speed. He decided to take a page from Derick's book and gave his defender a small bump.
The downhill race and his loss of balance sent the man stumbling, and Noah rose for the shot. Right then, Seb's defender came to help and was actually close enough for a good contest.
But Noah had stopped close to him for that very reason.
As soon as the man jumped with him, he passed to Seb, who shot without hesitation. But the ball bounced hard against the rim.
"Dammit," Seb cursed under his breath, but the game wasn't over.
Noah had circled around and jumped to catch the rebound; his defender was too short and not as high a jumper, so he got it easily since the only rebounder, Derick, was trying to contain the center, McCain.
Derick left McCain to stop Noah and Leeroy made sure to replace him, but that left Josh open. Noah threw the pass quickly then ran up to the three-point line to screen for Josh.
The freshmen tryouts weren't capable of defending Josh, but he still set the screen to make things even harder.
The two freshmen left him alone and ran towards Josh, who they perceived as much more dangerous.
And Noah took this as a chance to get to the top of the three-point line. Josh, as observant as ever, threw the pass backwards without turning around.
Noah grinned, catching and shooting immediately.
Josh already started running back on defense before the shot even went in.
Seb came over and high-fived him again. "Good shot, man."
"Don't worry, you'll get more chances to make it," Noah reassured.
"Actually, don't do that again," McCain warned, catching up to them. "After Noah bumped off the defender, you should have attacked the basket for a dunk or pass to me. Coach doesn't like that pass you gave Seb."
Noah and Seb glanced at Coach Lester briefly; the man didn't even look that angry, but they could sense the disappointment.
"Play ball, don't worry about it," McCain reassured, "It's time to defend Leeroy. I'll warn you now, don't make it personal."