The warmup felt like it was happening to someone else. Darius went through the motions like a robot following its programming. Layup line. His feet carried him from the baseline to the rim, his hands caught the ball, his body went through the familiar mechanics of the layup. Swish. But he didn't feel it. Didn't register it.
Form shooting. He moved to the elbow, caught a pass from Marcus, squared up, shot. The ball went through. He moved to the wing. Catch, square, shoot. Through again. His muscle memory was running the show while his mind was somewhere else entirely.
One of the players from Bayview.
The words kept echoing in his head like a song stuck on repeat. Not Darius. Not the point guard. Not even a number. Just "one of the players."
"Alright, bring it in!" Coach Anderson's voice cut through the gym noise, and the team jogged over to form a circle near their bench.
Darius joined them, standing between Daren and Malik, his eyes pointed at Coach but not really seeing him. Coach was talking about defensive assignments, about transition defense, about staying disciplined. All the things they'd gone over a hundred times in practice.
"Daren, you're going to see a lot of screens. Fight through them. Don't go under unless I tell you to. Eli, when Jace drives, you're the last line. Make him finish over you but don't reach. Smart fouls only if you have to."
The words washed over Darius like water. He heard the sounds but they didn't penetrate. His mind was back in that bathroom, watching Jace's face in the mirror, hearing him ask about everyone except him.
"Darius."
Nothing.
"Darius!"
Malik elbowed him in the ribs, hard enough to make him flinch. Darius blinked and looked up to find the entire team staring at him, and Coach Anderson's face showing something between concern and frustration.
"You with us?" Coach asked.
"Yeah, Coach. I'm here."
"I just asked you about help defense rotations when Jace drives baseline. What's the coverage?"
Darius's mind scrambled to catch up, pulling from practice memories instead of whatever Coach had just said in this huddle. "Rotate from the weak side, force him middle where Eli's waiting."
"That's right. You sure you're locked in?"
"I'm locked in, Coach."
Anderson studied him for another second, then nodded. "Alright. Hands in. Bayview on three."
"One, two, three—BAYVIEW!"
The team broke and headed back to the bench for the final few minutes before tip-off. Darius grabbed his towel and a water bottle, sitting down on the bench even though he felt like he could sprint through a brick wall right now.
Malik sat down next to him, close enough that their shoulders touched. "Yo, where's your head at right now?"
"I'm good."
"Nah, you're not. You've been in your own world since you came back from the bathroom. What happened?"
"Nothing happened."
"D, come on. We're family. You can talk to me."
Darius turned to look at his cousin, and for half a second he considered telling him. About the bathroom. About Jace. About feeling disrespected in a way that made his chest burn. But what would that accomplish? Malik would probably tell him he was overthinking it, that he needed to let it go and focus on the game.
And maybe he was right. Maybe Darius was being childish about this.
But he didn't care.
"I'm fine, Malik. I'm just focused."
Malik didn't look convinced, but he knew when to stop pushing. "Aight, man. Just... stay with us, yeah? We need you present for this one."
"I'm present."
The referee's whistle cut through the arena noise, signaling two minutes until tip-off. The starters from both teams stood up and began removing their warmup gear.
For Bayview: Kenny at point guard, Daren at shooting guard, Marcus at small forward, Eli at power forward, and Troy at center.
For Riverside Kings: Their point guard was a kid named Isaiah, solid but not spectacular. At shooting guard was Terrell Hayes, Jace's teammate who Darius had seen talking to him in the stands after the Striders game. At small forward was Jace Carter, wearing number twenty-three. Their power forward was a thick kid named Brandon, and their center was a tall, lanky player named DeAndre.
Darius watched from the bench as both teams took the court for the opening tip. The crowd was already at a fever pitch, and the game hadn't even started yet. There had to be close to three thousand people in this arena, all of them here to watch one player.
Jace stood at the center circle, calm and relaxed, his hands on his hips as he waited for the referee. He said something to Eli that Darius couldn't hear, and Eli nodded back with that serious expression he always had before games.
The referee tossed the ball up.
Eli got a hand on it, tipping it back toward Kenny. Bayview ball.
Kenny brought it up slowly, letting the team get into their set. He passed it to Daren on the right wing. Daren took one dribble, felt Terrell's pressure, and swung it to Marcus at the top of the key.
Marcus looked inside to Eli, who was posting up Brandon on the left block. The entry pass went in clean. Eli caught it, backed Brandon down with two powerful dribbles, then spun baseline for a hook shot.
The ball arced high and dropped through.
Bayview 2, Riverside 0.
The Bayview bench erupted, everyone on their feet clapping and shouting. Everyone except Darius. He clapped twice, mechanically, his eyes never leaving Jace as he caught the inbound pass.
This was it. This was what everyone came to see.
Jace brought the ball up court with that same casual confidence Darius had seen in the film. Not rushing, just gliding across the floor like he had all the time in the world. Kenny picked him up just past half court, his defensive stance textbook perfect.
Jace dribbled once with his right hand, a slow, methodical bounce. Kenny stayed centered, not biting on any fakes. Jace crossed to his left hand, then back to his right. Kenny mirrored him, his feet sliding smoothly across the hardwood.
Then Jace made his move.
It happened so fast that Darius almost missed it even though he was watching for it. Jace's right shoulder dipped like he was going to drive that direction. Kenny shifted his weight, just barely. That was all Jace needed.
He crossed back to his left and exploded past Kenny's left shoulder. Kenny tried to recover, his feet scrambling, but Jace had already created two steps of separation. Eli stepped up from the weak side, his long arms reaching toward the ball.
Jace didn't even look at him. He jumped and released a floater from eight feet out, the ball leaving his hands with perfect touch and rotation.
It kissed off the glass and dropped through the net.
Bayview 2, Riverside 2.
The crowd roared. Jace jogged back on defense, his face showing nothing. No celebration. No emotion. Just business.
Kenny brought the ball back up, and this time Bayview ran a screen action for Daren. Marcus set the pick, and Daren used it to get open on the left wing. Kenny hit him with a perfect pass. Daren squared up and shot without hesitation.
Three-pointer. Good.
Bayview 5, Riverside 2.
Jace caught the inbound pass again and brought it up. This time he didn't even look at Kenny. He dribbled to the right wing and passed to Terrell. Terrell swung it to Isaiah at the top. Isaiah drove left, drawing Eli's help defense, then kicked it back to Jace who had drifted to the left corner.
Jace caught it, rose up, and shot in one smooth motion. Marcus was closing out hard, his hand reaching toward the ball.
Didn't matter.
Swish.
Bayview 5, Riverside 5.
Darius watched Jace jog back on defense, and something cold settled in his stomach. This was different from watching film. Film didn't capture the ease of it, the way Jace moved without any wasted energy, the way he made everything look simple.
Kenny pushed the pace, attacking in transition. He drove into the paint and kicked it to Troy, who finished with a dunk.
Bayview 7, Riverside 5.
Jace responded immediately. He called for a screen at the top of the key. Brandon came up and set a solid pick. Kenny tried to fight through it, but Jace used the screen perfectly, creating just enough space to rise up for a pull-up jumper from eighteen feet.
The ball went through without touching the rim.
Bayview 7, Riverside 7.
Back and forth it went, both teams trading baskets, neither able to establish any real separation. But there was a pattern developing that everyone in the arena could see.
Every time Riverside scored, it was because of Jace. He wasn't taking every shot, but he was orchestrating everything. When he drove, Bayview's defense collapsed, leaving his teammates open. When he spotted up, defenders had to respect his shot, which opened driving lanes for others.
With four minutes left in the first quarter, the score was Bayview 15, Riverside 16. Jace had eleven of those sixteen points on perfect shooting: 4/4 from the field, 2/2 from three, and 1/1 from the free-throw line.
Coach Anderson called timeout.
The Bayview starters jogged to the bench, frustration visible on Kenny's face. Daren was breathing hard, his jersey already showing sweat marks. Eli looked stoic as always, but there was tension in his shoulders.
"You're doing fine," Coach Anderson said as they huddled up. "He's going to get his points. That's what elite scorers do. But we can't let him get comfortable. Kenny, I want you pressuring him more at half court. Make him work before he even gets into the offense."
"Yes, Coach."
"And when he drives, we have to rotate faster. Eli, you're helping correctly, but the weak-side wing needs to drop down immediately. Don't wait to see if he's actually going to pass. Assume he will and be ready."
The team nodded, absorbing the adjustments.
Anderson looked at his bench, his eyes finding Darius. "Darius, you're going in for Kenny next whistle. I want fresh legs on Jace. And I want you to show me what we've been working on all week."
Darius stood up, his heart rate spiking. Finally.
The timeout ended and both teams returned to the court. The next whistle came thirty seconds later when Isaiah committed a foul. Darius checked in, replacing Kenny at point guard.
He jogged onto the court, and for the first time since warmups, his mind was completely present. The bathroom conversation faded. The anger cooled into something more useful. Focus.
He was about to guard the best player in the tournament.
And whether Jace knew his name or not, he was about to find out exactly who Darius Kingsley was.