Chapter 3 A One-sided Game

Rin quickly stopped and tells Dan to close the door.

Dan closed the door and asked again curiously. "Are you watching porn?"

Rin quickly shook his head. "Who watches that stuff in broad daylight?"

He then waved Dan over.

"The media didn't cover our game, so I checked ibook, and this is what I found." Rin said.

Dan leaned in, curious, and when he saw the offensive comments, his breathing quickened.

"These people are going too far!"

"Tell me about it," Rin sighed.

"I know you're doing all this to boost the team's morale. Don't worry, tomorrow, I'll give it my all to create opportunities for you. We'll show them what we're made of!"

"Thanks, man. Um... Why don't you join me? I'll take you out clubbing tonight." Rin expressed his gratitude.

The previous Rin didn't really socialize much with his teammates. Now, he aimed to strengthen those relationships, something that wasn't difficult for someone like him, who had lived in the States in his past life.

---

On the night of the season opener, the 6,000-seat Ridgewood Arena was nearly packed.

As Trenton College's players entered, they were visibly excited to see such a large crowd for the first time at their home court.

However, their excitement soon turned to mixed feelings.

Aside from Trenton students, a large number of outside fans had shown up, many holding Jace-themed posters.

It was clear that most of the crowd had come to see Jace.

Rin even spotted some Japanese fans.

He noticed one of their posters, which read, "Rin, you're a b*tch," in both Japanese and English.

This instantly reminded Rin of the position he was in, despite being Japanese, he was no where near Jace Tucker when it came to popularity. If he wanted respect, he had to leave a mark on the court today.

Rin smiled then politely gave them a middle finger. The group enthusiastically returned the gesture in English.

[Ping!]

[+56 HP]

See? His Hate Points were going up already.

After a brief warm-up, the starting lineup was announced, and both teams were introduced.

For Rivers Creek University: Jace Tucker, Maxwell Reed, Joshua Sarr, Andrew Ramsdale, and Steve Butler.

Trenton College: Daniel Bryson, Rin Satoshi, Will Gitens, Jamie Davidson, and Aaron Tate.

Although there was a significant gap in height and physique between the two teams, Trenton at least had Dan and Tate, giving them a little bit of "name advantage."

The game kicked off quickly, with Andrew Ramsdale easily winning the tip-off for Rivers Creek.

Jace dribbled up the court, and the crowd erupted in cheers, while Trenton College was getting the opposite treatment.

However, Jace didn't go for the shot. Instead, he organized the play.

Rivers Creek's off-the-ball screens created a quick opportunity and although Sarr missed his shot, Maxwell Reed grabbed the offensive rebound and scored on a second-chance putback.

The gap in strength between the two teams was apparent from the very first play.

"You're finished. I'll lock you down tonight," Reed taunted Rin as they matched up.

Rin tried moving without the ball, but Reed stuck to him tightly, allowing no space.

The two were similar in size, making it hard for him to break free.

However, Tate moved up for a high pick, and Rin used the screen to slip out to the three-point line. Dan whose passes were always pin-point, then threw the ball to him.

The late-night clubbing from the night before had worked- his teammates were solidly behind him.

Rin caught the pass, bent his knees, jumped, and snapped his wrist.

The ball spun perfectly through the air, tracing a flawless arc...

Swish!

The shot was smooth as silk, and the crowd was momentarily stunned.

Especially Trenton's own students. While Rin hadn't played any official games for the school yet, he had played pickup and practice games.

Rin had always had some three-point range, but never as clean as this.

It wasn't just their imagination. Rin had spent all summer refining his shot, adjusting his form to make it more textbook like.

Jace continued orchestrating the offense, and Butler scored an easy floater in the paint.

Trenton's size disadvantage made it tough to challenge Rivers Creek defensively.

Rin kept moving off-ball, and Tate came up for another screen. This time, Reed anticipated it and disrupted the play, leaving Rin with no room to shoot after the pass.

"You won't make another basket tonight!" Reed barked like a goblin.

Rin smiled, signaled for an isolation, then started dribbling.

He made a hard right-side drive, then quickly stepped back, retreating to the three-point line.

Reed was a step behind.

Swish!

Rin's three-pointer pierced the net again!

Coach Brandt couldn't help but pump his fist in excitement.

"All my hard work over the summer has led to this moment," he thought to himself.

He hadn't lied to Brandt.

"You know, your defense isn't even as tight as the girl I hooked up with last night," Rin taunted Reed with a look of pity.

"Trash talk?"

He had heard far worse than anything Reed could come up with.

The crowd began to cheer for Trenton College.

They didn't know why, but they could clearly feel that Rin was different tonight.

Jace finally attempted a shot. Working with Reed, he launched a three-pointer from a meter beyond the court arc- NBA range. Clearly, he was already preparing for the next level.

But, unfortunately, his shot didn't fall.

Tate living up to expectations, boxed out Butler and secured the defensive rebound.

Trenton then pushed the ball on the fast break, and Rin sprinted ahead to the three-point line. He took a pass, dribbled up court, and, seeing Reed chasing him, he abruptly stopped and pulled up for a three-pointer.

The ball, following the momentum, flew toward the backboard.

Bang!

It hit the board.

Missed?

Nah.

The ball bounced off the backboard and straight into the hoop!

4-9!

Rivers Creek called an immediate timeout!

Despite the clear talent gap, Trenton College had taken an early lead, thanks to Rin!

The crowd roared in approval, this time not for Creek!

As Rin left the court, he raised both hands, encouraging the crowd to cheer even louder.

Was he getting carried away?

After all, with the bold comments he made before the game, the worse he played tonight, the more people would trash him.

But he wasn't.

Rin perfectly understood the psychology of haters.

If he played poorly tonight, he would only generate a small amount of Hate Points. And once the haters had trashed him, they'd move on and forget about him.