In the first quarter, the Average Joes displayed something that no team had quite gotten the hang of just yet.

Chemistry.

Their five-star, Thomas Wayne, could easily be considered the most humble among all of the five-stars, much less players at the camp. This humility made him extremely willing to share the rock and shine with his teammates, acting as a decoy for his teammates' benefit often.

However, their crisp passing and familiarity with each other evidently stemmed deeper.

"The entire starting lineup is from either Brooklyn or Manhattan," Riley explained at a dead-ball. "They've all played against each other multiple times, as top players in their respective cities. I figure they've also played alongside one another a few times."

Derrick nodded in understanding, watching the team pull off a complicated multiple-options play. Their coach might've also been more involved in their game plan than it had first appeared.

The first quarter finished with a score of 30-17 with the Average Joes leading. However, the star power of the Hoop Dreams started to materialize late in the quarter, ending the quarter on an 8-0 run.

Declan had started off slow, but Derrick wasn't worried. Declan was no stranger to slow starts, but his shot always warmed up at some point.

"I saw your game by the way," Riley stated as both teams retreated to their own benches.

"Yea?"

"You played well. I think you'll be able to open a lot of eyes to the fact that star ratings are hardly a good measurement of players' ability."

"You mean like give motivation to low-ranked players?" Derrick asked, scratching his chin thoughtfully. 

"Exactly," she glanced at him to gauge his expression. "You don't believe so?"

Derrick tried to picture someone watching him from YouTube in their bedroom, picking him out from the talent on the court and deciding that they wanted to be like him. He just couldn't make out the image.

Derrick shrugged in response, not wanting to come off as unconfident. "Maybe."

Riley gave him a lingering look but changed the topic. "Your team also seems very capable. It's very possible that you guys could upset any team that underestimates you."

"And if they don't underestimate us?"

"Too early to tell."

Derrick was digging how honest Riley was. She didn't come across as brutal, but if directly asked a question, she wouldn't skirt the truth either. 

The second quarter whistle sounded then and the two armies returned to the battlefield. 

The Hoop Dreams team continued to build on their surge of momentum as Declan's shot began to fall consistently. They ran their offense through Aaron Mayers in an inside-out style, much like Derrick and the Court Kings had done with Leo.

As the quarter progressed, flashes of Aaron and Declan learning how to feed off of the other appeared. As far as Derrick was concerned, that was a scary sight for every single team at the camp.

There was one particular play where Declan was being hounded after making a three. The Average Joes didn't have anyone capable of containing Aaron inside one-on-one but they did have a four-star player who was primarily known for his pesky perimeter defense and his assignment was Declan. 

As usual, the ball found its way to Aaron, but this time he caught it outside of the key. Declan ran straight toward Aaron, fighting to escape his persistent defender.  Seeing him coming and having a step on his defender, Aaron held the ball outward, with his back to his own defender shielding him away. 

Declan's defender was forced to change his route, attempting to go behind both Aaron and his defender to meet Declan on the other side after the hand-off. Except it never came. Aaron raised the ball in the air and out of the reach of Declan, who paused with a confused expression. He then took a few hard dribbles to his left, causing more blockage for Declan's defender to navigate through.

Declan, driven by shooter's instinct, drifted back the way he'd come and behind the three-point line. Aaron found him just as Declan's defender finally made it around his body. However, he could only watch as Declan rose up into his textbook jumper and the ball sailed through the net.

It was too frantic to be called a set play, yet not filled with the mad scramble of a broken play. The spontaneity was unguardable from such skilled individuals, and that spontaneity became a hallmark of their offense. 

The second quarter was a battle of differing playstyles; the Average Joes and their fundamentally sound players versus the Hoop Dreams and their flashy improvised play, led by the extremely creative Aaron.

Derrick found himself at the edge of his seat all the way until the clock read only zeros and the whistle sounded, signaling the end of the first half.

The score was now 45-40 in the Average Joes' favor. Despite their lead, it had been significantly cut down by their inability to read their opponents' offense.

"What a game," Derrick whispered.

"You could say that again," said Riley, her voice betraying her own excitement. "It's hard to believe either of these teams haven't been playing together for years."

"No kidding. Aaron may as well have been made in a lab specifically for Declan's catch and shoot style."

Riley looked over at Derrick with a raised eyebrow. "I expected it to be harder for you to watch them meshing so well."

"It stings a bit," Derrick admitted with a shrug, "but I'm more happy that Declan gets to play to the best of his ability with all these scouts watching. That Illinois sniper is putting them on notice!"

Riley chuckled, a soft melodic sound that Derrick immediately wanted to hear more of. "I wish everyone could be as supportive as you."

Derrick folded his arms, leaning back and adopting a more serious expression. "Still, I hope Declan and his teammates don't start to underestimate the other team because of their momentum. Thomas Wayne has been overly passive thus far. I don't think that'll continue."

Riley whistled softly. "You have a good eye. Maybe you'll have a career in journalism if the whole basketball thing doesn't pan out." It took Derrick a second to realize she was thankfully joking. "Thomas Wayne usually plays that way in the first half, then turns up his aggressiveness meter in the second," she added. 

Derrick wondered if Declan or his teammates knew that. Back home, he was the one who informed him of such matters while Declan focused solely on the game and staying in rhythm.

 Did this team have an informant?

Was the Coach content to be a slightly relevant spectator the whole time?

Derrick's thoughts spiraled into worry for the rest of the halftime break, but Declan's easygoing demeanor once again reassured him when he came back out. Derrick felt that despite the new challenges that came with the camp, Declan would adapt and mold himself into an improved player.

It was a good example to follow.

The third quarter turned out to be the most competitive period yet. True to form, Thomas Wayne amplified his aggression and it paid merit. The boy stood at about 6'2 by Derrick's estimation and was stoutly built. He used his weight well, bumping his defenders at the right moment to create space for the shot or drive.

Declan and his team still seemed to score at will, but with Thomas now a major determinant in the game, defensive stops were far and few in between.

The quarter ended at 66-60 with the Average Joes still leading. Hoop Dreams had gone on a bit of a run when Thomas had subbed in the last two minutes of the quarter, however, making the momentum once again shift to their side.

"Thomas has this in the bag!" A loud voice called from the stands above Derrick and Riley, gaining some cries of agreement.

"Don't be stupid, Aaron is rested now - these Joes don't stand a chance anymore."

"Thomas when he starts trying is much better than Aaron. Did you see that up and under fake? From a guard, no less!"

The rowdy chatter brought a smile to Derrick's face. He hadn't been to many basketball games, but the ones he had been to pale in comparison to the camp's. On just the first day, it was beginning to feel like he was in a basketball heaven, although losing like they had still stung. Regardless, for a basketball fanatic, this had all the ingredients of a royal buffet.

In the fourth, Declan caught fire. He had already come into the fourth with 16 points, a total that was dwarfed only by Aaron's 22 and Thomas' 28, but he started to get that look in his eye that Derrick had seen often, and Illinois opponents came to fear.

With two minutes left in the fourth, Declan was up to 29 points after a ridiculous stepback three. That's how Derrick could tell he was truly feeling on top of the world. Declan rarely took off-the-dribble three-pointers.

Now trailing by two points, Thomas Wayne brought the ball up with a determined look etched into his babyface. He nodded a signal at a teammate and they came up and set a screen, which Thomas simply dribbled around, forcing Declan to switch onto him. 

They had slowed down on the intricate play-calls, focusing instead on forcing situations where Thomas could attack Declan one-on-one. Derrick figured that initially, it had been in the hopes of tiring out the hot hand, but when they figured out Declan was a below-average defender, it became too good to pass up.

Now, Thomas once again found the matchup too good to pass it away and signaled for his teammates to space out while he attacked the sharpshooter. The left-hander drove hard using his right hand, forcing Declan to try his best to stick to the smaller guard's hip.

Suddenly, Thomas stopped on a dime, squaring up in one smooth motion at the rim. Declan skidded to a stop, putting up a hand to contest but Thomas suddenly pulled off a mean inside-out dribble, restarting his drive as a stunned Declan struggled to react in time.

As he passed Declan, he bumped him just enough to throw him further off balance as he closed the distance to the rim and threw up a high layup that no one in the entire gym had a chance of blocking.

The stands erupted as the ball perfectly glanced off the backboard and into the net. The chorus of cheers almost sounded like elephants stampeding as they showed their appreciation for the thriller they were witnessing.

Derrick stayed quiet, grumbling to himself about warning Declan to work on his defense. Riley glanced at him with an amused expression unbeknownst to him.

With the game once again locked in a tie again, the Hoop Dreams point guard brought the ball up and Aaron quickly came up to receive the ball. He looked past his defender, directing traffic with hand signals as a series of off-ball screens began to materialize for Declan. Aaron's defender saw an opportunity and lunged forward, attempting to steal the ball, but Aaron was a step ahead. He evaded the risky attempt and then exploded to the rim.

The 6'9 power forward had acceleration that was borderline unfair. By the time he got to the rim, he easily stepped around the defender who moved to block his path and made a layup that came very close to being a dunk, but he thought better of it mid-air.

With the time dwindling down, Thomas once again looked to force a switch with Declan on him, but this time, the Hoop Dreams elected to double-team instead of leaving Declan to fend for himself. The double team was perfectly executed by Declan's teammate - waiting for the right moment after luring Thomas into a sense of false security.

To Thomas' credit, he handled it well, not immediately killing his dribble but rather faking out Declan with his eyes and throwing a bounce pass to the now open center. The center took two bounces toward the rim before meeting a help defender and without hesitation, zipped a pass into the corner where a wide open shooter waited. The shooter seemed to breathe in, taking a bounce although he was open, presumably to settle himself.

Derrick could tell before the shooter even began his form that he would miss. His shoulders were rigid and his simple rhythm bounce full of uncertainty and wasn't needed. He knew that feeling all too well himself.

Sure enough, the shot was well short and careened into the hands of the opposition. The Hoop Dreams player looked up the court and passed it to Aaron, who after extensive minutes was still sprinting downcourt at full speed. He caught it in stride and made a bee-line for the rim, drawing two defenders who tried their best to stop his drive to no avail. At the very last second, Aaron flipped it behind to a trailer teammate who found himself with the easiest finish of the night.

Thomas Wayne once again found himself double-teamed on the next trip down but his unselfishness was rewarded this time with a made mid-range pullup from his teammate.

With the clock ebbing away, Aaron made his move up two with thirty seconds left. Initially, his teammates spaced out as if they were going to watch him go one-on-one but suddenly, as the shot clock fell to ten, they jumped into action with Declan running up to set a screen. Declan's defender switched onto Aaron as he came off the screen and he crossed hard to the right, using his body to shield the ball as he drove to the free-throw line. Coming to a sudden jump-stop, he pivoted back toward the three-point line just as Declan himself received an off-ball screen that his new defender hadn't expected. He looped a pass to Declan who collected the pass as calmly as he he had in quarters prior.

Declan did a shotfake which tricked his scrambling defender into leaping past him, then in one butter-smooth motion, stepped back further behind the three-point line.  In the replay, he would notice that he shot the ball from NBA three-pointer range, but in that moment, as he released the ball with feathery touch it felt as effortless as a free throw. 

He knew before the ball snuggled through the net that it was in, but he still held his follow-through as the ecstasy from a perfect shot consumed him.

Dagger.