Petie Miles - (Re)start of Something Great

[chestnutz6]

Well, here I am. This is Petie Miles' new thread, due to the corrupt file in the other one (I suggest you read my last post in the other thread). Now, I don't know if I want to continue it with Maryland, so here are some other choices that I'd love some input on...

Keep in mind, this whole thing takes place about 5 years into the future, so players will be different, and neither you nor I know what teams will be good, so don't say "DON'T DO KANSAS! THEY JUST WON THE NC!" because who knows if they'll be good or not.

Maryland
Kansas
Duke
North Carolina
Indiana

[Neb84]

Indiana fo sho!!!!

[Neb84]

or maryland

[CincyFan]

I would say roll with Kansas

[Preo32]

Kansas or Indiana

[Oo_SU_oO]

Indiana fo sho!!!!
Im with that guy... go for Indiana

[MIZ-ZOU]

Kansas, Maryland, or Indiana

[Jordai]

Praire View A&M or North Florida. ;)

[chestnutz6]

Ok, going to try to squeeze as many updates as I can into one post. Changes in bold. Petie is now from South Bend, Indiana. All the names are the same (besides players, which I'll get to later. Rachel is still Rachel, Katie - Katie, etc.)

What I Want

And here we go. The score is West High – 63, and East High – 61. We’ve only got 7 seconds to play, East’s ball. It’s been a hard fought battle all night long, and everyone in East’s arena can see the anguish in these players’ faces. East Eagles’ star SF, Petie Miles, has scored 28 points for the 1 seed. It all comes down to these for the section title. The center inbounds it to Miles, he’s sprinting up the court, blowing by the press, a West player steps in front for the charge, he steps back in an amazing change of momentum, chucks it from halfcourt, and…

--- “Get the hell up, kid!”

S***, I slept in again. For someone who loves school as much as I do, you’d think I’d get there on time. Teachers loved me, and it wasn’t just because I was the star on the basketball team or I got straight A’s. It wasn’t because of my dad, who founded one of the best up and coming telecommunications companies in South Bend. I don’t know, I guess I just have that quality that makes me so likable. Most popular kid in school, dating a bookworm/cheerleader (yeah, I know, great find right?), wealthy. What more could I want?

I’m not your typical “rags to riches” star athlete. I have money, I don’t feel threatened by anyone, I have a great life, yeah. But there’s something missing that I just realized this past year. Our basketball team, East High Eagles, just plain sucks. We’re 1-16, with that one win coming against some country catholic school I don’t even know the name of. Us and West High used to have a big rivalry in everything, but in basketball the past few years, we’ve gotten slaughtered every time.

Anyways, what’s that one thing? I’m averaging 7 three pointers a game, 26.4 PPG. Why won’t colleges look at me? I want to play at the next level. NBA is reach, but college ball would be sick. Some big power conference team…Notre Dame, Indiana, oh God I feel like a 12 year old getting his first wet – ok I’ll stop.

I want to experience college like not many ever get the chance to. I’ve got a good head on my shoulders, I just need that one boost to propel me to where I want to be.

---

Go Away, Saturday

“Peter, can I talk to you for a minute?”

I hated when people called me Peter. I’m not Peter Pan, not Peter Griffin, not Peter Parker. I’m Petie, for the last time.

“Sure, what is it Mrs. Jenkins?” Jenkins was my AP Physics teacher. I wasn’t sure what the old hag wanted to talk about, I get an A on every test.

“Good luck in the West game, Peter. I don’t mean to put pressure on you, but many people are counting on you to at least make it close. I hear there’s going to be some scouts there, too.”


Woah, woah, woah. Did she just say scouts? Now I’m interested, lady. “What kind of scouts?” I asked.

“Hmm, I think Mr. Booker said something about IndianaState, Albany, couple of those schools.”

I sighed. I didn’t want to play at ISU, their logo is a tree and they suck. I’m tired of sucking. My girlfriend, she can suck. I don’t.

I just headed home after school, forgot practice. I’m the captain, yeah, but I’ll make up some excuse. I know I seem cocky, but I’m really not. I’m actually a pretty modest, quiet guy. I don’t drink, don’t do drugs, don’t cheat, any of that. Like I said, I got a good head on my shoulders.

The West game was in 2 days, Saturday. It could wait…

---

Game Day

I always hated playing games on Saturday. Your whole mental clock is screwed with. I couldn’t sleep last night. Just one of those nights, I guess. I kept asking my dad for prescription sleeping pills, but he’s a guy who hates medication of any kind. All natural kinda guy. Maybe he should let mom know that.

I “woke up” to the sound of Beethoven’s 5th. This rap s*** is overrated. The classics are where it’s at. Yeah, it’s my ringtone too. It was Rachel, my girlfriend. She wasn’t really hot in that way, but she’s got that cute, girl-next-door face. Before you ask, no she’s not the head cheerleader.

“Petie, sorry to wake you.”

“It’s 7:30 on Saturday. No, you didn’t wake me.” I loved being sarcastic.

“Look, I’m just going to get straight to the point. Last night, uh, something happened.”

Yeah? I knew where this was going. I don’t even know how I was going out with her for nearly 2 years. We’re complete opposites, besides being athletic and smart. She’s a party animal, outgoing, bombastic, all that jazz. I’m not.

“Let me guess…”

“ - I, uh, I mean, Bruce kissed me.”

“That all, Rach…”

“ – That’s not all.”

Damn, girl, let me finish a 2-word sentence. She continued, “I kissed him back. I was drunk, you know? We, we went a little further. I don’t want to get into details, but I’m really sorry. I don’t want us to end, it was just a big mistake, I’m sorry.”

We’d gone through this before. She did the same thing, with the same guy, at the same time of the year, last year. I should’ve seen it coming, she was tutoring him after school every day. I didn’t want to talk to her, so I just hung up. What’s with girls, anyways? She knew we were finished, but I might as well just keep it undisclosed for now.

I don’t cry, rarely get sad, just disappointed. I’m disappointed in a lot of things in life, but that’s a different matter. I slipped into some shorts, and headed on to the kitchen. Mom was there, her cleavage hanging out like she’s a model from the 90’s. Sometimes she just frustrates me, but she’s the only one in my family I can talk to really. My lil sister is a *******, a 16 year old who, like Rachel, is the exact opposite of me. Spoiled brat.

“Here hun, I made you some pancakes.” I told her I didn’t want any, so she gave them to Steph, my sister. Pig.

Game time was set at 5:00 sharp. Early for me, and again with the Saturday hate. Whatever. I put some clothes on, checked my FaceSpace (the new fad, ya know), and went to the gym. I stole some keys from Coach Braun, so got in pretty easily.

Ahh, the sound of sneakers squeaking on the hardwood, nothing better. Our gym was small, about 500 seating, but it could get loud…if we won some games for once. I remember when I was in 7th grade, we won the IndianaState championship. Good times back then, except the Coach was a d*** then. Thank God he moved on to DIII coaching before I got on varsity.

The coach now, Braun, is a b****. He’s not mean, not strict, just a sensitive, soft, b****. We can’t get anything accomplished with a coach none of us take seriously. After about 10 minutes of shooting around, getting my mind off things, Ian Walters showed up. Ian was my best friend, although an idiot, and played PG. We talked a lot about going to the same college no matter what, but with my breakout season this year, I think I could make it big while he’ll have to settle at some small school.

“Sup, P?” He was short, but well-built. He was one of the only white kids on the team (as was I), but he still got loads of respect from both the coaches and underclassmen.

“Just getting’ ready, same ol’.”

“Mind if I join in.” I shook my head. Like I said, I don’t talk much, pretty quiet guy. If I can get away with not saying anything for a shake of the head or grunt, I’ll do it.

I felt so at home in the gym. I would stay there most of the day, not even shooting, just sitting on the pull-out bleachers, staring into space.

“What you lookin’ at, P?

I shook my head…

[chestnutz6]

Disappointment is a Wonderful Thing

“And now, your starting small forward, the 6’5’’ senior, Petieeeeee “P” Milessss!”

The same gym I was shooting around in 8 hours before was full. It exploded when my name was announced. I loved that feeling, coming out of the teammate-made tunnel of arms and high-5’s. I’m a different person on that hardwood.

We didn’t do one of those pump up circles like most teams do. We didn’t see the point. We were 1-16. West was 15-0. What were we going to do against them? We can’t even put a ***** in their armor.

The tip went to West and their 6’11’’ monster, Juwan Gaines. Dude was being recruited by Duke, Illinois, Michigan, Georgetown, you name it. How we would hold them to 42 points in the first half, I don’t know, but we were still down by 16.

I just stopped caring in the 3rd quarter. Those 8 minutes went by fast as hell, and I looked up at the scoreboard, as it read 63-28. I peeked at the stands and saw some middle-aged guys who looked like they didn’t have jobs wearing some college collared shirts. ISU, Albany, even UAB was there. Alabama, ahem, no thank you.

The final ended up being like 92-50. I only had 15 points, went 3/10 from three. Not the kind of showing I needed, but like I said, I didn’t care. I was just disappointed. Not angry at myself, not sad, not “Oh my God what am I going to do!” Just, disappointed.

My parents told me it was all okay, my fellow students sighed and slugged their way out of the exits. Mrs. Jenkins came up to me and patted me on the back. Sure, let’s all act like we feel bad for the kid after putting so much pressure on him. Great teacher.

But then someone came up to me. He was wearing a sports coat, and a red tie. His college colors, I assumed. He told me to wait up, and after I got changed into my button down shirt and slacks, I waltzed out of the locker room to go meet him up in the gym.

“Mr. Miles, I’m Stephen Cordeaux. We’ve been watching you play throughout the year, and think you may have some potential. As you know, we have scholarships to offer for this season. We’re always looking at the local kids, but you Mr. Miles, have some talent. I’ve already sent a letter to your house, and your father has even made a couple of phone calls to me. Good game tonight, son, we’ll be in touch.”

Good game? I had 15 points. Either way, I was interested.

---

Elders Know Best

*Knock, Knock, Knock*

“Ye?”

“Hey, Petie. How you doing?”

“Fine.”

“I’ve got a letter for you.” My dad tried so hard to get a conversation going, but I’m quiet. He knew that, but sometimes wished I was a bit more…lively. Yeah, he means more like Steph. B****. I nodded back to him.

“Son, it’s from the man you talked to Saturday.”

I got a bit more excited, but didn’t show it. “It’s Friday. A bit late?”

“Yes, but either way, it’s still valid, and I think you’ll enjoy it.” I nodded, followed by an awkward silence that usually occurs when someone doesn’t respond with words.

“Well, here it is.” He left it on my desk next to my laptop. “You know you’ve also gotten some scholarship offers from Indiana State, Vermont, Eastern Illinios, and some DII schools.”

“Eh, not for me.”

“Alright Petie. If you need any suggestions or help, feel free to ask me,” he said as he started to pull the door towards him to close it.

“Wait…dad?”

“What’s up?”

I felt I had nowhere else to go. Mom was a ******* and probably did the same thing when she was a teenager, so I couldn’t ask her. Ian, the PG? Please, I mean I love the guy, but last time that turtle-dude got any was in 6th grade with Maureen Mussox. “I’m having some…girl problems.”

He chuckled and resumed closing the door, thinking I was joking around. Me, joke around? Never!

“No, dad, I’m serious.” He still smirked, but opened the door and sat down on my twin bed next to me where I was lying down. I sat up to continue talking. “It’s Rachel.”

“Ahh. What’s the matter? Wrong time of the month?”

“Nah, there’s not much of a time for this anywhere.”


“Oh, you mean she wore boxers instead of a thong?”

It kind of frustrated me that the one time I was trying to be serious, he was joking around. “No, well she cheated on me.” Now it was his turn for the awkward silence. “With Bruce, you know him?”

“Yeah, I think I saw him that one Parent Teacher conference day. His dad’s a real pain in the ***. You want advice?”

Well, to be honest, I didn’t know what I really wanted. I needed to tell someone, needed help, or, or something. “Look, here’s what you do,” he told me. “Get rid of her booty. That’s the easy part. Then you find what would hurt her most, whether it be punching her in that area or hooking up with her friend. That’s the hard part. But once you penetrate that tough outer shell, it’s all downhill from there.”

I didn’t know what to say, didn’t know what to do, still. Damnit dad, even when your advice is good you frustrate me. I just told him thanks, and he left.

What to do, what to do. I bet even President Obama couldn’t make this choice, we all know Bush couldn’t.



Beethoven’s 5th again.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Mr. Miles, it’s Stephen Cordeaux, from Saturday.” I wasn’t expecting that at all. A call the same day as the letter comes? Who are they, the FBI?

“Oh, hello sir.” Yeah, I’m polite, sue me.

“I talked to the Head Coach, and he said I should invite you to our open gym in April. I know it’s several months away, but we wanted to let you know our interest level as soon as possible.”

“Thank you very much sir, I hope to hear from you soon.”

“And to you the same, Mr. Miles.”

I almost peed my pa…wait, yup, I did.

[ChrisPaul_3]

Good luck with this one!

[chestnutz6]

Oh, and I'm going to reduce this one year. Petie's first year will now be 2010/11, not 11/12, so he'll be playing with some of the freshman of the present year.

---

New Rivals

When I got back to school on Monday, I was met with several congratulatory high 5’s and YEAH’s. I continued to be my quiet self, only I was confused. What the hell was going on? Did I have a booger hanging out? Was my fly undone? Did I win the lottery?

I went over to my locker and asked Ian what was up. “You didn’t hear? S*** man, you gotta learn to be cocky sometime.”

I still had no idea. “Rivals.com. Damn boy, don’t you know you’re in the top 150?”

Holy s***. No way. RIVALS? ME? I dropped my bag and hustled through some underclassmen whom I didn’t care enough about to slap hands with, and headed to the library. Sure enough, I typed in Rivals.com, and there I was, the #105 overall recruit in the nation. I checked out my bio…nothing. At least they got my school right (which actually wasn’t good. You think I want colleges knowing my team is 1-18?).

Either way, I was ecstatic. I went over to talk to Ian right after.

“Yo man, I’m #105!”

“I know Petie, but that s***’s old news. Now you got something to do on the weekends besides study your *** off. I guess you just came out of nowhere and jumped onto the scene after you were invited to that open gym.”

Damn, how did people find out crap so quickly? Do I have no privacy?

Throughout the day, I was asked what was up by a lot of “fans,” or people who talk to me just because they want to tell people they know someone nearly famous. I didn’t really respond, just giving a shrug of the shoulders pretending not to know. I didn’t give a s*** what anyone thought of me. That’s another thing you should know, I don’t care what people think of me. I love to be hated. I thrive on it.

When I got home, I read up on Rivals. It would be my new go-to website when I was in need of getting away from Steph and my nagging mom. I read up on every recruit in the nation, finding their faults, skills, where they were headed, all that.

Juwan Gaines, that beast of a West center, was listed as the #6 overall recruit. Damn, and we played against him? Glad to know we only got beat by 43.

But man, to be on Rivals. That’s a huge step. I’m already being recruited by several good teams. I checked out what it had for my interests, and it said IndianaState, Rutgers, Eastern Illinois, and a couple other mid-major schools. I was amazed they didn’t have Mr. Cordeaux’s team on there though…

---

All-Star

Well, our season finished off pretty well actually. In our last 5 games, we won 4 of them, in which I averaged 29.3 PPG, definitely impressing some people. It was nice to win for once, but of course we got our *** handed to us in the first round of sectionals by Freddie Thomas High.

Around early February, they announced the All-South Bend teams for the all-star game. I was thrilled to be picked for the East team. There would be loads of college scouts at the game, and Mr. Cordeaux called to tell me he’d be keeping a close watch on me.

I had been looking forward to the game all month, and when it finally came on March 1st, I hadn’t been more excited for a game in a long time. It was meaningless, of course, but it wasn’t to me and several other players. This was our chance to show we can compete against the best of South Bend, which in case you didn’t know, is pretty hard to do.

Ian got honorable mention, which sucks because now I’d be playing with a bunch of kids from schools I had never played against. To be real, Ian was the only other player on East who had a chance to make it in DI ball. I checked him out on Rivals and he’s a 3* recruit, which is pretty damn good. I think I saw Cordeaux talkin’ to him the other day, maybe they figure if he doesn’t go, I won’t go.

The game was on Friday night, which gave all of us players some time to introduce ourselves and get to know each other.

This one kid, our starting PG, Jose Martinez, was a *******. He played for Red Creek, which is near the border of South Bend (note: I’m making all these schools up). He had a damn good handle, and committed to USC. I introduced myself to him, and he responded with, “Yeah, I know who you are. You can shoot aight, but you ain’t that good. Stay outta my way, I want my minutes.” Alright man, whatever.

By game time, we were all ready in the locker rooms. Bear Gabriel was the head coach, who led Marcintosh High to the sectional finals for Class A this past year. We were in Class AAA, so we didn’t have to do much with him, but he was a pretty laid back guy for this game. He just told us to go out there and have fun, as it was just an all-star game, no need to rise tensions.

To sum it all up, I didn’t play much. I figured I probably wouldn’t, but my friends and family supported me, which was good. I played about a quarter altogether, and had 9 points on 2 threes. Gaines on West got MVP, with 22 points and 7 rebounds. Like he needed more any awards, he was already a McDonald’s AA.

Several scouts came up to players after the game. The lone one that came up to me was Cordeaux. “You know what, Mr. Miles?”

“Hello, sir. Good to see you. What’s that?”

“As you know, our team is doing very well right now. The in-season recruiting period is almost over, and we want to take full advantage of that. Based on your very limited, but great performance tonight, I’ve talked to Kelvin, and we’re going to invite you to our campus. It’s a very exclusive club you’ll be joining, and you’ll get to walk the campus, meet the players and coaches, and even practice with some of our other recruits. We’d love to see what you’ve really got against some of our top players to further our knowledge of your skills.”

I was in shock. After not playing much, I thought my time with Cordeaux was finished. He obviously liked what he saw, and after a quick talk with my parents, I was headed to Bloomington in a week…

---

And, I'm skipping the whole him visiting Maryland process and meeting the players, since it'd be waaay too hard to change it all to Indiana players. Just skipping right to when he arrives as a student the next year there.

[yanks26ngoin]

You mean Kelvin? I thought he got fired! Booo, screw Indiana!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bring back the Maryland one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[chestnutz6]

Packing, Unpacking
August 2nd, 2011

It’s time to go, time to do my business of basketball at the college level. I spent my last summer in South Bend as a high school student doing what everyone does, partying, going to movies, and spending time with my friends. Ian and I were the only ones on the basketball team to go DI, while some other players are going to DIII and DII. But I did do one thing more than others, and that was practice, practice, practice. My goal was to be a significant factor on the team. Just because I’m a great shooter, though, doesn’t mean it would come easy.

On the last day before I left, I caught up with Ian. He didn’t leave for school for another week, so he’d be without his best friend for a little bit. Then again, we’d be without each other for a while now that we went to separate colleges.

“So, you know Kentucky’s gonna beat Indiana this year,” he said with a smirk.

“In your dreams, bro.”

“Oh, Petie, we got Patterson back as a senior, and he’ll dominate ya’ll. You know it.”

“Spare me.”

He didn’t say anything after that. We stopped talking about our little rivalry that we’d have, and started to talk about different things.

“Man, college life is gonna be real different, P.”

“I know man. Girls and parties and everything.”

“I don’t want none of that though,” he said, and I agreed. We wanted to focus on basketball, to be the best. And the only way either of us would achieve that is if we worked our asses off to be the best.

“Promise, Ian, neither of us are goin’ to get caught up in that s***.”

Back to some non-drama-b****y stuff. We said our good byes, and I headed back to my house. Everything was packed, from my team MVP trophy to my JJ Redick posters to my acne cream. My parents drove me up to Bloomington, and we headed for the Admissions Office.

“Name, please,” the old lady at the front desk said.

“Miles, Peter.” My mom insisted on answering for me like I was a kid, and also on calling me Peter. Ugh.

“Forest Hall, Dorm #5.

“Who am I rooming with?”

“Hmm…Shaun Bosleys.”

Bosley was a freshman as well. He was a 5’11’’ PG, 4*, pretty good shooter out of Louisiana.

It took us quite a while and a bit of asking around to find my dorm, and when I got there, I saw some familiar faces. Last year’s freshmen and other Indiana players were all in the same vicinity of my dorm. Coach Sampson wanted us all together, I guess.

I said hey to some of the players, Jordan Crawford, our starting small forward who won the Big 10 Player of the Year award last year, and Tarick Owen, the sophomore shooting guard who won last year’s Freshman of the Year…in the nation. They seemed pretty cool, and my parents and I started unpacking.

“Oh son, you’ve grown up so fast.”

“Yeah, yeah, mom.” I wasn’t looking forward to the mushy good byes of my mother.

Bosley hadn’t showed up yet, so I had the place to myself for a little bit, got to choose my side of the dorm and took some extra time arranging everything after my parents left. We said our good byes, nothing good there.

Then Bosley walked in…





Not-So Good Friends

“Sup, mothaf***a!”

Ok, you know how they say don’t judge a book by its cover? Well, I did. Bosley came in, cocky as a Prom Queen, dressed like he just came back from a drug trafficking mission in the hood. Growing up in a white, rich suburb, it’s not what I was expecting.

I nodded my head at him, and he looked a bit confused. He came up next to me and slapped me on the back. “I said, wuzzup b****.”

“Nothin’.”

“You like JJ? Dude’s a c*** who neva got anythin’ done.”

Redick was one of my favorite players. He wasn’t that good an NBA player, but he and I were similar. Great shooters who people hated and I loved to be hated.

“Yeah, I guess.”

He started to unpack, put his s*** around his side of the room, and started o blast some rap music. I already knew no matter whom my roommate was it was going to be hard to listen to some nice, classical music, so I wasn’t that surprised.

But I was surprised when I saw him take out a couple rolls of money and some bags of marijuana. Damn, I knew I’d experience this somewhere, but on my team? My roommate? I knew I was in for some interesting times this year.

I pretended like I didn’t see, and went outside to explore a little bit. I was amazed at the gigantic campus. I had seen it when I visited, but it’s so much different when you’re actually a student there.

I decided to major in History. With straight A’s, I just wanted to do something I wanted to do for the rest of my life, in case basketball doesn’t work out. Classes didn’t start for another week or so, so I just spent my time relaxing and getting to know the place.

Later that night, Katie called me. We were getting a bit more serious, but I still hadn’t officially made her my girlfriend. She was attending Purdue, so she was close by, but I wasn’t sure how it’d work out going to different schools.

We didn’t talk about much, just some small talk, how college was, etc. I didn’t recall seeing Bosley again that night, probably out doing some s***. It’s the first day man, come on.

[chestnutz6]

First Day’s Work

I got into the Hall early for the first day of practice. The first game was still a month or so away, but we would definitely need a lot of training with so many players leaving. Many experts had already made their conference winners and Final Four picks, and we were nowhere close to being on their lists. Screw em…

The only other player there was our best player, Jordan Crawford, the senior small forward. He worked hard, unlike those other c***y guys.

“Sup, man. I’m Jordan.”

“Hey – Petie. We talked a little in the dorms, but never really got into it.”

“Yeah, I’m a pretty busy dude, my bad. So, you ready for this first day?”

“Ha, I dunno man. Indiana’s going to be a lot different than my s*** high school.”

“Don’t worry, he usually goes easy the first few days.” That actually made me feel better, I was expecting it to be tougher than nails.

After the other players piled in one by one, Bosley being last of course, Coach Sampson and his assistants entered. “Hello, team. We’ve lost a lot of talent over the years, and right now we’ve got some experience and some good newcomers. I don’t care about our ranking right now, because the only way we’re going to win a national championship is to outhustle the other team. Know how we’re going to do that? By running.

I glared over at Jordan, who copped a smirk. F***er.

---

Golden Girl

Practice had been going well. Hard as hell, but I was determined to get some quality playing time this year. Coach Lucas really liked me, and thought I had a chance to take over as a starter early on in the year. He told me he was trying to convince Coach Sampson to give me a shot, but he was hooked on trying to go for the most experienced line-up he can, and I don’t blame him.

He still hadn’t announced the starters, but tomorrow is the annual intra-squad scrimmage, Midnight Madness, and he’ll announce the teams tomorrow morning.

Anyway, myself and Tarick Owen (last year’s FOTY) had developed a pretty good friendship. He being the starting SG (I assume), and winning last year’s national freshman of the year, I looked up to him in a way I couldn’t to other teammates or assistants. Many thought just because we were competing for a starting spot we were immediate rivals, but that wasn’t the case. He and I grew close, and started to hang a lot more often outside of practice.

He and I decided to go to the PizzaPalace to get a bite to eat before tomorrow’s scrimmage, which we knew we’d probably match up against each other in.

“S*** bro, you see that chick over there?”

“Yeah, what about her?”

“She’s hot, right?” I laughed at him.

“No, no, that’s not all. I tapped her, maybe two years back? Never called her again.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I just chuckled to myself politely.

“Well, well, Mr. Owen. Haven’t talked to you in what, three years?” she said.

He smirked and whispered to me, “Hehe, okay, so maybe it was three.”

“And why is this innocent skinny little white boy hanging out with a scum like you?”

“Carla, come on now, can’t we get past that?” he said to her.

I didn’t pay much attention to their little b**** fight, looking past Carla and on to a girl who seemed to be with her. She had that girl next door look, with brunette hair and ocean blue eyes, and some cute little dimples. I was way too shy to talk to her, but luckily, I didn’t have to initiate any conversation.

“Hey, kid, come on over here,” she told me. I walked by a couple people and popped a squat opposite the table of her. “You’re a freshman on the basketball team, right?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“Oh please, a 6’6’’ scrawny kid with some basketball shorts on? Not exactly too easy too spot here at Indiana. I’m Megan, but just call me Meg. Sophomore.”

“Name’s Petie, Petie Miles.” I felt like James Bond.

Just when I was about to get comfortable, Tarick came charging at me and grabbed my shirt. “Come on, bro, we out. Peace Carla.”

“I, uhh, guess I’ll see you around then, Megan, I mean Meg?”

“Oh, definitely.”

Oh man, Katie would not like to hear about this…

[chestnutz6]

Ok, so, just to clear things up, name changes...

Oliver (Petie's new friend) is now Tarick
Vince is somewhat now Jordan
Hoskins (drug addict roommate) is now Bosley
assistant coach that likes Petie is Coach Lucas
Katie now goes to Purdue
Ian (high school friend) now goes to Kentucky

Not going to go through the whole midnight madness thing, but here's the basics.

2010/2011 Indiana Hoosiers Schedule

#13 Kentucky
Loyola (MD)
Georgia
@ North Carolina
@ UNC Greensboro
#5 Cincinnati
@ Xavier
UW-Milwaukee
UW-Green Bay
@ #8 Florida (Christmas)

NIT Tip Off bracket A (other top teams include #2 Michigan State, Colorado, Stanford)

Analysis: A very tough non-conference schedule for the pre-season #14 ranked Hoosiers. They open against arch-rival Kentucky, and some bad blood may stir between former high school best friends, Petie Miles and Ian Walters.


Roster

Starters

So PG Boris Shultz - 6'2'', 76 ovr, 86 3pt (4* recruit)
So SG Tarick Owen - 6'5'', 83 ovr, 88 3pt (4* recruit)
Sr SF Jordan Crawford - 6'4'', 83 ovr
Sr PF Brandon McGee - 6'7'', 77 ovr
Sr C Eli Holman - 6'10'', 74 ovr

Bench

Fr SF Petie Miles - 6'6'', 75 ovr, 88 3pt (3* recruit) (6th man)
Jr PF Joseph Okoye - 6'7'', 75 ovr (3* recruit)
Jr SG Fernandez Korver - 6'3'', 75 ovr (3* recruit)
Fr PG Shaun Bosley - 5'11'', 74 ovr (4* recruit)
Jr C Wang Li - 7'0'', 74 ovr (4* recruit)


Top Big 10 Teams

1. Ohio State (#1 in nation, 89 ovr)
2. Michigan State (#2 in nation, 88 ovr)
3. Illinois (#10 in nation, 86 ovr)
4. Wisconsin (#11 in nation, 88 ovr)
5. Indiana (#14 in nation, 86 ovr)
6. Michigan (#16 in nation, 86 ovr)
7. Purdue (#18 in nation, 88 ovr)
8. Iowa (#20 in nation, 87 ovr)

Analysis: The Big 10 is absolutely stacked this season, offering up the top 2 teams in the nation, and 8 of the 11 teams in the conference are ranked in the top 20.

[yanks26ngoin]

Michigan the 16 team in the nation?!?!?!?!?!!? Ok, either Manny Harris is now a 99, or they fired John Beilin and hired Roy Williams, lol.

[boomosby50]

ok, I think it is coming along fine, nice changes

[chestnutz6]

Friendly Rivals?

Before the game, I met up with Ian.

“Sup, P?”

“Nothin much Ian. How’s Kentucky treatin’ ya?”

“Oh, it’s alright. Being ranked higher than you is always great.”

We laughed, knowing that this game would be huge for both of our teams and us as individual players. He had already beaten up on Saint Mary’s, so they were 1-0, but this was my first collegiate basketball game.

And walking into Assembly Hall, with those banners hanging from the rafters, and those fans in white cheering louder than anything I had ever heard for this rivalry game between two storied teams, just knowing I was apart of something this great, gave me goosebumps.

I would get my first action several minutes into the game. With our offense not doing much, Coach called my name and I went in for Boris Schultz, our point guard (I moved to SF, while Tarick would play the point).

Within the first few seconds of me being in there, I was creating for us on offense. I found our forward McGee down low 1 on 1 for the easy bucket to get my first assist of my career.

My first basket would come on the next offensive possession, where Tarick found me streaking down the middle on a fast break, to which I layed it in. Unfortunately, I’d miss 2 straight contested lay-ups later in the half.

I continued to play poorly the rest of the half, missing a couple threes and picking up my second foul.

After being down by a lot for much of the half, we’d cut the deficit to 38-31 at halftime following Boris’ tough, tough lay-up at the buzzer. We started to hit some shots late in the half, after only scoring 10 points with 5 minutes remaining.

They ran us out of the gym in the second half. All of us played like s***, every single one of us. We cut the lead to 13 late in the second half, but then just fell apart, losing 60-84. Coach Sampson was just so disappointed in us he couldn’t say much. Getting blown out by a rival is never a good sign, and we just have a lot to learn.

We took 29, yes 29 three pointers, and only made 6. They dominated the paint and the fast break, scoring 18 points. It was frustrating, especially at the end, where they showed a lack of sportsmanship and kept draining shots early in the shot clock. Tarick led us in scoring with 13, and Jordan absolutely sucked, going 3/13 and 0/8 from three.

I caught up with Ian afterwards.

”Well, I told you we’d win, P.”

“Hey, last I checked you had 2 points and 3 assists. Nice!” I had 12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, but I fouled out, which was not something I was happy about. I did, however, manage to go turnover-less.

Well, time to practice even harder.

[ChrisPaul_3]

Nice work man.

[chestnutz6]

Just to let you know, I'm going on vacation from friday til next saturday, so no updates til then. I might have internet access but I doubt it.

[Superjames1992]

How dare you go on vacation and leave us, the readers, in the dark and not give us any entertainment while you go off to the beach and have fun!!! :D

[chestnutz6]

Jeeze no more comments for me? Come on now :D

But update for everyone: I do have internet access in Florida and will get a couple non-basketball related updates to the story for the week (as much as I can do, because my next game I believe is the day after the Kentucky game).

And superjames, I thought of you today in my plane because we passed right over High Point

[jjredick4]

I wish I could go on vacation to Florida :(

[jayhawk88]

I wish I could get out of Iraq!!! :(

[Deuce2223]

Have fun, we will be here when you return.

[desmin123]

I wish I could get out of Iraq!!! :(
I wish everyone could get out of Iraq!

[boomosby50]

I wish everyone could get out of Iraq!

Spoken like a true politican desmin. Hey. my communist party is looking for a U.S. presidential nominee. Wanna enter the balloting?

[desmin123]

Spoken like a true politican desmin. Hey. my communist party is looking for a U.S. presidential nominee. Wanna enter the balloting?
Haha, I gotta get out of high school first!

[Superjames1992]

Spoken like a true politican desmin. Hey. my communist party is looking for a U.S. presidential nominee. Wanna enter the balloting?
Well, here's the Communist flag for you. :D

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Hammer_and_sickle.svg/100px-Hammer_and_sickle.svg.png

LOL!

[chestnutz6]

Sleep Drugs

We didn’t have time to practice or do anything usual, because we have a game tomorrow against Loyola (MD) in the tip-off of the NIT. They’re descent, but nothing to be scared about like Kentucky.

After that disappointing loss, we all just went back to our respective dorms. Of course, I was the only one in mine, because Bosley was out doing his own thing. I went right to bed, trying to sleep, but couldn’t for some reason.

An hour or so later, Bosley stumbled into the room.

“Sup, playa!”

I didn’t bother to respond, but knew that wouldn’t stop him.

“Yo, man, you got any crack, cracka?!”

I wanted to do something to stop all of this. This wasn’t unusual by any means for Bosley. Kid needs to grow up some. I tried to go to sleep again, stuffing my head into my pillow, but it did no use.

“You want some weed?” he asked me.

“No.”

“Ya sure, playa? S***s tight.”

“Yes.”

This wasn’t the first time people tried to force drugs and/or alcohol onto me. I had never done it, and didn’t plan on it, but people always insist that if I tried it, I’d love it. Personally, I didn’t understand the concept of it all, and didn’t bother to comply with their beliefs.

Before Bosley could say anything more, he was knocked out cold leaning against his bed. For once, I envied him. Sleep would not find it’s way to me tonight…

[Oo_SU_oO]

yeah finally Ive been dyin to see what happened to Petie next

[jjredick4]

yeah finally Ive been dyin to see what happened to Petie next

lol you aren't the only one

[boomosby50]

that update was dissapointing. I think Petie's scared of Bosley

[Superjames1992]

that update was dissapointing. I think Petie's scared of Bosley
That's why Petie will eliminate Bosley. During the night, Petie will shoot Bosley up with lethal levels of cocaine from Bosley's bag and then say that it was an overdose on Bosley's part when he is found dead the following morning! :lol:

[boomosby50]

see chsnutz, I'm not the only one who thinks Petie should murder someone. WE SHOULD MAKE A POLL!!!!!!

[boomosby50]

chesnutz? Are you still going with this one? Do you get any internet where you are?

[chestnutz6]

Well, boo, the answer to that is simple. I have been posting in other peoples legacies, so I don't know if I'm just being too smarty pants, but you think maybe I do have internet :D jk

I'll say it again...I can't post anything more because I don't have my 360. The NIT game is the day after the Kentucky game, so that one Sleep Drugs update was the only update I could do before the game. I have yet to play that game. I'll have several updates when I get back home on Saturday, so until then, patience all!

[boomosby50]

fine then, bein all mean and hurtin peoples feeelings. Have a nice flight back

[chestnutz6]

I'm sorry, I love you boo.

[jjredick4]

I'm sorry, I love you boo.

sounds like you making up with ya girlfriend lol

[chestnutz6]

jj don't be jealous, I love you too.

[Deuce2223]

Oh you two are too sweet. Looks like I need to find you both some girfriends.

[jjredick4]

this turned really awkward fast...

[Oo_SU_oO]

I'm sorry, I love you boo.
Boo? wow dude thats a little weird lol

[chestnutz6]

His name is boo. Gosh guys, take a joke. I happen to have a very nice girlfriend, and her name is Deuce's mom.

[Oo_SU_oO]

His name is boo. Gosh guys, take a joke. I happen to have a very nice girlfriend, and her name is Deuce's mom.
AHAHAHAHA :rotfl:

[jjredick4]

His name is boo. Gosh guys, take a joke. I happen to have a very nice girlfriend, and her name is Deuce's mom.

woah woah woah woah woah woah.....woah......she said I was her one and only :( :lol:

[Superjames1992]

That's what she said!

[Deuce2223]

:( Well I use to get mad at the mom jokes when I was kid, but ever since she passed away they don't hurt as much anymore.:(

[chestnutz6]

*joke ends*

thanks a lot, deuce

[boomosby50]

Oh you two are too sweet. Looks like I need to find you both some girfriends.

I'm taken!!!! And I love everyone

[boomosby50]

oh and everyone, call me boom cuz thats the name, boomosby, its a maryland players nickname

[Superjames1992]

I'm taken!!!! And I love everyone You love everyone? So I presume you are cheating on her then? :D

Just joking!!!

[chestnutz6]

boom? so its boom - osby? not boo-mosby? I thought you were booing someone. What's osby then?

[Preo32]

osby is the last name of the dude o Maryland. i think his real first name is bombale. dude with the craxy hai. Bombale Osby. idk how its spelt

[Preo32]

Bambale Osby

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/basketball/ncaa/uploaded_images/osby-739850.jpg

[chestnutz6]

Ahh, alright then.

Updates coming tomorrow (Saturday), so prepare yourselves!

[chestnutz6]

Just a simple game update first. Charlotte game is next.

No Contest

We got into Syracuse the next morning, and shot around for a couple hours after grabbing something to eat. We were playing Loyola (MD) in the NIT Season Tip-Off (Bracket A) at 7:00, and we wouldn’t think much of them. Although we both had the same record (0-1), we lost to a very good Kentucky team, while they fell to a pretty bad Northeastern squad. Of course, we didn’t need much preparing.

2 hours later, we took the game easily, 91-58. I got some quality minutes after we were up 42-29 at halftime, and answered Coach Sampson’s call with 10 points, 3 boards and assists, and making both of my threes.

Our point guard, Boris, had 18, Jordan Crawford had 18 and 7 to lead all scorers, and PF Brandon McGee had 15, while Eli (Holman) had 10 with 2 blocks.

We didn’t celebrate our first win of the year that much. After all, it was a game we were supposed to win by 33, at least.

We watched the next game at the Carrier Dome at 9:00, which was the other game in our side of the bracket, St. Francis (NY) and Charlotte. Charlotte overcame a close first half and blew the Terriers out in the second half, winning 86-61. Their center, Phil Jones, had 26 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Eli will have to hold him tomorrow.

However, their best player is playing my position at small forward, An’Juan Wilderness, a senior. He’s mighty big and fast, but hopefully I’ll play him tough.

[boomosby50]

yep bambale osby, finally people know. And, chesntnutz, did Petie get 10 points in the half or game?

[boomosby50]

You love everyone? So I presume you are cheating on her then? :D

Just joking!!!

You betcha superjames

[chestnutz6]

He had 10 in the game, my bad.

[chestnutz6]

Double Overtime’s Fine

Final: Indiana – 109, Charlotte – 103 (2OT)

The first half was pretty bad for us. Our offense was playing pretty well, despite 7 first half turnovers, but Charlotte imposed their will against our defense, leading 41-33 at the half. My shot was on tonight, as I hit 2 threes for 8 points in the first half, which actually led our team. The 49ers shooters were just as on though.

But in the second half, when we found ourselves down a bunch early, our captain Jordan Crawford took control. He hit three straight threes, and Tarick added another, to cut the lead to 1. “LET’S GO, BABY!” could be heard in the upper deck of the Carrier Dome, as Jordan was more pumped than I’ve ever seen him, forcing a Charlotte time out 3 minutes into the half.

And right after, Tarick hit a contested fadeaway three to put us up 50-48. I’ve never seen such a shooting barrage, even from myself.

We would cool off – a lot. Charlotte handled our storm and held a 4 point lead with 3:30 to go. That’s when I would enter the game, and after missing 2 wide open threes, I’d finally make one, making it 72-71 in the 49ers’ favor.

Unfortunately, Charlotte just held on. Down 3, I missed another shot from downtown with under a minute to go. That seemed to seal the deal, and with :24 to play, down 75-78, we’d have one last chance. We had our three point shooters in, so it was Tarick at point, Jordan at 2, and myself at 3.

As our Hoosier faithful cupped their hands for a prayer, it was answered by the captain. Us three had penetrated and kicked throughout the 24 seconds, and with about 6 to go, I drove, drew Jordan’s man, and kicked it to him near the corner. He drained the three with a second to go, and I was going to play in my first overtime game, tied at 78.

Tarick really took over in the first overtime period, going for 8 points. We held the lead for the entire overtime, and were up 88-87 with a minute to play. Their point guard Katelynas, who finished with 23 points and 7 turnovers, missed a shot with under 20 to go, and the 49ers had to foul, sending our PG Boris Shultz to the line, where he’d hit both.

Unbelievable. That was my reaction. Katelynas came down the court and hit a contested three…his only of the game, with 1.2 seconds left, sending it to DOUBLE overtime, 90-90.

You know how our shooters were on fire in the second half? We decided the game had gone on long enough, and caught fire again. I drained 3 more threes in the 2OT, and we ran away from the 49ers, as our talent was too much for them, 109-103.

Jordan was the POTG, with 27 points on 5/8 3pt shooting, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Tarick was close behind with 25 points (13 in the overtimes) and 5 assists. Boris added 14 and 5 dimes as well, and Eli did very well at center with 12 points and boards.

In all, only 8 players played for us tonight, which is a big surprise for a double overtime game (the three bench players being myself, Bosley, and center Wang Li, who had 9 boards). I played pretty damn well I thought, with 20 points and 3 turnovers in 19 minutes, going 6/16 from three.

Katelynas finished with 35 points. We shot 14/36 from downtown (39%), and heavily relied on the perimeter game. Charlotte had 6 blocks, so hats off to their big men, but we had 40 rebounds to their 29, and 13 offensive boards.

In all, this was definitely, definitely, one of the most fun games I’ve ever been a part of.

[chestnutz6]

Livin’ La Vida Loca

The next night, when we got back from Syracuse, myself, Tarick, and junior PF Joseph Okoye, headed to the PizzaPalace for a bite to eat. We’d get a little more than we paid for.

“Hey guys…Petie.”

“Oh hello there Miss Meg,” I said to her.

I was about to say more, but Tarick nudged me and made a cutthroat motion. “Man, we gots to get out.”

“But…”

“No,” he told me, “now.”

Before we could do anything else, a thin black girl came up to us repeatedly saying “Oh no, oh no, oh no no no.”

“****!” Tarick said.

“Well what is up, Tarick Owen. Long time no see, eh?”

“Uhh, hey there Carla,” Tarick said softly.

With a bit of an awkward silence, I motioned Meg to walk over to a table and sit down. “How’ve you been?”

“Alright,” she said to me. “Nice win you had the other night. Team’s looking good, as it should.”

“Yeah, definitely. You watching some of the games?”

“Of course, you guys are always fun to watch. I even have my #1 Petie Miles jersey.”

“Oh do you? You could always make that an autographed jersey.”

“I might like that.”

And of course, at the worst of times, my cell phone rang. I was looking forward to finding out more about this Meg girl, her past, where she was from, everything, but it’d have to wait.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Petie. It’s Katie.”

Katie…Katie…Katie…who was Katie? Oh, right, my old interest, and now my new c***block. She didn’t know that, though.

“Hi.”

“Umm, so, how you been?”


“Alright, Katie.” I looked at Meg awkwardly, who looked like she was about to leave, annoyed. I didn’t want to risk that, so made a comment quickly. “Listen, Katie, I can’t really talk right now. Can we talk some time in the future?”

Without any word, she hung up. Great.

“Anyways, where were we, Meg?”

Just about to part ways, I guess. Carla decided to ruin our party, and told Meg they needed to leave. Just then, Tarick came out of nowhere and threw a paper cup of ***e at Carla, drenching her, and leaving Joe and Tarick cracking up as they ran away. I figured that was my cue, and bolted, but not before leaving my number on the table for Meg.

She smiled and waved us off as I turned back to look at her.

Outside the restaurant, the three of us were on our knees laughing. “Damnit, Tarick, why you gotta ruin the man’s ****in’?” Joe said.

“I’m a great finisher, man. Just ask your Mom.”

Ahh, I was loving the college life.

[Oo_SU_oO]

chestnutz man Im still waitin for more on Petie. It seems like everytime we take a step forward in the story we gotta wait two weeks to find out what happens next lol

[chestnutz6]

Sorry man, haha, I was on VACATION before. But I just picked up NCAA Football 08 because I had a sudden football urge with 09 coming out soon, so I'll be playing that a little bit, which will make updates a bit more scarce.

[ChrisPaul_3]

Nice work man. Keep this going.

[Superjames1992]

Did Petie die?

[boomosby50]

everyone died. including me! but im back!

[sappy3]

yeah, this is really good. What's going on with it?

[daking5]

And when you posted your schedule earlier where was Indiana State thats an annual rivalry game