Rebound: A 2nd Chance

Chapter 237 - More Media Attention

A female in a dark red dress sat at a long table with a few other guest to her left and right. She smiled at the camera.

"Hello and thank you for tuning in to today's episode of The Dribble. I am your host Kelly Johnson and with me today are two men with great reputations and big names.

On my right is Logan Banks. A former data analysts for the Houston Rockets as well as the Chicago Bulls who helped both teams turn their fortunes around."

The man gave an awkward looking smile to the camera "Hi. Thanks for having me Kelly. It's always a pleasure to talk basketball with you.

Unfortunately something tells me that I'm not going to like the topic for tonight's discussion." Kelly chuckled before pointing to the man on her left.

"Hopefully that's not the case Logan. Now for our next guest we have one of thee premier show hosts and sports talk personalities Shawn B. Stevens."

The cameras then pointed to a man with a badly receding hairline dressed in a nice suit. His charismatic voice rang out.

"Now now, you're not wrong but you didn't have to go there hehe. Thanks for having me on tonight Kelly."

Kelly laughed "I should be the one thanking you Shawn. I don't know how you found the time to come on the show.

With two different radio programs and your own program here on ESPN they must be working you to the bone."

Shawn laughed "I do have a lot on my plate like my radio show Talking Ball on 93.7 FM which I do every Monday and Friday from 12-3.

Or my show on ESPN First Assist which we do everyday from 5-6. But you know I'm never to busy to talk with one of the most knowledgeable female sports show hosts."

Kelly smiled "Well, thanks again for stopping by Shawn. For tonight's main topic we'll be discussing the breaking news that we all just heard.

Nike signs Jason Yang to a one million dollar deal to be one of their athlete brand ambassadors. According to our info the deal is for two years.

Jason Yang is not only the first Asian American basketball player to be signed by Nike since Jeremy Lin. He is also the youngest athlete that Nike has on their current roster. 

What are your thoughts on this signing gentlemen? Let's start with you Logan." Logan pushed his glasses up.

"In my opinion this signing was a smart move but for the reasons that most people don't want to admit or are simply choosing to ignore.

I mean, let's be honest here. Nike has been losing a lot of ground recently in Asia because of all their rising and developing brands.

What better way to carve out some space for yourself in the Athletic wear department than by using an athlete that looks like your target audience?"

Kelly turned to look at him "So you don't think that this signing has anything to do with Jason's on the court productivity."

Logan let out a chuckle "Of course not. Actually let me rephrase that. Jason Yang is a decent basketball player.

It's not like Nike could have just picked some random Asian kid off of the street and turn him into a marketing sensation.

Nike's plan only works because Jason can actually play and get a highlight every once in a while. But let's not act like Nike signed him purely because of how good he is as a basketball player.

People seem to think that I'm this Jason Yang hater when I am not. All I've said, and what I will continue to say, is that he's a kid playing middle school basketball.

There's a reason why we usually only start to talk about prospects once they get to the high school level.

That's because there are just too many factors that go into deciding whether or not a prospect will turn into a good basketball player.

Middle school is too early to tell whether or not a kid has the ability to go pro in the future. Hell, even high school doesn't give you the full picture.

Tons of kids are top ranked recruits in high school but once they make it to the league they end up being role players at best.

That's why I think that all this noise and clamor is actually starting to make Jason really overra-" Shawn interrupted him.

"Hold on Logan. I really hope that you're not going to say what I think you're going to say." Logan coughed to clear his throat.

"Like I was saying, I think that all this noise and attention is getting to the point where Jason is becoming overrated."

After hearing Logan say that Shawn began to face palm. He then looked over at him with a disappointed expression on his face.

"Oh lord, you really said it." Shawn looked to the side where there was nothing before throwing his hands helplessly to the side.

"This man just said that Jason Yang, the kid who turned the worst school in his county into county champions, the kid who took a team that had no business even being in the state tournament to the top 8,

the kid known as Young Buckets because of his identity as a prolific scorer, the same kid that has shown time and time again that when the money is all on the table and the lights are bright that he can perform in the clutch whether it be on the offensive or defensive side of the ball,

this is the kid that you're calling overrated?" Logan rolled his eyes "Those are all good and well Shawn. But this is middle school basketball.

You can't use what you see at this stage to determine what Jason would be like if he were to play at the next level."

Shawn leaned back into his chair "I've played basketball up to the college level and I've been watching the game since my eyes first opened.

And I can tell you, that this brotha right here?" Shawn pointed to the picture of Jason that was being displayed on the monitor close to them.

"This brotha right here can flat out ball." Shawn shook his head vigorously as he said that "He can put the ball in the hoop and keep you from doing the same.

Most importantly he has IT. It's hard to describe what IT is but he has IT. With the clock ticking down and the fate of the world on the line you need a cat who you can look to and say here's the keys man, take us home.

And Jason Yang aka Young Buckets is that kinda cat. He don't shrink under pressure, he doesn't let his emotions take control of his game, and he's got that cold blooded killer hiding behind that little baby face of his.

But not only is he capable of taking over a game by himself. He knows how to work as a piece of a team.

When he's on the floor everybody eating. He's setting things up for his Centers, His Forwards, and the other guards on the team.

Hell, I'm just there watching the kids highlights and I feel like he popped out of my screen and fixed me up a plate. That's how good he is at making sure that everybody else gets a chance to eat.

Despite his elite shooting and tight handles he never hogs the ball. When you watch him play you see great ball movement which energizes the rest of his team and makes them want to play harder knowing that they're involved and a part of the system."

The two of them continued to argue while Kelly tried her best to act as a moderator pulling the two back whenever their discussions strayed too far off topic.

The show ended while the two continued to argue.