The Mis-Education of Noah Baldwin (2027 - ???)

[Agent]

a whole month for talking to you under the bathroom stall

[Scars]

boys with the back to back 160+ point games

[chosenone58]

a whole month for talking to you under the bathroom stall

Bathroom is for bathroom business only

boys with the back to back 160+ point games

Sim likes to run it up.

[chosenone58]

[Agent]

bucket for bucket between Baldwin & Perkins.

That had to be an extremely fun game to play.

[chosenone58]

bucket for bucket between Baldwin & Perkins.

That had to be an extremely fun game to play.

Yeah, nothing like a fight to the finish

[chosenone58]

Learning to Lead

After win against Milwaukee
We’re standing around the locker room after the game. It was a bittersweet victory. We got Remy back tonight, we beat the brakes off of the Bucks, but we lost Chet in the process. It was looking like he’d be out for close to a month. Injuries were just wearing us out this season. Fortunately, we have a decent record, sitting about 4 games ahead of Boston in the East. And with All-Star break coming up, that will give us about a week where he’s not missing any actual games.

“Next man up, fellas. We got Brooklyn up next. We need to lock in,” Coach Silas said.

Everybody echoes their agreement before they finish getting showered and changed. I walk over to Sam before he hits the showers.

“It’s your time, Big Country. You ready?”

“I’ve been waiting for this moment since my name was called last summer.”

“I’m gonna be counting on you. I’m not expecting you to double your numbers overnight, but don’t hold back. You’re gonna have an increase in minutes, so we’re gonna need to see an increase in production. Me, Tony, and John got your back.”

“Appreciate that, Cap.”

“Let’s do what we came to do, baby.”

######################

After loss to Brooklyn
“Sam! Yo, Sam!” I yelled out as I saw him walk past after our loss to the Nets.

He stopped walking toward the locker room, but didn’t walk in the direction I was standing in. I handed Isabella back to Kori and I jogged over to him.

“That was on me, Big Country. Don’t even trip.”

“I’m grown, I can take it. You don’t have to make me feel better, Noah.”

“Nah, real shit. That was on me.”

“I had nine points.”

“And I had nine turnovers.” He was about to say something else, but I cut him off. “Check the sheet.”

“I missed that shot to send it to overtime though.”

“You shouldn’t have had to take that three at the buzzer. You had your hands full tonight. Nate and Shareef. I should have had your back. And I didn’t. You shouldn’t have been in that spot.”

“You dropped forty though.”

“So did Keith. It’s on me. We’ll get the next one. Hate that your first start sucked. I’ll get with you before we head to Indiana. Keep your phone on you. But stay away from social media.”

I smile and give him a pat on the back and then went back to Kori.

“That was nice of you to reassure him like that.”

“It was the truth. Mistakes that were made early could have saved us the points we needed to win. I can’t put that one missed shot on him. I won’t.”

“I see you, Captain.”

“Girl, stop playing with me.”

“You know this is your team. Even though it’s just your third season, this is your team. They go as you go.”

“You know my uncle said that to me after that loss against the Clippers.”

“Four out of five former ballers can’t be wrong.”

I roll my eyes at that.

“Go do your media rounds.” She gives me a quick kiss. “We’ll see you at home.”

I give her a look. She’s never said that to me before, not in this context. It’s always “my place” or “your place”. She looks surprised that she said it. She has a key to my spot. I gave it to her for Christmas. She’s never used it though. So, I wait for her to elaborate. Maybe it was a slip up.

“Your home. We will see you at your home.” It’s her turn to roll her eyes at me as my smile takes over my whole face.

“Look at you trying to walk it back. You said what you said. Matter of fact, run that back for your boy.” I say laughing.

She shoves me away from her. “Get out of here.”

Half an hour later, I’m sitting in the media room fielding questions.

“Noah, you had forty points in a three point loss to the Nets, is there anything that you can pinpoint that was the cause?” The first reporter, Craig, asked.

“Nine things. All my turnovers. If I had only half as many, this would have been a win for us, no question. But Keith played well. He dominated us in the fourth quarter. I think he had fifteen or sixteen points.”

“Sixteen.”

“Thanks for that. That’s it. Tighter defense in the fourth and better ball protection from me.” I looked around the room and pointed to a familiar face. “Let’s go with Marina.”

“Hey, Noah.”

“Sup, Boss Lady?”

“What adjustments will the team make going forward without Chet Holmgren for the next month or so?”

“We just have to keep working with our post players. We got our rookie, Big Sam, who played well tonight, despite what happened in the final seconds. He’s been working hard. Our vets, John and Tony, are working with him. Expectations are going to be high, but manageable. I have the utmost faith that he’s going to perform well. I’m going to step my game up as well.”

“So, we should be expecting more high point performances from you over the coming few weeks?”

“Oh, you should always expect that, Marina.” I say, getting a few laughs from around the room. “But, um, as captain I have to lead by example and I’m going to do just that. My guys count on me just like I count on them. We have a nice string of games to close out the month, we should be able to get into a rhythm.”

“So, is it all on you, Noah?”

“My coaches and teammates wouldn’t say that, but that’s something I hold myself to. So, yeah, it’s all on me to help lead the team to victory no matter what that may look like, points, assists, defense. The team goes as I go.”

My phone buzzes on the table with a text from Kori saying that she and Bella had made it back to the condo. I text her back to order a buffalo chicken pizza from La Vera Pizzeria, and whatever she and Bella want to eat. I field a few more questions before I head back to the locker room.

When I get back, I see Sam standing in front of my locker.

“I watched your interview. I appreciate you having my back, man.”

“I meant what I said, Big Country. I got you. I’m gonna grab a shower and head home to my girls. We good?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, let’s get locked in over the next few. Chet is out and nothing is going to change that except time. We got a lot of games this week, so not much time for practice, but study that film and we’ll get some work in when we can. Let’s do what we came to do, baby.” I pat him on the back as he leaves.

Before I head to the shower, my phone buzzes again. I thought it was a text from Kori, but it was from my uncle. It was just three words: Way to lead.

[chosenone58]

[Agent]

KAT in New York?

[The JZA]

NYKAT