I love the NW, and here's a reason why

So I went to shoot some hoops, right. I'm typically the only person out there because I've been lucky enough to find the 20min of sunshine lately. Today was different. I'm out there doing my thing, and this kid in a sweatsuit rolls up and occupies the hoop directly behind mine. I like to call that the first step in "the dance". Playground etiquette says that by opting for an immediately adjacent court when faced with 3 options, you're issuing an open challenge. I do what any regular guy would do when put in this predicament. I scout the competition. He’s definitely in better shape than I am, but his shots aren’t falling. He’s about as tall as I am, but as I mentioned before, I have at least 35lbs on him. I continue to shoot free throws while my lunch break ticks by. After shooting approximately 40% from the charity stripe, I start to shoot jumpers. He makes his way over to my side of the court as he removes his ear bud headphones. “You wanna play a game?” he says. “Sure, why not.” “To 15?” “I was thinking more along the lines of 10. I’m horribly out of shape, and on my lunch break.” “How bout 11? No one plays to even numbers” And away we go. I give him a ton of space at the top of the key. I pretty much conceded to the fact that his first step is 100x quicker than mine, and I don’t want to get beat with my back to the basket. He fires a long 3 and I gobble up the rebound. I dribble to the right, he gives me a 3ft cushion, so I stop and pop 1 from about 16ft out. 1-0 me. I check the ball at the top of the key, and dribble left. I give a jab step, and he backs up giving me enough space to jack up another jumper. He grabs the board, and quickly clears the ball out and drives to the hoop. I chase, he stops, shoots and scores. 1-1. I give him space after he checks the ball, and he hits a 3. In my face. 3-1 him. He takes the ball at the top of the key again, and fires away from 3pt range. He misses, I go all Pachulia on the rebound, and I clear the ball out. I dribble left, then turn it across the court to set up a running hook shot. Bottoms. 3-2. It was all downhill from here on out. 2 more possessions, 2 more rebounds and consecutive missed jumpers from the both of us, and I’m winded. He stalls out at 10-2, I make an errant jumper, and he eventually drains one from long range to end it. We bullshitted for a minute while I try to catch my breath. I find out that he’s a general contractor who works under the table and has done so for the past 4yrs for a friend of his. Nice. Tax free money is good, but I bet the health insurance blows. He tells me he’s a freshman at Clackamas Community College, and a senior took all the playing time at PG ahead of him last year, but this year, it’s his team. Here’s what we know; either you failed a bunch of classes, and are still technically a freshman this year, or you’re a sophomore. Judging by the way the conversation has gone thus far, I’m going to guess the former is true. He goads me into playing another game, and instead of backing down from a challenge and preserving my pride, I accept. He literally shoots 5/6 from 3pt range, and makes short work of me in the 2nd game. 11-1, and I’m sucking wind. As I try to catch my breath, he continues the bullshit session where we left it. He might not be the brightest crayon in the box, but he’s a decent conversationalist. to be continued...