January 25th.
The wins kept coming. The stats stayed efficient. The mixtapes got cleaner.
Michael Schmidt was everywhere—but something underneath had shifted.
Not in the box scores. Not in the rankings.
In the locker room.
After a 76–61 win over Lakeview, Michael noticed it.
They won comfortably. He put up 22-8-6. Jamal added 17.
But the vibe? Off.
Guys weren't smiling the same. One senior skipped the postgame film session. A sophomore muttered when Michael corrected a rotation.
Coach Alvarez noticed too.
"You feel that?" he asked during cleanup.
Michael nodded. "Cracks."
"Winning hides them. But not forever."
It boiled over two days later.
During practice, a drill went long. Michael called out a lazy cut from a teammate.
"Either cut hard or don't waste the rep."
The kid snapped back.
"You ain't the coach, bro. You just ESPN's favorite."
The gym went silent.
Even Jamal froze mid-dribble.
Michael didn't raise his voice.
"I'm the one chasing 100%. I'm not asking you to like me. Just run the play."
[System Notification: Emotional Discipline Tier I Activated][Progress: 16.76%]
Coach blew the whistle.
"Take five."
Jamal walked over.
"You good?"
Michael nodded. "It's not personal. It's pressure."
Later that night, Michael stayed late to shoot. Coach Alvarez joined him.
"You can't carry the culture by yourself," he said. "They've never seen this much attention. It changes things."
"I'm not changing," Michael replied, hitting a fadeaway. "And I'm not slowing down."
Coach nodded. "Then you better keep earning it. Every day."
The next game was on the road.
Packed gym. Opposing crowd booing every touch.
Michael didn't flinch.
He played calm. Clean. Relentless.
19 points. 11 rebounds. 8 assists. 3 steals.
[Progress: 17.12%][Trait Stabilized: Locker Room Presence Tier I]
They won again. But even as the crowd cleared, Michael stayed on the bench longer than usual.
He knew the wins weren't enough anymore.
Now he had to lead in the shadows too.
Where highlight reels didn't go. Where tension simmered.
Where the real game lived.
And that?
That was the part most players never mastered.