A/n: What's up peeps? I'm happy to say that I have my first two reviews for this story. Not bad for less than 400 words! Unfortunately, some people have put so much into their work and haven't gotten any reviews, which is a shame. In any event:

Zelda-Jewel: I just want to say that your fic "My Way" rocks! Keep up the good work and thanks for reading.

Egyptian Rose: Thanks for the review. I hope that this fic can be an example to others to think outside of the box with their fanfics a little bit.

If you've read this fic and haven't posted a review, please feel free to do so! I appreciate feedback, even if its negative/critical. Just don't be jackasses! Get it? Good. Before I quit my wild ramblings, here are some terms I'll be using for the completely sports impaired:

Power Conferences: Major conferences in college sports. In basketball, the bigger conferences, like the Southeastern (SEC), Big 12, Atlantic 10, Pacific 10, Conference USA, etc. are considered power conferences. They usually get the most teams into the big NCAA National Tournament.

Mid-major Conferences: Some of the smaller conferences in sports. In basketball, these include the Mid-American (MAC), the Sun Belt, and the West Coast (WCC). My fictional conference, the Metro-8, is a mid-major. These conferences usually only have one or two participants in the NCAA tournament.

"On the bubble": Just a stupid term someone came up with back in the day to describe a team who is on the borderline for qualifying for the NCAA tournament.

Snow flaking: A term used to describe a player who only plays hard on the offensive side of the ball.

If you have any other questions, related to the sport of college basketball or the fanfic in general, by all means ask in a review or email, I'll be glad to answer. Now, ON WITH THE FANFIC!!!

Yu-Gi-Oh: Heart of the…Hoops?

Chapter One: Starting Over

Nathan walked down the campus road to his new boss's office. He had already fallen in love with the campus, which had numerous buildings made of brick, several of those brand new. There were also many trees there, most of them tall oaks. "Excuse me...um what's your name, miss?"

"Ishizu. Ishizu Ishtar. Most people call me Isis." The woman looked over at her new colleague. He was wearing a light blue shirt and khaki pants. Simple, but it looked well on him.

"Alright, Isis. How did they get this beautiful campus inside a city this large?"

"About fifty years ago, the city set aside some land to build a university on these grounds. The university, in effect, was built before everything else you see here today…here we are. Mr. Pegasus should be in his office at the end of the hall. Oh, if you need anything.."

She reached into her pocket and gave him a business card. "You can reach me there."

Nathan took the card from her with a smile. "Thank you." He walked up the stairs into Pegasus's office, his mind on other things besides basketball.

I haven't been here a full day and I'm already falling for someone? God, she was beautiful! Maybe this new job won't be as hard as everyone says it's going to be…

His mind in a daze, Nathan walked straight into a guy walking in the hall.

"Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." Nathan studied the man he had bumped into. He was young, younger than himself (Nathan was 30), had spiky brown hair and a tall, lanky frame.

"It's alright…Hey! You're Coach Colby right?"

"Yeah, and you are?"

The young man extended his hand. "Tristan Taylor. I played here back in the mid-90s and have been an assistant ever since. I've heard good things about you."

Nathan shook Tristan's hand firmly. "Now I know why that name in the stadium was so familiar! Your dad coached that team in the 80s didn't he?"

Tristan smiled happily. "Yeah. That was fun watching him coach the team when I was a boy. He was a character."

"Indeed he was! I remember back when I played at Kansas, I saw run on the floor after a referee. It was one of the craziest things I've ever seen. So…I guess you're my new assistant."

Tristan nodded. "Thanks for keeping me here, I'll try to be as much help as I can to you here."

"Your welcome. I didn't want to have a big staff, and I needed a solid recruiter. Pegasus recommended you, and I hired you on faith. I hope we can build a winner here."

"Me too. Don't you have a meeting with Pegasus?"

"Yes…I'll catch up with you later, and we can start looking at some game film. I want to evaluate our talent here. 8:00 fine with you?"

Tristan wrote it down in his memo book. "8:00 is good. We have a lot to do, I think."

After leaving Tristan, Nathan continued down the hall and into the office of his new boss: Maximillian J. Pegasus, Athletic Director.

"Good afternoon, coach. You're a few minutes late…was that a custom of yours in Kansas?"

Nathan laughed off the remark, hiding his annoyance. Coach Hadley warned me about this guy. Everyone I've talked to about this job said that this guy could be a pain in the ass.

"I was meeting with my new assistant coach, we just ran over on our time. It's not a habit of mine to be late."

Pegasus gave Nathan a look that left him feeling a bit uneasy. "Good."

Pegasus turned his attention to a piece of paper on his desk. "Here is your schedule. I'm sure that you will find it rather…interesting."

Nathan scrolled over the paper with interest…that turned into a look of total shock.

"What are you trying to do, have me out of a job in record time?"

Pegasus smiled in sadistic fashion. "Whatever do you mean, Coach?"

"Look at the first half of our schedule! I've seen most of those teams in action, and I know there's no way we're above .500 before we get to conference play! Our first five games are on the road for goodness sake!"

Nathan looked down the schedule with a look of disbelief. "At Kentucky! At Louisiana State! At Louisville! At Duke! At Gonzaga! Do you know who those teams are? Four of those teams are from the power conferences, and they're pretty damn good at that! And Gonzaga, they're one of the best teams on the west coast! How the hell are we supposed to be able to compete in those games? From your recent struggles, I already know we don't have the talent to play with those guys. No wonder no one's been able to win here in twenty years, your schedule makes sure of that!"

"Welcome to the business that is college sports. They pay our school to come there, we take the loss and the check and go about our business."

"But.."

Pegasus cut him off. "I'm disappointed in you. I thought from your time at Kansas you learned about how these things worked. I'll make it crystal clear from you: We don't need titles from you…all we need is someone to baby-sit a few hormone-raging boys for a few months, nothing more. And as for your worries, I did hire you to be the coach. Therefore, it's your job to figure out how to win those games, not mine. Understood?"

Nathan realized that, even though he was furious at Pegasus, he had a point. The team was his problem now, and he had to find a way to fix it. I just wish this prick would stop talking to me as if I were a child.

"Alright, I understand."

Pegasus gave him a pat on the back. "Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some other business to attend to."

Nathan turned to leave, schedule in hand. As he was in the doorway, Pegasus called out to him.

"Coach Colby, don't worry about your job…at least for now. The Alumni only start to grumble after about two or three seasons!" Pegasus let out a light chuckle as he got on the phone and went back to his business.

Pompous son-of-a-bitch! I'll find a way…I'll turn this place around! And maybe…just maybe…I'll achieve something that eluded me all my years in Kansas…

The National Title!

Nathan left the office, heading for his apartment. I better get to work…our first game is in two months. Somehow, we must be ready to play Duke. I'll call Tristan and tell him to bring some game film.

Next Time: Nathan looks over the game film and realizes just how much work he has to do! And…one of his players has an experience that could change the way he feels about the world around him.

Please Review and take care!

BigLos07…OUT!