answers. âWeâre parents of a black teenager,â he says. âItâs our job to pay attention even if nobody else does.â
7.
Stanford controls to Fuller. He kicks it to me. First touch all year, and I know what to do with itârip it right to the rack. I duck under a challenging big for a reverse off the glass. Quick as that, weâre up 2-0 on Warren Central.
Thatâs all it takes for the blood to get flowing again. The crowdâs jumping too. The seasonâs on .
One thingâs for sureâWarren Central isnât going to sit back and let me soak in the moment. They rip it back at us. Right off the bat, coach has me on Rory Upchurch. Heâs their senior scorer, the guy who lit up everybody last year. A two-guard, heâs not my natural match-up. And it means Iâve got to locate him every time down, since heâs guarding Reynolds on our end. Right away, I see the problemâsince I drove to the hole, heâs got about a twenty-foot headstart on me. They kick it ahead before I can catch up. Reynolds races over to help, but Upchurch shakes him fast. Next up, Fuller flies at him. It slows Upchurch downjust a tick, enough for me to close some ground. He gets past Fuller to the baseline side, opening up a clean look from fifteen. He lets it fly.
Andâ whap!â I arrive just in time to put that thing in the fifth row.
Upchurch is a legit Mr. Basketball candidate, and he just got punked. Our crowd lets him have it, hooting and jeering and rising to their feet. Upchurch is too good to sweat it, but I check some of his younger teammates. Their eyes go wide. For a couple of them, this is their first road start and theyâre realizing that we donât set out the welcome mat at Marion East.
Their coach barks the in-bounds play to them. All I know is that I need to stay glued to Upchurch. Everything they run involves him. I fight over a screen and stay on his hip. Then I hear Jones warning me about a back-screen. I turn to locate, keeping watch on Upchurch at the same time. Jones gives me room to make it through, and Iâve got Upchurch locked down again. That leaves Jonesâ man with a pop-out to fifteen. He catches the in-bounds, shot-fakes, then firesâway out of rhythm and way off line.
I canât get a clean rip, but I tap it to Stanford. He grips it, then pivots and outlets to Reynolds. Thatâs when I see my opening. Warren Central has to switch just like we do. Upchurch is supposed to check Reynolds, but now heâs trailing. While he sprints to catch up, my man tries to slow down Reynoldsâand Iâm off . Reynolds crosses mid-court and fans out to the right wing. That gives Upchurch time to catch up, but when my man tries to recover itâs too late. Reynolds sees me and lobs one to the rim. With a free run, I sprint, gather, and rise. I catch that thing a good foot above the rack and muscle it home.
Iâve been there before. So instead of getting all swole about it, I just give a single fist pump and race back on D. But, baby, inside my chest the fireworks are going off. The crowd on its feet, the rim rocking, the opponents shell-shockedâthis is it . This is what I live for.
After the grind of last year, Iâm locked in with Fuller, Stanford and Reynolds. Jones is the only one who didnât get meaningful minutes last year, so we have to coax him along a littleâremind him where to go on some offensive sets, encourage him when he gets beat on the boards a few times.
That togetherness is the difference. Upchurch is a load, but Warren Central doesnât have any backup for him. And the only time he really gets loose is when Bolden gives me a breather for Rider. Man, I hit the bench, and you can see Upchurchâs eyes light up. First time he gets a touch, he attacksâshot fake to get Rider off his feet, then a dribble to his favorite pull-up spot. Deuce. Next time he loses Rider on a screen and launches
7.
Stanford controls to Fuller. He kicks it to me. First touch all year, and I know what to do with itârip it right to the rack. I duck under a challenging big for a reverse off the glass. Quick as that, weâre up 2-0 on Warren Central.
Thatâs all it takes for the blood to get flowing again. The crowdâs jumping too. The seasonâs on .
One thingâs for sureâWarren Central isnât going to sit back and let me soak in the moment. They rip it back at us. Right off the bat, coach has me on Rory Upchurch. Heâs their senior scorer, the guy who lit up everybody last year. A two-guard, heâs not my natural match-up. And it means Iâve got to locate him every time down, since heâs guarding Reynolds on our end. Right away, I see the problemâsince I drove to the hole, heâs got about a twenty-foot headstart on me. They kick it ahead before I can catch up. Reynolds races over to help, but Upchurch shakes him fast. Next up, Fuller flies at him. It slows Upchurch downjust a tick, enough for me to close some ground. He gets past Fuller to the baseline side, opening up a clean look from fifteen. He lets it fly.
Andâ whap!â I arrive just in time to put that thing in the fifth row.
Upchurch is a legit Mr. Basketball candidate, and he just got punked. Our crowd lets him have it, hooting and jeering and rising to their feet. Upchurch is too good to sweat it, but I check some of his younger teammates. Their eyes go wide. For a couple of them, this is their first road start and theyâre realizing that we donât set out the welcome mat at Marion East.
Their coach barks the in-bounds play to them. All I know is that I need to stay glued to Upchurch. Everything they run involves him. I fight over a screen and stay on his hip. Then I hear Jones warning me about a back-screen. I turn to locate, keeping watch on Upchurch at the same time. Jones gives me room to make it through, and Iâve got Upchurch locked down again. That leaves Jonesâ man with a pop-out to fifteen. He catches the in-bounds, shot-fakes, then firesâway out of rhythm and way off line.
I canât get a clean rip, but I tap it to Stanford. He grips it, then pivots and outlets to Reynolds. Thatâs when I see my opening. Warren Central has to switch just like we do. Upchurch is supposed to check Reynolds, but now heâs trailing. While he sprints to catch up, my man tries to slow down Reynoldsâand Iâm off . Reynolds crosses mid-court and fans out to the right wing. That gives Upchurch time to catch up, but when my man tries to recover itâs too late. Reynolds sees me and lobs one to the rim. With a free run, I sprint, gather, and rise. I catch that thing a good foot above the rack and muscle it home.
Iâve been there before. So instead of getting all swole about it, I just give a single fist pump and race back on D. But, baby, inside my chest the fireworks are going off. The crowd on its feet, the rim rocking, the opponents shell-shockedâthis is it . This is what I live for.
After the grind of last year, Iâm locked in with Fuller, Stanford and Reynolds. Jones is the only one who didnât get meaningful minutes last year, so we have to coax him along a littleâremind him where to go on some offensive sets, encourage him when he gets beat on the boards a few times.
That togetherness is the difference. Upchurch is a load, but Warren Central doesnât have any backup for him. And the only time he really gets loose is when Bolden gives me a breather for Rider. Man, I hit the bench, and you can see Upchurchâs eyes light up. First time he gets a touch, he attacksâshot fake to get Rider off his feet, then a dribble to his favorite pull-up spot. Deuce. Next time he loses Rider on a screen and launches
Similar Books
