The gym was clean and reeked of fresh paint and stale varnish. All the boys stretching on the court were tall and white. They all were wearing white warm up suits with red fringe except for a few boys who were simply wearing red shorts and white shirts. Greg was conversing with three other men under one of the hoops. Jack felt more out of place here than he had in his whole life. He looked down at his clothes. He was wearing green shorts his mom had picked up from a second hand store and a blue Kansas shirt that was beginning to no longer fit him. He started to walk towards Greg and then caught sight of Alan. Alan pointed at him and the boys he was stretching with started giggling. Jack did not want to be here, but he had promised his mom and she was waiting for him out in the hallway. He had to go through with it. Finally, Jack heard a comforting voice.
"Hi Jack...do you want to stretch out?"
"I'm okay Greg...I'm kinda beat tonight."
"Are you going to try out?"
"Yeah...I've just been doing a lot of running lately."
"Well...we're going to start off with some quick running drills and then run some formation drills...do you think you can handle that?"
"Sure...I'll give it a try."
Greg smiled and then blew the whistle. All the boys and the other coaches huddled around Greg. Jack felt completely out of place amongst the orb of white and red surrounding him.
"Welcome to the Hawks tryout gentlemen. We'll be running some drills tonight to see how well you work together. Even though some of you were on the team last year all slots are up for grab. We're going to start by running half courts. Alan why don't you show us how it's done."
Alan jumped up and jogged to the base line. When Greg blew the whistle Alan trotted to half court and back to the baseline. When he reached the baseline Greg gave two short blows to the whistle and Alan broke into a full sprint down the length of the court.
"Any questions on how we run half courts?...go line up by Alan."
All the boys took a spot along the baseline and started the drill. After they finished going the length of the court once it was evident that Jack was the slowest kid on the court. After Jack crossed the baseline, Greg blew the whistle again and the boys were off. This time Alan somehow managed to bump Jack in the shoulder. Jack took off to half court behind the rest of the boys and on the back end of the run got tripped by Alan. Jack picked himself up off the court and finished to the baseline where Greg gave two short blows to the whistle and the boys were off in a dead sprint to the other end of the court. Jack was a half court length behind everyone and he didn't have any desire to push himself. Greg had them run several more half courts before he called them into a team huddle again.
"Nicely done gentlemen! How many of you are familiar with triangle formation drills?"
A few of the boys raised their hands. Jack still hadn't even shot the basketball in Mr. Roderick's practices yet, so he had no idea what was about to happen.
"Basically there will be two defensive players against three offensive players. If the offense scores they get a point. If the defense stops a possession or the offense doesn't scorel...they get two points. We have enough boys to run three drills. The first team to score ten points wins the round. After three rounds we'll mix it up again."
All the boys jumped up and started pairing up. Alan grabbed two kids he had been hanging out with and started yelling the word "offense". He was directed to go to one end of the court. Some of the other boys grouped up and split off. Jack didn't notice that there were two basketball hoops lowered on each side line of the court until the boys separated and waited under the hoops. Jack and two other boys were the only ones left at midcourt. One of the coaches hollered for Jack and one of the boys to play defense against Alan and his buddies. Jack was not excited about starting off this way, but he knew he had to go through with the try out.
The other boy didn't bother to introduce himself to Jack when they got down to the south end of the court. Alan chuckled when he saw Jack and his friends made a few snickers as well. Jack ignored them and looked at the different groups of boys. Each group had a coach ready to keep score and watch the drill. Greg stood a midcourt and when all the boys looked ready gave an extremely loud whistle.
Alan flew past Jack and the other boy and easily laid the ball in the hoop. The coach watching the practice blew his whistle and then grabbed the ball.
"That's one point for the offense. Keep it going boys."
He pass the ball back to Alan. This time the other defender got right in front of Alan and yelled at Jack.
"Watch the pass kid!...I'll stay on their scorer!"
Jack had no idea what to really do. He was terrible at playing defense. He shuffled his feet back and forth, but the other two boys had spread out along the baseline. Ultimately Jack was frozen when Alan passed the ball to one of the boys driving hard to the basket. The boy jumped in the air and knocked Jack onto his back and scored another point.
For the next ten minutes or so the same scenario repeated itself over and over again. Alan would start with the ball and either drive past the other kids or pass the ball to one of the other aggresive scorers leaving Jack and the nameless defender helpless. The other coach finally called the game and switched Alan and one of the other kids to defense. Jack was now paired with a kid who didn't care to share his name and another kid who had been knocking him to the ground for the last ten minutes. The nameless kid started with the ball. Jack ran around the three point line, but Alan was stuck to him like glue. The nameless kid passed it to the other kid who missed an easy shot. The coach blew the whistle.
"We finally have a defensive stop...nice D Alan and Wes...run it again."
The nameless boy started with the ball again. Jack was still unable to shake off Alan. The nameless boy looked at Jack, but decided to pass the ball to the other kid again. The other kid drove the ball to the hoop. Alan raced away from Jack leaving him wide open. Jack called for the ball, but the other boy kept driving towards the hoop. Just as the ball left his hand and was headed for the hoop, Alan leaped off the floor and blocked the shot. The coach blew the whistle.
"Way to go Alan!...Four points to the defense!"
The coach grabbed the ball and passed it directly to Jack. Jack wasn't sure what to do, but the nameless kid looked like he was trying to get open. The other kid looked dumbfounded at Jack. Before Jack realized it, both Wes and Alan were trapping him. Jack brought the ball close to his body. The nameless kid yelled for a pass. Instinctively, Jack pivoted on one foot out of the trap and shot the ball at least a foot behind the three point arc. The ball swished through the net. The coach blew his whistle.
"Nice shot kid...next time pass the ball...both of your teammates were wide open."
The coach passed the ball back to Jack again. Wes and Alan immediately trapped him. Jack heard the other boys yelling for a pass. Jack couldn't see how he could pass it, but knew he should give it a try. Lunging forward, Jack tried to split the defenders. Wes was the closest to the ball and snatched it out of Jack's hands. The coach blew the whistle.
"Great defense Wes!...six points defense, one point offense...I'm going to have Nick run point...get over here Nick."
Jack realized that Nick was a couple inches taller than Alan, but wasn't as coordinated as Alan. Nick took the ball and Alan crouched in a defensive position. Wes covered Jack, leaving the nameless kid wide open. Nick passed the ball to the nameless kid. The nameless kid took a wide open shot at the basket and missed. The coach blew the whistle.
"Solid defense puts an offense on its heels...eight points defense."
The coach passed the ball back to Nick. Alan was all over Nick, but Nick wouldn't pass the ball to the nameless kid again. Pretty soon the nameless kid came over to Jack and Wes. The nameless kid stood on one side of Wes and Jack broke off the tight defense. Nick passed Jack the ball. Jack caught the pass just inside the three po
int line and shot the ball. The ball sailed through the net again. The coach blew his whistle.
"You've got a nice touch on the ball kid. Let's see if the defense can get another stop?"
The coach passed the ball up to Jack this time. Wes and Alan swarmed him. Nick and the nameless kid both set a pick for Jack. Jack turned away from the defenders and and nailed another three pointer. The coach blew his whistle.
"Your on fire kid...what's your name?"
"I'm Jack."
"Oh yeah...you're the one Coach Greg said needed the scholarship."
All four of the other boys let out a quiet chuckle. Jack stared them down.
"I actually don't know if I'm going to play on this team. My mom promised Coach Greg I'd try out...I already made it onto another team."
Alan started walking towards Jack and the coach.
"We don't want any traitors playing with us!"
"Calm down Alan...Jack here still has time to decide who he'll play for...rosters don't need to be submitted until next week."
"I don't care if he's good enough to make our team...he sucks at defense and can't pass the ball to save his life...besides he runs like a turtle!"
"Better now that I know I'm not wanted...thanks for the try out."
Jack handed the coach the basketball and walked out of the gym. Before he got to the exit door, Greg was running after him.
"Slow down Jack...if you walk out now the try out is over... you won't make the team."
"I already made the team at Davis...and your players don't want me here...I'm sorry Greg, but I can't play with your son...he's a jerk!"
"Look Jack...I know Alan can get under peoples skin, but he's a great teammate and fierce competitor."
"He's also a sellout, selfish, and only interested in keeping people down!...you guys have fun Greg, but I'm done!"
"Jack. Wait!"
Jack stormed through the exit doors and saw his mom sitting on a chair reading a book.
"I'm done mom...I didn't make the team...we can go home."
Jack's mom looked up a bit startled. Jack continued to walk out of the building. When he was outside he turned around to see his mom talking with Greg in the hallway. Greg looked concerned, but Jack's mom seemed to be reassuring him about something. Ultimately Greg gave his mom a key and then the two of them kissed.
Jack's jaw dropped. He didn't know what to think. Suddenly his world got very confusing and he wondered if he really knew his mom. Had she forgot about his dad? Did she know she was kissing a man who was still technically married? She had just befriended the enemy to Jack's basketball team. Would she chose Jack or Greg? Nothing made sense.