Night Hoops

At school, Nick expects Trent to taunt him, but he doesn’t see Trent. He sees Luke and invites him to the Supersonics scrimmage at Seattle Pacific University. Luke accepts, and the two play one-on-one on Nick’s basketball court. Luke is a streaky player. He either gets a big lead or falls way behind. Dad appears, and the three shoot around. Luke makes 12 shots in a row, and Dad is impressed.

Dad takes Nick and Luke for hamburgers before the game and muffins and hot chocolate after it. During the game, Nick relates to the Supersonics all-star Gary Payton, who plays point guard—Nick’s position. While the players competing for a spot on the Sonics play hard, the players with secured spots, like Payton, mostly coast along. Payton makes some good passes and plays decent defense, but with the game on the line, Payton takes control and makes the game-winning shot. Dad wants Nick to play like Payton—unselfish basketball until “crunch time.”

The next few weeks of gym consist of a basketball tournament. Coach O’Leary, Bothell’s basketball coach, scouts the games. Nick and Luke are on the same team, and they play a team with Trent. Trent plays hard but fair, and Nick regularly passes to Luke, who makes his shots. With less than a minute left, Nick makes the game-winning shot. O’Leary praises Nick’s play, and Luke reminds Nick that Nick wouldn’t get assists if he didn’t make the shots.

To catch O’Leary’s attention, Luke and Nick work on their game together on Nick’s court. Luke thinks they have the chance to make varsity. He also thinks Trent could make varsity. Mom comes home and sends Luke away. Mom received Nick’s midterm grades, which include four Ds, so she’s upset. From now on, once she comes home from work, Nick must start studying.

The gym games go well for Nick and Luke. Trent’s team is the only formidable competition, and that’s mostly due to Trent. Sometimes, Nick tries to take over games, so Luke claps his hand—his way of telling Nick to pass him the ball.

Dad stops by the home, and he wants to play basketball with Scott, but Scott has to work on music with Katya; Dad and Nick play basketball while Scott and Katya play a Miles Davis song. After basketball, Nick and Dad get hamburgers and go biking. They spot Trent, Zack, and Zack’s friends near the railroad. They’re drinking beer, smoking cigarettes, and throwing rocks at ducks.

The night before varsity tryouts, Nick can’t sleep. He can easily detect weaknesses in other players, but he “can’t see” his own game. When he arrives at tryouts, he estimates there are 100 people (there are only 30). Before having the players run a series of drills, O’Leary gives a sardonic speech. He presumes that they see him as an Irishman with a “beer belly,” but he knows basketball, and he can provide the teen players with valuable instruction. O’Leary wonders where Scott is, and Nick tells him that Scott chose his trumpet instead. O’Leary will miss Scott—he was a “good guy.”

O’Leary divides the players into teams, and Luke, Nick, and Trent are on the same team. Their game doesn’t go well, with Nick and Luke struggling. After the game, Luke admires Trent’s hustle.

Scott’s jazz band is traveling to Port Townsend, Washington, for a competition, and if they excel, they’ll attend another one in Monterey, California. The school will pay for the hotel, but the musicians must pay for their plane tickets. Mom promises that Scott will be able to go, and she’ll go with him.

Steve Clay arrives at the home. He and Trent have been playing basketball at the junior high school, but now he has a job—a custodian at Microsoft—so he can’t play basketball with Trent until night. He wants to use Nick’s outdoor basketball court since there’s a floodlight. Steve wants to help Trent make varsity. He thinks it’ll help him become disciplined. Steve also claims Trent admires Nick. Without consulting Nick, Mom agrees to let Steve and Trent use the court. Upset, Nick calls Dad, but a woman answers, so Nick hangs up.

Nick and Luke play better during the next day’s games. Nick continually passes to Luke, who’s making shots. He claims he’s not “purposefully” ignoring Trent, but he sees Trent is frustrated, and he still doesn’t pass him the ball. During the final game, Trent takes out his anger on Matt Markey, crashing into him. O’Leary calls a charge, and Trent yells at him and trashes the locker room. Carols Fabroa (point guard) and Tom McShane (power forward/center) are glad Trent left, but Luke hopes he returns to the team since they’ll be better with him.

At night, Nick ponders Trent’s situation. He doesn’t think he could tolerate different men at his house. As he starts geometry, he hears Trent and Steve practicing, with Steve occasionally offering an encouraging phrase like “nice shot.” Nick notices that Trent’s shot is better. The “thump” of the basketball soothes him. He’s also jealous that Trent has a father figure with whom to play basketball.

The next day, Trent returns to tryouts with a handwritten apology note. O’Leary lampoons the terrible handwriting and makes Trent rewrite it before letting him play. Trent, Luke, and Nick’s team face a team that has Darren Carver, Carlos Fabroa, and Tom McShane—all varsity players. Trent plays hard, and Nick passes him the ball. They dominate the game, and O’Leary laughs at the poor play of the varsity players.

O’Leary posts the list for the varsity team: Nick made it, and so did Luke and Trent, but Trent’s name has an asterisk next to it since his grades are bad. O’Leary prefers a “run-and-gun” offense and uses erudite basketball terms like “weakside help.” After an extensive first practice, Trent does his schoolwork in O’Leary’s office. At home, Nick is exhausted, but he hears Steve and Trent outside on the court.

Though Nick and Luke are on the team, Nick doesn’t think they’ll play much. Luke thinks they’ll play more if they prove they can handle the fast-paced offense. After another practice, Nick spots Trent speaking to a police officer in O’Leary’s office. At home, Scott excitedly tells Nick that the police went to Zack’s house and arrested him. Nick thinks Scott is “happy” about Zack’s arrest. Nick remembers visiting a juvenile detention center in eighth grade. Subverting his expectations, the place was clean, and the young people didn’t look miserable or different from him.

That night, Nick realizes Trent isn’t practicing with Steve in the backyard basketball court. The Dawson home is “shut up,” and there are rumors that Zack and Trent shot a gun or stole guitars. O’Leary spoke with Trent, and Trent said he did nothing wrong, so he’ll be able to play once the investigation is done.