The New Basketball Player: A Short Story

Russ was a standout basketball player who seemed to lose his touch after his parents were brutally murdered. He was a top recruit who lost his desire to play just before his senior year. Coach was close with Russ’ grandparents and felt that Finley would help him find his love for basketball again. Finley was preparing for his senior season as well, where he hoped to lead the team to a state championship. It was finally his turn to take the starting point guard position and run with it. However, he would later realize that it would not be an easy job to win.

In the poem Ex-basketball Player, by John Updike, Flick Webb, a man who use to be a star basketball player, lets his talents go to waste as he now leads an unhappy life as a gas station attendant. John Updike uses a critical tone to emphasize that the present excels the importance of the past.

“Come on guys,” I yelled. I heard the screech of the referee’s whistle. Rushing to the bench, I heard the referee call out “Timeout, Heat.” Everything was on the line and our team’s championship hopes, being foremost on our team’s minds, was all coach could scream about. “I’m not going to tell you how to play basketball,” he yelled out. “That’s your job. I’m just going to say that right now, to us, this is a championship game. If we win this, we move on to the championship. If not, at least let us fall valiantly.” That got the whole team riled up as we rushed back onto the court. The crowd, encouraging as always, yelled out their approval on the fact that we were giving it our all. With just sixteen seconds left in the game and our team down by four, something special had to happen or we were done for the season.

In this paper we are looking at the poem “Ex-Basketball Player” by John Updike and; looking at these questions relating to the poem does the poem's speaker pity or admire Flick? Are readers meant to pity or admire Flick?

October of 2015 arrives, Monte Vista Elementary school informed us that there are basketball tryouts and basketball season will come soon. I have been practicing non-stop after last year’s tournament. I had one goal that year, and it was to get to the championships. I tryout and impress the other players around me. A paper of the names who made

Basketball was my favorite sport growing up. I’ve played since I was little and I still play the game today. I played basketball at my elementary school, St. Cecilia, from Kindergarten till 8th Grade and also played AAU basketball for about 2 years before entering High School. Going into my freshmen year of High School, the first sport I played was basketball. Tryouts began in about the start of November and ended about 2 weeks after. I had made the Freshmen A team. I was excited and as the season progressed, we didn’t win many games but I still had fun playing. Nearing the end of the season, golf was another sport coming up that I also wanted to try and play. I say “try and play” because at the time, I was also going to play AAU basketball. I had set in my mind that I was going to play basketball for all of my four years of high school, but my parents pushed me to tryout for golf. When the basketball season ended, golf tryouts started. Tryouts lasted for about 2 weeks, and I made the JV team. When I found out I made the team, I was very surprised. I hadn’t put in the hard work as others before tryouts came around, but the coach saw potential in me and that I can become a great player. The coach saw so much potential in me, that every week, I kept progressing in skill and fine tuning my mechanics. Halfway through the season, about 4 or 5 weeks after I made the team, my coach gave me the chance to play with the Varsity Golf team for a couple days. I was excited and eager to

We can all agree that basketball is almost becoming popular around the world. So many people play this sport but do people know how basketball started and how it evolute throughout the years since basketball was borned? So like every other sports and creations, there has to be a inventor and in basketball there was a man by the name of Dr. James Naismith. “Created in 1891 in a Springfield, Massachusetts YMCA gymnasium has grown into a game played worldwide by more than 300 million people”(historybits.com). So this game has been out for a very long period of time with many changing of the rules in basketball throughout the history. When it was first played in the late 1800s, there were different rules and even different looking basketball. As for the rules, originally there would be 10 people on the court but it first started with 18 people on the court which after couple of years it changed to only 10 people. Substitution was also different and the rule for this was at first no one can enter until the next game. “The rule was changed in 1920 to allow a player to re-enter the game one time. In 1934, the rule was expanded to allow players to re-enter the game twice, and, in 1945 the rule was finally changed to permit players to return to the game an unlimited number of times”(hooptactics.com). The first basketball looked very alike a football but round. The backboards were made out of straight wood and the baskets were made out of peach baskets or square boxes. There was only

I can't do the splits which was my ultimate goal. I can still do some

on Saturday February 24, 2018 rapper NBA YoungBoy was arrested for a felony warrant for kidnapping and other alleged charges. NBA Youngboy was caught on camera body slamming his girlfriend Jania in a hotel hallway in Waycross, Georgia. Police were called when a guest heard the commotion from the couple and called to alert the front desk.

One day in Gym class there were four boys playing basketball, there names were Jimmy who is very small and never gets to play for the basketball team. Then there's Carl who is a starter for the basketball team and is trying to convince coach to put Jimmy in, and finally there's Jeff and Charlie, they both like to bully Jimmy because he’s too small to play.

Rushing to the bench, I heard the referee call out “Timeout, Heat.” Everything was on the line with our team’s championship hopes foremost on our minds. As soon as we were all huddled up, Coach Drew began to lay out his expectations. “I’m not going to tell you how to play basketball,” he told us. “That’s your job. I’m just going to say that right now, to us, this is a championship game. If we win this, we move on to the championship. If not, at least let us fall valiantly.” We rushed back onto the court, riled up at the thought of our coach’s inspiring speech. The crowd, encouraging as always, chanted our names. With just sixteen seconds left in the game and our team down by four, we had no choice but to do something special.

We’re officially down to the final four in the 2016 NHL playoffs with the East and West Conference Finals underway. Like every year, the playoffs have offered high-quality hockey with riveting games throughout the postseason. There have been four seven-game series, all in the Western Conference, that went back and forth, while shorter series have also had very competitive games. Every night of postseason play has provided excellent theater, and those who haven’t watched are missing out.

The most spontaneous thing that I have done is just playing basketball. Basketball is spontaneous to me because I just wanted to start playing the game. Therefore, my 8th grade year I played basketball for my school team and I wasn't really feeling basketball. Summer of freshman year I played summer league for L.H.S and I felt a burst of energy for the sport. After, a couple of games one of my teammates wanted me to go to their house. Little did I know I was going to get extra practice for the sport.

When I was a kid, I thought I would play soccer like my dad. Then I started to watch basketball and was fascinated by the sport. I loved the way the people would do a move and leave their opponent on the ground. I was very impressed how people could shoot from very far away and make the shot. I have started playing basketball a lot more and I am loving the sport. Now I am trying to become a pro basketball player and go all the way. I believe I can go all the way because, I have been enjoying basketball since I was little, I now play in high school basketball, and I also went all the way to play in the playoffs. I believe I can make the National Basketball Association.

Within Hollywood’s movies depiction of drug addiction, many have failed to represent all true aspects that come along with such lifestyles. The movie, The Basketball Diaries, is based off a novel Jim Carroll wrote from his own diary entries. As a teenager growing up in the sixties, Carroll reveals his progression of drug abuse which eventually leads him addicted to heroin.Heroin is a white powder derived from morphine found in opium. It is commonly prescribed as a painkiller, but is also a popular street drug.The director casted Leonardo DiCaprio as Jimmy, and concentrates on creating the character as a stereotypical drug abuser. DiCaprio’s most captivating scene is when he is going through heroin