UP2U
A d v e n t u r e s
C H A R A C T E R
E D U C A T I O N
Back
Bac co
k u
co rutr Bat
Ba tltel
by Rich Wallace illustrated by Chris King
Backcourt Battle
A n U p2 U C h ar ac t e r E d u c at io n Adv e n t u r e by Rich Wal ace
illustrated by Chris King
An Imprint of Magic Wagon
abdopublishing.com
For Hector and Jameyre. –RW
abdopublishing.com
Published by Magic Wagon, a division of ABDO, PO Box 398166, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55439. Copyright © 2018 by Abdo Consulting Group, Inc. International copyrights reserved in all countries. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. Calico™ is a trademark and logo of Magic Wagon.
Printed in the United States of America, North Mankato, Minnesota.
052017
092017
Written by Rich Wallace
Illustrated by Chris King
Edited by Bridget O’Brien
Design Contributors: Christina Doffing and Laura Mitchell Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Wallace, Rich, author. | King, Chris, illustrator.
Title: Backcourt battle: an Up2U character education adventure / by Rich Wallace ; illustrated by Chris King.
Other titles: An Up2U character education adventure
Description: Minneapolis, MN : Magic Wagon, 2018. | Series: Up2U
adventures
Summary: After the starting point guard sprains his ankle, Jamere steps in until his rival teammate returns for the championship, but with both boys expecting to be starters, Coach asks Jamere to decide who will play and it’s up to the reader to choose the solution.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017930881 | ISBN 9781532130281 (lib. bdg.) |
ISBN 9781614798651 (ebook) | ISBN 9781614798705 (Read-to-me ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Plot-your-own stories. | Basketball--Juvenile fiction.
Classification: DDC [Fic]--dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2017930881
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Ignore the Noise .......................................................................4
Bye-Bye? ............................................................................................12
On Fire .................................................................................................19
A Rough Start .........................................................................26
Winning Streak .........................................................................32
Kyle’s Return ...............................................................................39
Loud and Rowdy ..................................................................48
Ending 1: Facing His Fear ............................................58
Ending 2: Best for the Team? .............................66
Ending 3: Teamwork ...........................................................73
Write Your Own Ending ................................................80
Chapter
1
Ignore the Noise
Jamere leaned forward. He hadn’t played at
all, but his hands were sweating. His team clung
to a narrow lead.
The fans cheered as Jamere’s teammate Kyle
tossed in a three-point shot. Fairfield led by five
with two minutes left.
Hector nudged Jamere. “We’re going to win!”
Jamere forced a smile. Kyle was playing a great
game, but it was hard for Jamere to be happy. I
should be out there, he thought.
Jamere and Kyle had been rivals for a long
time. They’d pitched against each other in Little
4
League. They’d also battled in YMCA soccer games. When Coach Sanchez named Kyle the
starting point guard, Jamere almost dropped off
the team. But Jamere wasn’t a quitter. He kept
working hard in practice.
Kyle nailed another three-pointer.
“Wow!” yelled Hector, leaping to his feet.
The upset looked certain.
Jamere stood, too. The Westwood point
guard raced up the court. Kyle stayed close.
As the guard dribbled into the lane, the
Westwood center stepped up and set a hard
screen. Kyle smashed into him. The shot went
in as Kyle fell to the floor. He grabbed his ankle,
letting out a yelp.
Kyle lay on the floor until Coach Sanchez
helped him to his feet. He hobbled to the bench
and sneered.
“Jamere,” Coach said.
Jamere gave Coach a puzzled look.
5
“Get in there,” Coach growled.
Jamere reported to the scorer’s table. “I’m in
Jamere nodded to the Westwood point
guard, Trey Freeman. He was the best player
in the league. Freeman stared him down. The
scoreboard read FAIRFIELD 53. VISITORS 45.
1:27. 4Q.
You wanted this chance, Jamere thought. Tight game. An undefeated opponent. Talk about
pressure!
6
Jamere scrambled to get open, but Freeman
stayed on him. Derek bounced the ball Jamere’s
way. Jamere turned and dribbled with Freeman
in his face.
Jamere reached the sideline. Freeman had
him trapped. He stopped dribbling. Don’t do
that, he scolded himself.
Derek waved his arms. Jamere threw the ball,
but Freeman tipped it back. They ran to the ball.
Freeman got there first, taking it in stride and
swooping toward the basket.
7
Freeman leaped for a lay-up. Jamere hacked his shoulder. The whistle blew as the ball fell
through the net.
“Number two,” said the ref, indicating a foul
on Jamere.
Freeman made the foul shot. 53–48.
Coach called a time-out. “Settle down,
Jamere,” he said.
Jamere saw Kyle staring at him. “Don’t waste
that lead,” Kyle said sternly.
“Shut it, Kyle,” Coach said. “Relax, Jamere.
And Derek, give him some help bringing up the
ball.”
“Because Freeman will eat him alive,” Kyle
said.
Coach glared at Kyle.
“I shut Freeman down all day,” Kyle said.
“Now Jamere goes in there and chokes.”
Hector gave Jamere a light punch on the
shoulder. “Ignore the noise,” he said.
8
Jamere made the inbounds pass this time, bouncing the ball to Derek. Freeman stayed
close as Jamere ran up the court. Get away from
this guy, Jamere thought. Shake him.
Jamere cut to the corner. Then he ran along
the baseline under the basket. Freeman mirrored
every step.
Derek was in trouble, with two Westwood
p
layers hounding him. Jamere looped around
behind Derek and yelled for the ball.
Derek ducked low and bounced the ball.
Jamere grabbed it.
The whistle blew again.
“Back court,” said the ref, reaching for
the basketball. Jamere had stepped over the
midcourt line.
“Wake up!” Kyle yelled from the bench.
Jamere gulped and looked at the clock. 0:46.
Where was Freeman? Jamere darted toward
him. No open shots, he thought.
9
Freeman was quick, and he knew how to get clear. Jamere shadowed him. Freeman dodged
left and stepped to the right. He took a quick
pass before Jamere could recover.
The three-point shot rippled through the net.
Fairfield’s lead was only two points.
And now Jamere had to bring the ball up
again.
Derek passed. Jamere pivoted. Freeman
poked the ball away.
Jamere recovered the ball and elbowed
Freeman. Step up and do something good, he told himself. He dribbled hard. Passed to Derek.
Slipped away from Freeman and took a return
pass.
Jamere passed to one of the forwards. The
shot glanced off the rim. Westwood grabbed the
rebound and called a time-out.
“Tight defense,” Coach said as the team
gathered around him. “They’ll be looking for
10
Freeman.” He pointed to Jamere. “Don’t. Leave.
Him. Alone.”
Sixteen seconds. A basket would force
overtime. A three-pointer meant a loss.
Jamere chased Freeman. The same play
unfolded that knocked Kyle to the floor. Bam!
the Westwood center. He watched in horror
as Freeman unleashed a jumper from behind
the arc.
The ball bounced off the rim and fell to the
side. Jamere let out a sigh of relief.
The horn blew. Game over.
Why didn’t it feel like a win?
11
Chapter
2
Bye-Bye?
Jamere walked slowly toward the locker
room. His teammates celebrated around him.
“That was tough,” Hector said. He fell into
step next to Jamere. “Coming in ice-cold off the
bench in a tight game.”
Jamere shook his head. “Freeman made me
look bad.”
Hector shrugged. “We won. You made a
difference.”
“Not much,” Jamere replied. He sat on the
bench in front of his locker. He took off his jersey.
“Barely even sweaty,” he said, folding the shirt.
12
Coach Sanchez gave his usual postgame speech. “We hung on. We beat a good team. But
we have a lot of work to do.”
“Always work to do,” Hector whispered.
Jamere looked around. “Where’s Kyle?”
“His parents took him to get an X-ray,” Derek
said. “That ankle was really swollen.”
He might be out of action, Jamere thought.
Does that make me the point guard?
Coach answered that question before Jamere
could ask it. “Expect to start in Thursday’s game,”
he told Jamere. “You did all right tonight. But
you need to think more. Be aware.”
Hector joked around on the walk home.
Jamere stayed quiet.
“We’re tied for first. Today’s win did it,”
Hector said, trying to cheer up his friend. “Maybe
I’ll play if Kyle is out,” Hector continued. “You’ve
been saying all season that you should be starting.
Now you can prove it.”
13
Jamere agreed, but he didn’t feel confident.
He hated to admit it. Kyle had done a great job
guarding Freeman. Jamere hadn’t.
“See you,” Jamere said as they reached his
street.
Hector ran off. “I need to burn some energy,”
he called. “Sitting on the bench doesn’t exactly
tire me out!”
“Come over later!” Jamere called back.
“Can’t. Social studies test tomorrow!”
Jamere wasn’t worried about the test. He’d
review the material after dinner. He was starving.
Jamere’s older brother, Micah, was in the
kitchen, looking into the refrigerator. “What’s
up, little brother?” Micah asked.
“We won,” Jamere replied. “Where’s Mom?”
“She’s working late.” Micah took out a carton
of eggs. “I’m making dinner.”
“Eggs again? I had one for breakfast.”
“They’re easy. Do you have a better idea?”
14
Jamere swung open the refrigerator door.
“There’s a carton of leftover rice back here,” he
said. “We could fry it with something.”
“Like eggs,” Micah said.
“I guess.” Jamere slid open the produce
drawer. “Here’s some mushrooms.”
Micah poured some olive oil into a pan.
“We’ll make fried-egg sandwiches. My specialty.”
“I need them. Tough game today.”
“Did you play?” Micah asked.
Jamere nodded. “Important minutes, too.”
Well, one important minute, he thought. “Kyle got hurt.”
Micah pointed to the mushrooms. “You want
to chop them, or should I?”
“Let me get rid of my stuff,” Jamere said. He
carried his backpack toward the room he shared
with Micah. The apartment was small but cozy,
with two bedrooms. Jamere, his mother, and his
brother had lived there for three years.
15
Jamere sat on the bottom bunk and pulled off his sneakers. Trophies lined the two desks.
Micah’s were mostly for high school basketball
and track. Jamere had soccer, basketball, and
baseball trophies from the town youth leagues.
This season was different. Jamere was
representing the middle school. And he was
playing against teams from other towns for the
first time.
Micah skipped basketball this year. He’d
decided to put all of his efforts into track. With
his height and his springy legs, he was one of the
best hurdlers in the county.
A note on Jamere’s desk caught his eye.
Hi Sweetie. Can’t wait to hear about the game. Micah
will make dinner. You clean up!
Love, Mom
The game. Make it sound good, he told himself.
So what if Freeman scored six points in about six seconds!
16
Jamere picked up one of Micah’s basketball
trophies.
Jamere wanted one just like that. He wanted
to earn it for playing, not by sitting on the bench.
“Come here, Jamere!” Micah called.
Jamere smiled. Micah had been calling
him that all his life: “Come here,
Jamere.” They both
loved it.
“How bad is Kyle hurt?” Micah asked.
“He turned his ankle, so I’m starting on
Thursday. That’s all I know.”
“Ankles take a while,” Micah said. “At least
a week to recover from a sprain. If
it’s broken,
then bye-bye season. I’ve been through that,
remember?”
“Ouch,” Jamere said. Micah’s basketball
season was cut short the year before by a sprain.
Jamere took a bite of his sandwich. He shut
his eyes and enjoyed the taste.
“That’s why I’m not playing this year,” Micah
said. “Didn’t want to risk another setback. Once
you twist an ankle, it’s easy to do it again.”
Jamere set down his sandwich. He didn’t like
Kyle much. But he didn’t want an injury to keep
him off the court. I just want to beat him fair and square. But I’ll take any advantage I can get.
18
Chapter
3
On Fire
At lunch the next day, Jamere noticed Kyle
was on crutches. His ankle was wrapped in a
brown bandage.
“Sprained,” Hector said. “It’ll be a week
before he can run.”
“How do you know?” Jamere asked.
“I know things.” Hector balled up his sandwich
wrapper. He shot it toward a trash basket. It fell
short.
Jamere crunched up his own wrapper. Then
he shot the paper in a high arc. It fell neatly into
the basket.
19
“That’s how it’s done,” Jamere said. “Did you talk to Kyle or what?”
Hector shook his head. “Coach told me. He
said I should be ready to work in practice. Looks
like I’ll move into your backup role.”
“Maybe we’ll go head-to-head when we
scrimmage.” Jamere liked that idea. Usually he
covered Kyle in practice. That was no fun at all.
Too many elbows and too much trash talk.
Jamere kept looking at Kyle. He sat with some
of their teammates at a table. Kyle was laughing.
He didn’t seem upset about his ankle.
Laugh now, Kyle, Jamere thought. You won’t have the starting job when you come back. It’s mine.
At practice, Coach Sanchez told the starters
to take the court. “New lineup, obviously,” he
said. “Jamere’s playing the point. Full speed.
Smart passes. Same as if Kyle was out there.”
Coach sent five others onto the court,
including Hector.
20
“Amateur hour!” Kyle called from the bleachers. “Better go easy on Jamere. He’s the
weak link.”
Coach glared at Kyle. “Try to be supportive,