the best in everybody else.”
Sarah made a little fist, knowing he was close to the end now.
“I know candidates are supposed to make a lot of promises,” he said, “but I’ve only got one: If I’m for you I’ll never be against you. I’ve never been the biggest star. Just the best teammate you could ever have. Thank you very much.”
Sarah was the first one to jump to her feet, halfway between the stage and the gym doors. Then Joe was up with her, and Bobby and Jamal. Then the whole audience was standing, Pedro noticing that Jeff and Dave were the last two to get up.
When it finally got quiet again, Mr. Lucchino said, “Would you care to rebut, Mr. Hancock?”
Ned shook his head.
“I’m done,” he said.
SEVENTEEN
The next game with Wilton was the day after the debate. If you could even call it a debate, Joe kept saying.
“Looked more like a beatdown to me,” he said.
“I did okay,” Pedro said.
“Yeah,” he said, “like the Spurs did okay in the Finals when they swept LeBron four straight.”
The election would be held Monday. Normally, Pedro would have been all fixed on that, worrying it to death all weekend. But now here came the Wilton Warriors again, in the gym at Wilton High. Here was a chance for them to even the score right away for the way the last game between them had ended, Pedro missing that shot at the buzzer.
He’d worry about the election when the game was over.
Coach Cory went with their regular starting lineup, what Pedro was sure now would be the regular starting lineup the rest of the season unless somebody got hurt:
Ned, Joe, Jeff, Dave, Jamal.
In the huddle right before the game started, it almost seemed as if he’d prepared what he wanted to say to them the way Pedro had prepared his speech for the debate.
“We’re winning this game today,” he said. “We’re winning the championship of today. We’re winning because we’re not going to let them go through another season undefeated. We’re winning because we’re not letting them think from now to the playoffs that they got our number. ’Cause they don’t. ’Cause when we play Knights basketball we’re the best. So that’s all I’m asking you to do today: Don’t play your game. Play our game. ’Cause it’s not gonna be just one of you beating them today on their own dang court. It’s gonna be all of you.”
I hope, Pedro thought.
And it sure looked like a total team effort at the start when Joe Sutter, of all people, was left wide-open because of double-teams on Ned, and Joe promptly made the two longest outside shots he’d made all year.
Just like that, the Knights were ahead, 4-0.
Dave DeLuca, maybe just going on pride, was doing a much better job on Kyle Sullivan than last game. Kyle was getting his points, and so was Nate Clark. But they had to work to get them, and knew they were going to have to keep working and keep scoring to stay in the game.
Because as soon as Joe stopped shooting, Ned started.
And in the first half, he could not miss.
He couldn’t miss even when he was off-balance a little, or didn’t seem to have the best look at the basket. Or had a hand in his face. Didn’t matter whether they were double-teaming him or not. Pedro had never seen him this hot, or shooting this much. Coach might have said it wasn’t just going to be one of them today, but right now that’s exactly the way it was.
It was Ned against the world.
Being the man.
Coach left him in with the second unit, but Pedro just did what Dave had been doing when Dave was at the point, which meant giving Ned the ball and just getting out of the way.
At the half, the Knights were ahead, 36-24.
Ned had twenty of the Knights’ points.
“It’s like he’s trying to prove some kind of point,” Joe said to Pedro.
“Yeah,” Pedro said. “ Lots of points.”
For this one half of basketball the guy Pedro used to think was the ultimate team guy had become a one-man team. But nobody on the
Sarah made a little fist, knowing he was close to the end now.
“I know candidates are supposed to make a lot of promises,” he said, “but I’ve only got one: If I’m for you I’ll never be against you. I’ve never been the biggest star. Just the best teammate you could ever have. Thank you very much.”
Sarah was the first one to jump to her feet, halfway between the stage and the gym doors. Then Joe was up with her, and Bobby and Jamal. Then the whole audience was standing, Pedro noticing that Jeff and Dave were the last two to get up.
When it finally got quiet again, Mr. Lucchino said, “Would you care to rebut, Mr. Hancock?”
Ned shook his head.
“I’m done,” he said.
SEVENTEEN
The next game with Wilton was the day after the debate. If you could even call it a debate, Joe kept saying.
“Looked more like a beatdown to me,” he said.
“I did okay,” Pedro said.
“Yeah,” he said, “like the Spurs did okay in the Finals when they swept LeBron four straight.”
The election would be held Monday. Normally, Pedro would have been all fixed on that, worrying it to death all weekend. But now here came the Wilton Warriors again, in the gym at Wilton High. Here was a chance for them to even the score right away for the way the last game between them had ended, Pedro missing that shot at the buzzer.
He’d worry about the election when the game was over.
Coach Cory went with their regular starting lineup, what Pedro was sure now would be the regular starting lineup the rest of the season unless somebody got hurt:
Ned, Joe, Jeff, Dave, Jamal.
In the huddle right before the game started, it almost seemed as if he’d prepared what he wanted to say to them the way Pedro had prepared his speech for the debate.
“We’re winning this game today,” he said. “We’re winning the championship of today. We’re winning because we’re not going to let them go through another season undefeated. We’re winning because we’re not letting them think from now to the playoffs that they got our number. ’Cause they don’t. ’Cause when we play Knights basketball we’re the best. So that’s all I’m asking you to do today: Don’t play your game. Play our game. ’Cause it’s not gonna be just one of you beating them today on their own dang court. It’s gonna be all of you.”
I hope, Pedro thought.
And it sure looked like a total team effort at the start when Joe Sutter, of all people, was left wide-open because of double-teams on Ned, and Joe promptly made the two longest outside shots he’d made all year.
Just like that, the Knights were ahead, 4-0.
Dave DeLuca, maybe just going on pride, was doing a much better job on Kyle Sullivan than last game. Kyle was getting his points, and so was Nate Clark. But they had to work to get them, and knew they were going to have to keep working and keep scoring to stay in the game.
Because as soon as Joe stopped shooting, Ned started.
And in the first half, he could not miss.
He couldn’t miss even when he was off-balance a little, or didn’t seem to have the best look at the basket. Or had a hand in his face. Didn’t matter whether they were double-teaming him or not. Pedro had never seen him this hot, or shooting this much. Coach might have said it wasn’t just going to be one of them today, but right now that’s exactly the way it was.
It was Ned against the world.
Being the man.
Coach left him in with the second unit, but Pedro just did what Dave had been doing when Dave was at the point, which meant giving Ned the ball and just getting out of the way.
At the half, the Knights were ahead, 36-24.
Ned had twenty of the Knights’ points.
“It’s like he’s trying to prove some kind of point,” Joe said to Pedro.
“Yeah,” Pedro said. “ Lots of points.”
For this one half of basketball the guy Pedro used to think was the ultimate team guy had become a one-man team. But nobody on the
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