Slam Dunk by Matt Christopher, Robert Hirschfeld Page B

last practice and now?”
    Julian didn’t answer right away. Then he looked Grady in the face and said, “Barry’s going to be working hard, harder than he ever has, probably, just so he can come back and do these drills. How can I slack off, knowing that?”

9
    A fter the break, Coach Valenti split the team into squads for a five-on-five scrimmage. Julian’s squad included Grady at point guard; a stocky boy named Anthony, who had a surprisingly soft touch, at shooting guard; and Mick and Roger, another newcomer, at the forward positions. Cal would work against Julian at center for the other squad, which also included Len and a wiry guy from last year named Brandon as the guards, along with Warren and another new face, Terrell, at forward. Terrell, tall and long-armed, looked as if he had good defensive instincts.
    “Julian’s squad will open on offense to start,” said the coach. “For the moment, I want both squads working on their zone defense. Later, you might go man-to-man instead, but we need work on our zones. The Falcons moved the ball around well last year; they’re sharp passers, and I’m thinking zones could be effective against them. I’ll be calling any fouls. Okay, let’s go.”
    Grady took the ball under his squad’s basket and passed to Mick, who flipped it back to Grady to bring it into the offensive zone. Brandon, the opposing point guard, shadowed Grady to the midcourt line. The defenders went into a 2–3 zone, with the guards on either side of the key, a few feet in front of the foul line. The forwards set themselves five feet from the baseline and five feet from the sides of the key. Cal, the center, was about eight feet from the basket, to the right of the key.
    Brandon moved in on Grady, who fired a chest-high pass to Roger to his left. Julian moved inside with his back to the basket. Cal slid over to pick him up. Grady came around behind Roger, who tossed him the ball and ran toward the baseline, his hands held high as if to take a pass. Terrell darted between Warren and Roger to block a pass, but Grady passed to Mick instead. Mick faked a shot and bounced a pass back to Grady as Julian pivoted around Cal toward the basket. Grady tossed the ball too high for Cal to reach, but Julian grabbed the ball and lofted it up over the rim and into the net for two points.
    As they raced back to their defensive positions, Julian and Grady touched hands briefly, congratulating each other for the bucket.
    “Defense, go to a one–three–one zone,” the coach called. The 1–3–1 called for Grady, as point guard, to set up in the middle near midcourt. Julian moved almost under the basket, just outside the key, while the other three defenders formed a line ten feet from the basket.
    Brandon brought the ball over midcourt. Grady harassed his opponent with darting hands, trying to break his concentration and cause a turnover. Brandon gave up his dribble and held the ball overhead, looking for an open man. Grady moved in on him. Suddenly, Mick swept in, leaving Brandon trapped between two defenders and unable to dribble out of the jam. Brandon flung up a desperation pass in the general direction of Len, who was trying to get away from Anthony. Len lunged after the ball and pulled it in before it went out-of-bounds.
    Len fired a chest pass to Terrell. Terrell turned to shoot but noticed Cal, in the low post to the right of the basket, waving a hand and hoping to get the ball. Terrell threw a bounce pass to Cal, who took it and dribbled out a little farther from the key, with Julian close behind him. Warren ran to the baseline so that Cal could set a pick for him, and Cal tossed Warren the ball. Cal’s pick left Warren open for a fifteen-foot jump shot, which rimmed the hoop and wouldn’t fall.
    Julian found himself in perfect position for the rebound. As he went up to clear the boards, he saw Grady run full-speed for the other basket, with Mick close behind. Julian threw a long, baseball-style pass