Foul trouble

John Feinstein

Book - 2013

"College recruiters are clambering to sign up Terrell Jamerson, the #1 high school basketball player in the country. But not all of these recruiters are straight shooters, and Terrell will have to think fast if he wants to stay in the game"--

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Subjects
Published
New York : Alfred A. Knopf 2013.
Language
English
Main Author
John Feinstein (-)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
392 pages ; 22 cm
ISBN
9780375869648
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

*Starred Review* Fueled by plenty of high-octane sports action, Feinstein's latest fast-break tale of intrigue and corruption in the world of athletics focuses on the hubbub surrounding a nationally ranked high-school basketball player. Terrell Jamerson has a clear path to the NBA, but there's an awful lot to navigate through: dazzling offers from colleges, enticing glimpses of the high life offered by unscrupulous scouts and agents, pressures exerted by sleazy friends, and eagle-eyed NCAA officials with agendas of their own. Fortunately, not only is Terrell level-headed but he has loyal friends in teammate Danny, a point guard who is also getting noticed by college recruiters, and Danny's stubbornly honest father, who coaches their team through a series of hard-fought games. A character from previous books, investigative journalist Bobby Kelleher, gets a significant supporting role, and Feinstein brings in actual players, coaches, reporters, and scouts for verisimilitude-building cameos. He also delivers blistering indictments of the NCAA: for leaning heavily on secondary young prospects while turning a blind eye to infractions by major ones and to the recruitment system for blatantly exploiting young athletes. Readers will understand how hard Terrell's choices are particularly after two accidents make taking the quick money look like the safer option. They will cheer him, too, as a team leader who ultimately makes decisions for the right reasons.--Peters, John Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 8 Up-A riveting, cautionary tale about behind-the-scenes, big-money pressures confronting talented high school athletes. Blending a breadth of basketball knowledge with an understanding of the vulnerability of young superstars, Feinstein deftly describes the on- and off-court friendships, dilemmas, and decisions made by Massachusetts seniors Terrell Jamerson and Danny Wilcox. When Terrell, the star forward, and Danny, the point guard, are invited to an elite summer camp, Coach Wilcox, Danny's respected and protective father, insists on coming, too-to coach and to keep an eye on the scouts, agents, and well-wishers who surround his players. Here, Terrell and Danny meet Bob Kelleher, a journalist whose personal mission is to expose the good guys and bad guys surrounding the teens. The camp is just the beginning of the media, marketing, and recruiting blitz that consumes nationally top-ranked Terrell. Danny encourages him to tell Kelleher about the backdoor propositions and manipulation that also engulf his mother and her boyfriend. After an emotionally grueling championship season, Terrell and Danny finally face the cameras and announce their college decisions. Teens will enjoy the vibrant court action, player repartee, budding romances, Danny's hot-tempered loyalty, and the realistic portrayal of Terrell's uncertainty. Harvard's Tommy Amaker, Duke's Mike Krzyzweski, and High School Basketball Illustrated's revered editor, Tom Konchalski, make cameo appearances, offering advice and promoting integrity. Meanwhile, two fictitious colleges are portrayed as emerging athletic powerhouses condoning illegal recruiting and kickbacks. Timely hot topics are embedded in this action-packed sports story. Readers will breathlessly await Terrell's final decision.-Gerry Larson, formerly at Durham School of the Arts, NC (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review

Danny works to guide his friend and teammate, Terrell Jamerson, through the trials and temptations of the college recruiting process, as agents, boosters, and other "dudes" look to hitch a ride with the top recruit. Engaging characters (including real-life cameos), intense basketball action, and sports-writer Feinstein's behind-the-scenes background provide an authentic view of a system that can both promote and exploit young athletes. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Two prominent high school basketballers navigate college decisions amid a throng of unscrupulous coaches, agents, shoe-company representatives and other hangers-on vying for their attention. The third-person narrator switches--sometimes unexpectedly--between two boys' points of view: Terrell Jamerson, one of the most aggressively recruited high school seniors in the country, and his friend and teammate Danny Wilcox. At a summer camp ironically called "School Comes First," the boys get their first taste of what will become a yearlong ordeal. Despite NCAA rules about what kinds of incentives high school and college basketball players can accept, sleazy men in suits keep showing up to court Terrell and anyone they think can influence him. There is a large cast of characters to keep track of, and the story unfolds over most of a year, but sophisticated readers will be rewarded. The on-court scenes excellently pair discussions of plays and strategy with nail-biting, second-by-second action. The off-court intrigue is similarly tense. Danny's quick temper, Terrell's occasional navet and their coach's firm levelheadedness clash dramatically with the slick maneuvers of exploitative adults. The factors surrounding Terrell's choices are presented thoughtfully and without didacticism. Thorough and suspenseful; a must-read for those interested in basketball and the dealings surrounding the sport. (Fiction. 14 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Sitting in the backseat of his father's jeep, Danny Wilcox was fantasizing about the moves he was going to make going head to head against the top high school basketball players in the country at a showcase summer camp. Of course, it helped that the best high school player in the country was sitting in the front seat and would be Danny's teammate while he was facing all those other top players. Terrell Jamerson was basketball perfection. Lean, wiry-strong, six foot seven. His jumping ability had been described by one scouting service in a few words: "There's not a high school gym in America that can hold him. Maybe--maybe--the Dean Dome or Rupp Arena can hold him." Terrell could dunk with either hand, sucked up rebounds like a vacuum cleaner, and was deadly from the outside--making 47 percent of his three-point attempts. Danny, by comparison, was six feet tall and could jump reasonably well--"for a white boy," as Terrell liked to put it. He made about 35 percent of his three-point attempts--mostly wide-open shots because Terrell was being double-teamed. Maybe his most telling stat was that he shot 92 percent from the free throw line. Danny's game was about practice, determination, and smarts. A coach's kid, he'd been around the game all his life. He knew the history, the X's and O's, the options. Which made him a terrific point guard, running the offense for his team. He knew each of his teammates' abilities, knew where the ball should go--usually to Terrell. Where Danny spent the game analyzing, Terrell just played. He had the kind of raw ability that made his game look effortless. Danny was fully aware that he was attending this camp because of Terrell. His dad too, really. Andy Wilcox had been the coach at Lexington High School for twelve years and had always produced solid, competitive teams. But everything had changed when Melinda Jamerson had decided to move her son from Hartford, Connecticut, to Lexington, Massachusetts, because she didn't like the environment he was going to school in. As luck would have it, Melinda's decision to move her family had coincided with her son's six-inch growth spurt the previous summer. Suddenly, Terrell Jamerson was unstoppable. The year before Jamerson arrived, the Lexington Minutemen had gone 17-10. A year later, with Terrell in the lineup, they went 27-3, won a prestigious Christmas tournament in Myrtle Beach, and just missed out on the state title. And that was only because Terrell had fouled out of the championship game. People had noticed. By midwinter, Lexington's gym had begun to fill up--not just with fans but with coaches. The college coaches were easy to pick out because they almost always wore a shirt or a sweater in their school colors with the school's name or logo on it. But they weren't the only newcomers. No one from Lexington ever came to see the Minutemen play wearing a suit, but suddenly there were very expensive suits seen in the stands. "Agents, shoe company reps, bird dogs for agents--you name it, they're there," Danny's dad told him one night at dinner. "None of this is good." "It isn't?" Danny asked. "Isn't it good that all these people think Terrell can be a star?" "It doesn't take any kind of genius to see that Terrell can be a star," Andy Wilcox answered. "What he needs is to pick a college and a coach who will care about him and not about promoting his own career." Following that breakout season, Danny knew that Terrell was being bombarded with letters from coaches and with phone calls, emails, texts, tweets, and Facebook messages. Even though the NCAA had all sorts of rules about how much contact coaches could have with high school recruits, it seemed like a flood to him. It had even spilled over into Danny's life. Realistically, Danny figured his best bet to play in college was at a Division III school. His dad kept pushing him to keep up his grades so he could have a shot at Williams or Amherst, which had high-quality D-3 teams. And there had been some interest from academic-minded Division I schools like nearby Holy Cross and even Harvard. When Danny showed his father the introductory letter from Harvard's coach, Tommy Amaker, his eyes had gone wide. Harvard, like the Division III schools, didn't give athletic scholarships, but his father didn't care. "You find a way to get in there, and I'll find a way to pay for it." But as Terrell's national profile had broadened, so had Danny's. All of a sudden, he had letters from Kentucky, Indiana, North Carolina, Maryland, and UCLA. Which was weird. Danny knew his game had improved greatly since he started playing with Terrell. But he also knew he wouldn't play very much, if at all, at any of those schools. "It's called a package deal," his father told him. "They know you're Terrell's best friend. If they think that taking you will entice him to come, then they'll give you a scholarship. They always have one or two extra, because there are thirteen scholarships allowed and no one plays more than ten guys." "So I'd be on the team to help during practice," Danny said. "You'd be on the team as long as Terrell is on the team," his father answered. "Don't feel bad. You're not the only one. Suddenly, a lot of schools think I have potential as an assistant coach." It was all so dizzying. In order to try to protect Terrell from the outsiders, as he had started to call them, Andy Wilcox decided to start his own summer league team so he could keep a close eye on Terrell during the summer camps and tournaments where the recruiting process would begin in earnest. At first, the AAU--which ran most of the tournaments--balked, claiming there was no time to certify the new team for the summer. When Andy Wilcox informed the AAU that the only team Terrell Jamerson would play for that summer was the newly formed Rebels, the team was miraculously certified within a couple of weeks. Coach Wilcox had explained to Terrell that he wanted to coach him because he didn't trust a lot of the AAU coaches who were in charge of summer league teams to watch out for him. Terrell had agreed but then showed up at the house one night appearing upset. "Coach, you've been great to me and to my mom . . . ," he said. "But?" Andy Wilcox said. "Some people are sayin' you want to coach me this summer so you can make a name for yourself--maybe get a college job out of it." "Stay right here," Coach Wilcox said. He stood up and left the room. A moment later he was back, a clutch of papers in his hands. "Read these," he said, handing the papers to Terrell. Terrell read them, his eyes widening as he did. "All these guys are practically offering you jobs," he said. "Big-time schools too. Whoa." Coach Wilcox nodded. "So your friends are right--being your coach does open up opportunities for me. But I don't want some college job. Terrell, there are a lot of people out there who are trying to get to you. Either directly or through a back door like me. They see you as someone who can help make them rich and maybe even famous someday. I don't want to give you a big head, but when someone like you comes along, people want to get on for the ride. Look at the posse LeBron James has. Those guys are all living on his money and his fame." "But, Coach, I'm not LeBron. . . ." "I know you're not, Terrell, and I'm very glad you know you're not. But you have lots of potential. No one knows who is going to be the next LeBron James and who is going to be the next Lenny Cooke." "Who's Lenny Cooke?" Terrell and Danny asked at the same time. "He was a kid people thought might be as good as LeBron when they were both in high school. I guarantee you, he had as many people hanging on him as LeBron did, and as you do now. I can also guarantee you they're long gone. All these new friends, Terrell--you think if you tear up your knee tomorrow, they're still going to be hanging around? The coaches? The shoe company reps?" Terrell was quiet for a moment, still staring at the letters. "I get it, Coach." "You've got a million options, but you have to be careful, Terrell," Coach Wilcox said. He looked at Danny. "We all have to be careful." Excerpted from Foul Trouble by John Feinstein All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.