Chapter 7
“Listen up, everyone,” Coach Turnbull said that afternoon in practice. “We’re going to try some new positions today.”
The other guys on the team whispered and looked around. Isaac snuck a glance at Dwayne, who was frowning.
PJ’s eyebrows went up and he glanced at Isaac. “What is this?” he whispered, but Isaac just smiled.
“Dwayne Illy, I want you at point guard today,” the coach said. “And Isaac Roth will be playing power forward. They’ll be leading the yellow team. Everyone else, grab a jersey and let’s get a five-on-five scrimmage started.”
No one said anything, but Isaac could tell that the other players were surprised.
The yellow team got the ball first. Dwayne dribbled well and stood at the top of the key to call a play. Then he called the first play.
Isaac knew all the plays perfectly, since he normally called them. The play that Dwayne called meant the power forward would fall back for a sneak pass, and then drive up for a layup. Isaac headed back toward Dwayne, but just then Dwayne passed to PJ at the baseline.
PJ managed to catch the pass and tried to lay it up, but he was under the backboard. The ball bounced off the bottom and went out of bounds.
The coach blew his whistle. “Wrong play, Dwayne,” he said. “You called for Isaac to come back, then passed to PJ. No one was ready for it.”
“Sorry, Coach,” Dwayne said. “I’m not used to playing point guard.”
“All right, play ball,” the coach said. He tossed the ball in to the red team.
On the yellow team’s next drive, Dwayne took his time at the top of the key. He called a play for Trey Smith, but when Trey got open, Dwayne didn’t pass him the ball.
“Trey is open!” Isaac called out.
Dwayne struggled at the top of the key, and then passed to Isaac.
Isaac tried to drive. He managed to lose a defender, but two other red team players swarmed over him. One of them stole the ball and threw it down the court for an easy fast break.
“You called for Trey and didn’t pass to him,” Isaac said. “He was wide open.”
“I meant to call you up,” Dwayne said. “Sorry. This is all new to me.”
Isaac sighed. “It’s cool,” he said.
The next drive, Dwayne called the right play and passed to Isaac. Isaac drove hard to the basket. He thought about how his brother would do it, with a few spins and a slam dunk. Isaac couldn’t dunk, but he had some dribbling skills.
He lost both defenders and put up a layup, but a strong arm fell over him and knocked him to the wood.
The coach blew his whistle. “Foul,” he said. “Take two, Isaac.”
Isaac went to the line. He almost never took foul shots, but he had a good outside shot. He looked at the rim, raised the ball, and shot.
Swish!
“Nice one, Isaac,” the coach said.
On the next shot, the other players lining the lane got ready for the rebound. Isaac shot, but this time the ball fell to the right. PJ got the rebound and laid it up for two more.
“Good one, PJ!” Dwayne said.
When the red team was winning 18-8, the yellow team brought the ball up again. Dwayne called a play. Isaac had to cut across the lane, then right back, losing his defender. Dwayne would pass to him right in the middle of the lane, and Isaac should have an easy layup.
But Dwayne had the play backward. When Isaac cut across, Dwayne threw a pass like a rocket, but Isaac was facing the wrong way. The ball hit Isaac right in the back of the head, and he fell to the floor like a sack of bricks.