The Game Jody Lee The ball bounces off the back of the rim… it still has a chance. Everyone anticipates the outcome of the shot. The whole game comes down to this one shot. The whole season. The pressure is getting to everyone. Basketball has always been an important sport in this small town. One of the only thing kids does around here. Our town is unheard of ; Canton, Ohio. Pretty much everyone knows each other. Everything is small in our town even our high school. Only composed of 600 people. Our basketball team is one of the top-rated teams in the state. Our team went to state last year and is expected to do the same this year. We are undefeated so far, and plan to keep it that way. Oh yeah, if you didn't already know, my name is Jonathan. John for short, star center for the Canton Chargers. This is my senior year in high school, and I plan to go out with a bang. I plan to take my team to state and win that championship. My team this year is 11-0. We are going to the Ohio tournament tommorow. We have to win all of our games, or we are eliminated. Let me introduce you to the team. Fred is the point guard; he's new, so I don't know much about him. All I know is he feeds me the ball in the paint for the easy points. Greg is the other guard; he doesn't do much on the court, but he's a nice guy. Jamal is the forward and he's pretty explosive. He can drive like no other man. Finally, Jimmy is the other guard. He can shoot the three, drive, and do it all. But myself, I can do it all. I can shoot the mid-ranged jump shot, post up, drive, block, steal, you name it and I can do it. I'm kind of nervous about the game this weekend. I hear scouts will be there. Since this is my senior year, I need a scholarship to go to college. Some say I can go straight to the NBA. I've played ball all my life and I plan to do it until I'm retired. I've been blessed with skills and I plan to use them. Our competition for tomorrow's game is the Loiac Hammerheads, our rival school.We beat them in the championship game last year so they want their revenge. I can't figure out why we're playing them in the first round. I can't let my team get knocked out of the tournament in the first round, so I have to bring my A game. I'm the leader of the team and I will carry them to victory. Gameday…and I couldn't sleep at all last night. "You ready John?" asked Jamal "I'm always ready, is you ready?" I asked "You know I'm ready." "Then let's do this." This was an away game, but we had many fans in the crowd. I knew in order to win I would have to take the game in my own hands. "Feed me the ball" I told everyone The tip-off started and we got it. I immediately went to the post and got the ball for an easy hook shot. I started off hot. Ten of twelve of our teams points in the first few minutes. Our offense was going, but our defense wasn't. We played zone, man-to-man but nothing would work. They were 12-17 from the three-point line in the first quarter alone. While we were only one-one. The tension was running high. Everyone wanted to win this game so badly. In the second quarter I decided I must play even better. I yelled at my teammates for the rock every chance I got. By half-time I ended up scoring 34 points. The score was 52-71 and we were being demolished. The coach was furious. "What's wrong with you bums!? Is John the only one who knows how to score??" he yelled furiously. The locker room was dead silent and we went back to the game. I knew I was on fire and the scouts were impressed. I thought to myself that I could get over 60 points by time the game was over. I didn't care about winning the game as long as I got a good report. I forgot what really mattered, helping the team to win. In the 3rd quarter our defense got better, and I got even better scoring. I heard my name being called almost every possession for scoring. When a teammate took an open shot I yelled for the pass. I was even able to score with the double team. I felt unstoppable. But I couldn't do it alone.. 4th quarter, 10 seconds left. The score was 104-106 Hammerheads. I knew I was going to have to be the one to tie the game. "Pass the ball man, you can't do it alone." Fred said At that moment I had a moment of clarity, I knew that winning the game was more important then my personal statistics. I knew that to win that I would have to pass the ball. As I was walking on the court, I planned out how we we're going to win the game. I called for the ball in the post. With 6 seconds left. I backed down the man then the double team came. I saw wide-open Fred in the corner to win the game. He jumps and shoots. The ball bounces off the back of the rim… it still has a chance. Everyone anticipates the outcome of the shot. The whole game comes down to this one shot. The whole season. The pressure is getting to everyone. The ball misses, and I blame myself for the loss. I knew if I would have passed the ball more instead of being a "ball hog", we probably would have won the game. Now we're eliminated from the tournament, and our season is over.