Publisher's Synopsis
Growing up in South Central isn't easy for anyone. However, for Myles, it's much more than that. Myles is the boy who was never supposed to be born. He is the forbidden child between a modern-day Romeo & Juliet. His father was a local legend around the city who seemed destined to make it to the NBA before he was tragically murdered in his senior year of high school. Myles doesn't really know how great he was and all he cares about is escaping his father's shadow. Ever since he was a youngster he has constantly been compared to him. Myles is half Mexican & half Black. His love for basketball is unmatched. In fact, he considers himself, "married to the game." He will do anything to make it to the top! His best friend Otto is a white boy from Oklahoma, they had been connected to the hip since day one. Myles considers Otto his brother as does Otto's family for Myles. The two of them refuse to get caught up in the gang life that surrounds them in South Central. Instead, they work hard in school and push each other to be great on the court.Check out this excerpt from the book."The rest of the school day went by fast. There is an hour in between 6th-period sports studies and practice. Otto and I usually hang out in the locker room. I have no idea where everyone else goes. Some of them don't even show up until 5 minutes before practice starts. By that time, we will already be in the gym stretching. These other guys are so annoying to be around, all they want to talk about is drugs, fights, and girls. I'm too focused on making sure I get my family out of here. That includes Otto. Coach didn't let us scrimmage today, he was to busy talking with some AAU guys about Tayvon, I have seen them hand him an envelope. I'm pretty sure that they're paying him to make sure Tayvon is starting. My Mom won't let me play AAU not only does it cost quite a bit of money, but she told me basketball shouldn't consume my life, there is so much more out there then the hardwood, backboard, and sneakers. She wants me to experience it all. I think when she lost my Dad basketball broke her heart, she couldn't even watch a game without thinking of him. Even when I was younger, she tried to get me to fall in love with any other sport. First, it was soccer, then football, then baseball. None of them grabbed me like basketball. I remember she wouldn't even buy me a little hoop, I had to practice with rolled-up paper balls and trash cans. It wasn't until my 8th birthday that she bought me a pair of basketball sneakers, a hoop, and a ball, from then on it was off to the races. Everything was basketball, just like my mother feared. I completely fell in love with the game. Every phase of it. So, we made a deal I could only play for the city league or my school, not both, and no travel ball teams. At the time I thought it was a fair deal, that was before I realized how much more exposure playing in AAU gets you, so many more scouts show up to those games, you can be on the scouting radar when you are in middle school. I haven't seen a scout show up to one of my games, I know that I'm only a sophomore, but I'm better than a lot of dudes getting looks. Specially Tayvon, I mean he had Azusa Pacific University Scouting him last year and I don't even go to church. So you're telling me a Christian university has him on their radar. The more I think about other people getting opportunities when I don't the more it eats me up. I have to remind myself to stay focused, plus like Otto would say, "I'm a shark, and sharks don't concern themselves with what fish are doing, they are to busy doing shark things."This is a story about Family, Friendship, and Basketball. Myles & Otto fight through adversity in an attempt to overcome every obstacle that tries to keep them down and take them out. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to the Author on Instagram @kr_headlee.writes he is always available to answer any questions you may have.