From GAME CHANGERS #2: PLAY MAKERS "Well, I hope I can do that when you're playing your hardest," Chase Braggs said, and then said he'd see Ben when they played the next Saturday in Rockwell. There was a ball just sitting there on the floor, just outside the three-point line. As Chase walked across to where his coach was waiting for him, he casually scooped up the ball, turned and squared up and fired one last shot that hit nothing but net, like it was as easy as making a layup. Then he wagged his finger one more time the way he had in the game, kept walking. Not even chasing after the ball, as if he knew somebody else would go pick it up later. Just turning and giving Ben one last wave, not to say good-bye, Ben knew, just to make sure that Ben had been watching. Ben stood there and watched as Chase, hair almost as red as the red uniform he was wearing, got one last high five for the day, this one from his coach. Ben feeling as if Chase had made one last shot on him, and thinking: I was playing my hardest. Excerpted from Play Makers by Mike Lupica 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.
