When Melissa King finds herself a transplanted southerner on the lean, mean streets of Chicago, she turns to her childhood passion for basketball in search of connection. In her late twenties, King is at a crossroads in her life, and the randomness of the game as it is played on the streets suits her mood. The rules are unwritten, the teams a haphazard collection of players, and the courts feel like home. Through basketball, King believes, she will somehow find her way. So wherever there is a game, she gets her ball and goes. From the rough, male-dominated inner-city courts of Chicago she travels to lazy oceanside pickup games in sunny California and dilapidated gyms in her Bible Belt home state. She attends a basketball camp for adult women and volunteers as a coach at the Boys and Girls Club.
In a hip, street-smart voice full of understated humor and palpable hope, King chronicles her journey and the unforgettable characters she meets along the way, using the rhythms of the court to riff on such issues as race, class, gender, religion, sexual politics, and love. Ultimately, through the jubilant swish of the net, the brunt of an egregious foul, and the knowing glance of a stranger that says yes, you can be on my team, King discovers in those rare moments on the court the countless things she wants in life but cannot name.
When Melissa King, a transplanted southerner in search of connection, finds herself on the lean, mean streets of Chicago, she turns to her childhood passion for basketball. In her late twenties, King is at a crossroads in her life, and the randomness of the game as it is played on the streets suits her mood. The rules are unwritten, the teams a haphazard collection of players, and unlike anything else around her, the courts feel like home. So wherever there is a game, she gets her ball and goes. From the rough, male-dominated inner-city courts of Chicago, she travels to lazy oceanside pickup games in sunny California and dilapidated gyms in her Bible Belt home state.
In a street-smart voice full of understated humor and palpable hope, King chronicles her journey, using the rhythms of the court to riff on the issues of race, class, gender, religion, sexual politics, and love. Ultimately, through the jubilant swish of the net, the brunt of an egregious foul, and the knowing glance of a stranger who says yes, you can be on my team, King discovers in those rare moments on the court the countless things she wants in life but cannot name.Melissa King has written for Sports Illustrated, Chicago Reader, Sport Literate, Arkansas Times, and other publications. Her story “It’s All in the Game” was selected by Richard Ford for The Best American Sports Writing 1999. She lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
King grew up in Arkansas shooting baskets in the driveway with her brother. At 27, she moved to Chicago and found herself yearning for the court in an effort to erase an inner emptiness. Her tender memoir chronicles her playing pickup basketball, meandering from playground to gym to YMCA. King first joins an amateur league, but soon branches out to Chicago's many and various multicultural neighborhood pickup games. Basketball helps her escape her less than satisfying job and love life, but she's equally engaged by the character and psychology of her fellow players, like the "old park dude" who hangs out at Wicker Park, and Tina, "a little tomboy hotdog" living in the projects. King's basketball life-and this book-wander pleasantly from game to game until, at age 35, she discovers her skills are slipping. Her desire to stay tied to basketball leads her to coach a team of 10-year-old girls, and the book takes a new direction. Transformed from casual player to coach, King evolves from a slightly removed participant to a passionate leader. Her growth is a surprising, satisfying ending to a story with wide appeal. Agent, Stella Connell. (June 9) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Shopping Cart
