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Great Moments in Basketball History
By Matt Christopher
The history of basketball is chock-full of famous buzzer-beating shots, amazing game-saving plays, and thrilling maneuvers that defy gravity. All fans have their favorite memory, just as they have their favorite team and their favorite player. Now here's a book that offers a look back at more than fifteen of the sport's best moments. The Block, The Steal, The Shot. Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar, Bird, Jordan, and James. Each entry captures the nail-biting tension of the minutes leading up to the play, as well as information about the superstar players that made them and the teams that they played for. Packed with facts and action, this is a book young basketball fans will reach for again and again!
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Shadow Over the Back Court
by Matt Christopher
Jeff is crazy about basketball, but his father, a research scientist, thinks sports are a waste of time. Jeff still wants to play, and so, without his father's support, he tries out for the school team. And he makes second string. He'd mostly sit on the bench, but Jeff knows that he will get a chance to prove himself to the coach and the team-and his father. He also knows that his dream of playing varsity will take a lot of hard work, but he enjoys every minute of practicing and playing.
After a frightening accident involving the team bus, Jeff's father insists that he quit the team. Later, the school principal convinces Jeff's father to change his mind, and eventually Jeff persuades his father to come see a game.
In a dramatic season-ending playoff game Jeff gets a chance to prove that his dream is possible-and that sports can be a valuable part of growing up.
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Published by BellaRosa Books
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Slam Dunk
by Matt Christopher
Julian Pryce is looking forward to playing basketball for the Tornadoes this year. Last season, the team went undefeated, with Julian as the star center. But to his shock and disappointment, the other boys who made the team great the previous year aren't at the first practice. Instead, Julian finds himself surrounded by newcomers and kids who rode the bench last year. There's no way the team will be as good as it once was-and Julian discovers that he doesn't like the pressure of being the sole remaining star, the player others look to to lead the team to victory. . . Will he be able to reconcile himself to this role or will he decide to take the easy way out?
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Nothin' But Net
Matt Christopher
A novel about discovering what it means to be a true friend.
Thirteen-year-old Tim Daniels can't wait to go to four weeks of summer basketball camp. A scrappy point guard, he's sure he'll shine on the court. But then he learns that his friend Billy will be going to camp with him. Billy is a good guy, but kind of flabby and not much of a basketball player. Tim is worried that Billy will drag him down, a concern that seems to come true their first week at camp when Billy becomes the butt of practical jokes. Will Tim choose to stick by his friend, or will his desire to be accepted by the popular players make him turn his back on Billy?
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The Basket Counts
Matt Christopher
On-court hostility threatens Mel's place on the team
Mel Jensen is new to the Titans basketball team, but he knows he could be a vital part of the starting lineup—if only two other plays would give him a chance to show his stuff. But Caskie and Stoney seem bent on ignoring him, and Mel knows it's because he's black. Should Mel fight fire with fire, or should he try to get along, if only for the sake of the team?
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Center Court Sting
Matt Christopher
Forward Daren McCall is quick with an insult, quick to take offense, and quick to blame anyone but himself for his troubles. So when center Lou Bettman accuses him first of bad-mouthing him, then of vandalism, Daren turns the tables and insists that Lou is out to get him. The team splits into two camps, those who believe in Daren's innocence and those who take Lou's side. The fight heats up when Daren falls victim to an outrageous act. But did Lou retaliate, as Daren suspects, or is someone else trying to teach Daren a lesson?
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Long Shot for Paul
Matt Christopher
No one tries harder than Paul...but is that enough?
Paul Marlette is a special needs kid — a little slow to learn, but always eager to try. His brother, Glenn, is determined to teach him to play basketball well enough to become part of the Sabers team. Under Glenn's patient guidance, Paul improves. But there's still a lot to overcome: Paul's difficulty grasping the rules of the game, Coach Munson's desire to have a powerhouse team, and the other Sabers who aren't sure they want Paul on the team. Can Paul and Glenn succeed in the end?
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Red-Hot Hightops
Matt Christopher
Are Kelly's new hightops magically helping her game?
When Kelly Roberts plays basketball at home with her friend Ester, she's a whiz, but as soon as she faces a crowd, she freezes. Then one day Kelly finds a brand-new pair of red hightops in her locker. They fit her perfectly, and whenever she wears them, her teammates tell her she plays a better game. She is reluctant to believe in them at first, but soon even she has to admit that the sneakers have a strange, almost overpowering effect on her. Could the mysterious hightops somehow be touched with magic?
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Wheel Wizards
Matt Christopher
Seth learns to compete on the basketball court, despite his injury
Twelve-year-old Seth Pender thinks his life came to an end when he suffered a spinal injury that left him confined to a wheelchair. Seth, an athlete who loves basketball, is sure he'll never play again. He grows sullen and silent, unresponsive when his family urges him to try to adjust. Then one day he sees an older boy who, like himself, is wheelchair bound. But this boy is playing basketball! How is that possible? Over the course of three years, Seth learns about the sport of wheelchair basketball: the similarities and differences between it and regular basketball, the skills one needs to excel at it, and the camaraderie that grows amongst the players. By the end of the story, Seth is better adjusted to his life, and ready to reach out a hand to help others find their way.
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Johnny Long Legs
Matt Christopher
Johnny's tall, but can he play hoops?
Everyone in Johnny Reese's new school assumes that his long legs will make him the star of the White Cats basketball team. But his legs have no spring, and his shorter teammates can easily out jump him. On top of his troubles on the court, Johnny has to get used to a new father and stepbrother who also expect a lot from him. Will Johnny Long Legs ever be the player everyone expects?
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Shoot for the Hoop
Matt Christopher
Can Rusty win the fight and return to the game he loves?
When Rusty Young is diagnosed with diabetes, his parents want him to stop playing basketball. But that doesn't fit in with Rusty's plan — and when he learns that his friends have formed a summer league team coached by an energetic newcomer, he's determined to persuade his parents to let him join. However, that is only one obstacle he must overcome before he can wear the Cannerville Lakers' uniform.
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Basketball Bios
Click here to see Athlete Bios, including:
- Grant Hill
- Michael Jordan
- Kobe Bryant
- Shaquille O'Neal
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