Coach, basketball has always been a huge part of who I am, and I've been thinking a lot about it; but, unless somebody can tell me why this game matters right now, I don’t think I can play.
You know, every time you take this court we come in under that old faded banner up there says, 'Home of the Monarchs.' Anyone know who the Monarchs were?
The Monarchs were the best basketball team in the state, back in the fifties.
Yea, some people say they were. But, they were never in the record books because the Monarchs were an all black team. Back in those days, when I was your age, blacks and whites weren't allowed to play this game together. I was on the best team in the state, but we all knew there was another one, the Monarchs. One night both teams snuck in here, locked the doors, and squared off. They were good, oh they were damn good. We played four games. They got their shots, we got ours. Then, something magical happened. Something, that none of us could have anticipated. Something that had never happened in this state before. We decided to mix the teams. Their captain and our captain started picking players. As it turned out I was the next to the last one picked. And, their captain looked me in the eye and said 'I'll take Whitey.’' And, it stuck, that's how I got my nickname. That night changed all our lives. We were no longer black players or white players, we were just players. We shut out the world and played, together. We played a game that we loved and that night, that game changed everything. I haven't been the same since. You want me to tell you that this game matters. I promise you son, it does matter. Let the game heal you Lucas. Come back to us son.
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