I looked at him for a long time, and then I nodded. He stepped back away from me, and I got my stuff from the locker and went on over to the gym.

I called the hospital from the Mahoney Gym and found out that Mary-Ann was going to be okay. Everybody was relieved to hear that, and uptight at the same time. I found myself watching every move that Cal made. I told myself that if he pulled something dirty on us, I’d kill him. And for the first time I really meant it.

We got dressed, and Cal told us just to play the best we can. “You go out there and give it everything you got,” he said, “and you have to win. Because what you got is more than what they got.”

I didn’t really want to hear it. A guy came in and said that there were ten minutes to game time. We all went out, and Cal told me to sit on the bench and put a towel around my legs like I was hurt or something.

“If I ain’t going to play, what I got to be here for?” I asked.

“Sit on the bench like I told you,” he said. “And look around the stands for cats that look out of place.”

“Now what does that mean?” I asked as he walked away.

They interviewed Cal on television. I heard part of it, where they were asking him what the tournament meant to the players. Only they were giving him the answers right along with the questions.

“Besides a chance to be seen by college scouts and, perhaps, a chance to get into a college,” the announcer said, “what other benefits does this tournament hold for these fine athletes?”

“For most of them,” Cal said, “it’s going to end right here. The chances of them making it into college ball are slim at best. It’s a fun thing, and that’s primarily how it should be looked at.”

“Well, of course it’s fun,” the announcer said, pulling the mike away from Cal, “and though there won’t be chances for college ball for all of the players, they will all have had the opportunity to show what they can do.”

It went on for a little while longer, but mostly they stayed away from Cal. Then the television guy came over and said that they would be ready in ten minutes. The refs came and told us that, and Cal took us back in the locker room for a final talk.

“Okay, here’s the starting five,” he said. “Roy in the middle, Paul and Ox up front, Breeze and Jo-Jo in the backcourt. Jo-Jo’s going to be on Tomkins. We got to play tough defense and a careful game. No run-and-shoot stuff. Everybody got that?”

“How come Lonnie ain’t starting?” Ox asked.

“Because I said so,” Cal came back. “Now let’s get out there and play some ball.”