Wheel Wizards (6 page)

“Maybe … maybe he thinks I should be doing better. Even though I'm doing pretty well, maybe he wants me to do better. Except
…
why
? If I'm doing well already?”

“You're doing so well that you couldn't possibly be doing better?” Brian smiled at Seth. “Is that what you mean?”

Seth snorted. “Of course not! You can always do better! But if he said something nice once in a while, I might want to work
even harder. Why not give me a break sometimes?”

Brian sighed. “I can't tell you the answer to that one. Everybody has his own way of working, and there are probably reasons
why this coach does what he does. You might want to keep thinking about what they could be.”

Seth nodded. “I guess.”

“You still thinking about quitting the team?”

“I guess not right now, anyway. I'll stick it out a little longer.”

Brian grinned at Seth. “I think you made a good decision. See? That's
my
way of working, to let you know when you do something good.”

Later that afternoon, Seth and Lou were in Seth's room, working together on their science project, when Phyllis knocked on
the door and stuck her head in. “How was practice?”

Seth made a face. “Okay, I guess.”

“Is there a problem?” she asked.

Seth explained what was going on between him and the coach. Lou said, “Seth thinks that the coach has a grudge against him,
but I'm not so sure.”

Phyllis came into the room and leaned against the door. “You remember how I used to complain about my math teacher in seventh
grade? How she was always giving me a hard time, and I thought she was totally unfair?”

“Yeah, I remember,” said Seth. “But you changed your mind later on, right?”

“Right. I found out she had decided I was really good at math and that I could goof off all year and still get a good grade.
But she knew I could do better than good, so she made sure I wouldn't loaf. And now I feel grateful to her.”

Lou sat up. “Maybe that's it! Maybe the coach thinks you're so good he wants you to make the most of your talent.”

Seth shrugged, but the idea stayed with him and was still in his head when he went to sleep that night.

Could it be that Wes had especially high expectations for him? And, if so, was it worth putting up with a lot of grief to
try to meet those expectations?

L
isten up, guys!” Wes had just assembled the team to begin practice. “I have a few things to say before we go to work. First
off, we'll be playing our first game one week from tonight, a team from the next county.”

Seth and Pete grinned at each other and a few players began to talk excitedly among themselves. Wes raised a hand and everybody
fell silent. “This other team, the Tigers, has been together for a year already. Some of them are pretty experienced, so we
have our work cut out for us to get ready. Today, you're going to play some three-on-three.

“One other thing: This team doesn't have a name yet. I was thinking we could call ourselves the Wizards — well, the
Junior
Wizards — after the team that Danny and Con play for. I like the name, and
we can use some of their old jerseys. Would that be all right?”

Nobody had a problem with the name.

“Okay, enough talk. Let's warm up, and then we'll play.”

As part of the warmups, Wes ran another relay race, the kind that had messed Seth up several days before. Now, Seth had no
problem at all. In fact, he was among the faster dribblers on the team. Only Pete could beat him up and down the court. Wes
said nothing to Seth, which, Seth now knew, was a good sign.

Generally, Seth had improved. He had developed calluses on his hands so that they no longer got rubbed raw when he used them
as brakes to bring the chair to a quick stop. His shooting range had improved; he could hit from farther outside with fair
accuracy, although he wasn't ready to try three-pointers yet. He could make hard chest passes and bounce passes, and was becoming
a deft ball-handler.

And his arms and upper body were a lot stronger, too.

After the warmups, Wes put together two teams of three players each: two of the Junior Wizards
would team up with either Danny or Con. Wes watched closely from the sidelines, made frequent criticisms, and rotated new
players into the lineups.

Seth started off teamed with Con and a guy named James Jacks, a whip-thin boy who wore heavy leg braces that allowed him to
walk, although slowly. As play began, Seth took an inbounds pass from James and wheeled downcourt, with Danny trying to hem
him in and slow him down. Spotting Con making a break toward the basket, Seth threw a long bounce pass that Con scooped up
without slowing down. Pete, one of the opponents, tried to catch him, but Con was too fast and laid the ball in a moment later.

“
Pete!
” yelled Wes from the sideline. “You falling asleep out there? Keep your eye on your man!” Pete flushed, but said nothing.

Seth began to realize that it wasn't easy keeping an eye on his man
and
watching to see where the ball was, too. Sure enough, a minute later, as he guarded Danny, Pete whizzed past him on the baseline,
caught a pass, and put a short shot in off the glass.

“Watch the lanes, Seth!” came Wes's voice. “Keep your head on a swivel! You should have seen that one coining! Stay awake
out there, everybody!”

Pete caught Seth's eye and Seth smiled and shrugged. He was getting used to Wes's style of coaching, and the criticism didn't
sting as much as it had. And Danny had been right about Wes: He almost never praised anyone.

Seth ran down a rebound after Danny missed a long shot, and looked for a target for an outlet pass. Con tried to pivot his
chair sharply, but James's chair caught Con's while Con was leaning the wrong way, and Con spilled out of the chair onto the
hardwood. Wes whistled the play dead, and Seth sped over to help Con up.

As he came over, Con saw him and waved him away, looking angry. Seth backed off.

“Remember, don't help anyone who falls unless he asks you for help,” whispered Danny from just behind Seth's shoulder. Meanwhile,
Con had levered himself back into his chair and was ready to go again.

A moment later, Wes sent another Wizard in for Seth, who went to the sideline and thought about Con's reaction when Seth had
instinctively come to help. He recalled when he had fallen and Wes had insisted he get into his chair unassisted.

You all need to be as independent as possible
, Wes
had said. It was hard to argue with that. Danny and Con were good examples. He wanted to be as independent as possible, too.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Lou had come into the gym and was leaning against a wall, watching. When his eye
met Seth's, he waved. Seth nodded in return and shifted his attention back to the game.

As he did, the coach said, “That's right, Pender, keep your eyes on the court. This is what you're here for, remember?”

Just then, Pete let a pass from Danny get by him and roll out of bounds. “Good hands, Pete!” the coach called, sarcastically.
“Maybe we can tape a couple of handles on the ball for you. Why don't you come out for a minute and think about what you did
wrong just then? Seth, go in for him.”

Pete looked unhappy as he passed Seth on his way into the game. Seth gave the other boy a wink and took his place on the court.

Seth, Danny, and James were now on defense. Danny whispered to try a zone, with himself under the basket and the other boys
on either side and in front of him.

Con dribbled forward and stopped a few feet behind the key. When a defender came toward him, Con whipped a pass out to a teammate
in the corner, who started in toward the basket. But Seth had anticipated the move and raced forward to block the other player,
who rammed his chair into Seth's, hard.

Wes's whistle stopped the play. “Seth was in position. That's a charge on the offense. Danny's team, inbound the ball.”

Danny took an inbounds pass from Seth, passed to James, then raced downcourt. James pivoted and passed to Seth, who dribbled
fast and furious downcourt until a defender wheeled in front of him. He paused, keeping his dribble, and thought about shooting.
But he was too far out. He faked with his head, and the defender moved ever so slightly with the fake. That was all Seth needed.
He dribbled closer, dropped a bounce pass to Danny behind him, and set his chair in a perfect pick. With Seth keeping defenders
away, Danny lofted a shot that hit nothing but net.

“
Yes!
” Danny shouted, and Wes whistled to end the game.

“Good shot, Danny,” he said. Turning to the Junior
Wizards, he shook his head. “You guys still have a lot of work to do. Tomorrow, we'll work on a few of the biggest problems,
and play some more three-on-three. I want to see more concentration on the court tomorrow! Keep your eye on the ball! Anticipate
on defense! Remember that you're a team! Okay, that's it for today.”

Lou came up to Seth and Pete as they headed off the court. “You guys looked all right out there. Seth, that was a great pick
you set.”

Pete looked around to make sure that the coach was nowhere nearby, but Wes was talking to Con and paying them no attention.
“You'd never know we ever did anything right if you listened to the coach,” he said, scowling. “He never lets up, never eases
off.”

The three boys left the gym and headed for the parking lot, where Mrs. Pender would pick them up. “I felt the same way you
do,” Seth said to Pete, “but now I've changed my mind. I think he knows what he's doing.”

Lou laughed. “I can't believe my ears! After the way you were putting him down last week. What happened between then and now?”

Seth smiled. “I just see things a little differently, that's all.”

“Well, I don't!” Pete's expression was stony. “I still think he's just a bully who gets off on bossing us around.”

“Well, I think he's teaching us a lot, and not just about basketball,” Seth replied. “Like he said, we have to learn to be
independent, and he wants us to toughen up. That's why he is the way he is, I think.”

Pete looked surprised. “You're defending him? Well, I don't agree with you. Anyway, I better go. See you tomorrow.”

As he left, Lou asked, “Is he mad at you?”

“I hope not,” Seth said. He saw Danny just behind them and nodded.

“That was a really good pick you set,” Danny said. “Also, I heard what Pete and you were saying. Don't worry, Pete isn't in
any trouble. But I have to tell you, you sure have come a long way. You'd never have talked like that when I first met you.
You're doing great!”

He raised a hand, and he and Seth exchanged high fives. It was a moment Seth would remember for a long time.

S
eth looked at himself in the locker-room mirror, admiring the black jersey with
WIZARDS
across the front in gold letters, with gold lightning bolts running down the sides. Pete came up alongside him and smiled.

“Lookin'
good!
” he said, adjusting his own jersey. The Junior Wizards' jerseys had belonged to Danny and Con's older Wizard team. Seth and
his teammates were about to play their first game, at the school where several of their opponents were students.

Danny came up and asked, “How are you guys feeling? You up for this?”

“Absolutely!” Seth replied, hoping his voice didn't sound as nervous as he felt.

“We're
ready!
” Pete added.

“Remember,” Danny cautioned, “this team has been playing awhile and they're well-coached. We played against one of the Tiger
coaches last year. Just remember what you've learned and stay cool.”

Seth's throat felt dry, and he licked his lips. If they could give this team a game and not get blown out, that would be fine
with him. His family and Lou were out there, and he didn't want to be embarrassed.

From the locker-room door, Wes called out, “I'd like the team on the court in a minute, so we can go over a few things. Con,
Danny, come with me.”

Danny clenched a fist and raised it over his head. “All right! Play tough and take no prisoners! See you outside.”

As he came out of the locker room, Seth looked down to the end of the court, where the Tigers were warming up. They were doing
the same drills that Seth and the Wizards did, but, somehow they looked
better
, as if this was stuff they had worked on for a long time, not just a few weeks. The Tigers looked assured, and they talked
it up during the warmups. They had ten players to the Wizards' eight.

A handful of Wizard supporters clapped and cheered as they hit the floor; Danny spotted his family and Lou, and Lou flashed
him a thumbs-up sign, There were more Tiger rooters, however, a few with signs and banners. Pete wheeled himself next to Seth.
“They look tough,” he whispered. “Look at the guy with the black headband! He just hit a twenty-footer!”

Wes clapped his hands sharply, and the Wizards huddled around him. Seth thought that Wes looked nervous, which made him feel
even more uptight.