Imagine this: A child with 4 brothers and 6 sisters, with no dad and not a
lot of money. He lives in a run down old trailer park. He has to decide whether
to go to school with his friends or play basketball on an organized team. Well,
Once upon a time there lived two boys, Ramon Thigby and Gregory
Clintonet. Ramon was a small Mexican boy who lived in a beat-up trailer with his
4 brothers and 6 sisters. His dad had run away when he was born, so it was just
his mom left with the job of taking care of 11 children.
Then there was Gregory, "Greg" they called him. He was a rich boy
because his dad was the governor. He lived in Raleigh, North Carolina. Ramon
lived in downtown Los Angeles where all he did all day was play with a little tiny basketball that his mom gave him for his golden birthday when he was 7 years old. Back then they didn't have hoops like we have today. They had wooden baskets that they would tie by strings to a telephone pole.
On the other side of the country, Gregory was busy with an underwater
chess tournament. He has a basketball court in his room that he got for a baby
shower present from the President and his family. He had a personal trainer and
practiced every other day. He was not bad for his age.
Ramon, however could only play about once a week because
there were kids at the hoop all the time. If he went there while those kids were
there, they would make fun of him really bad. Ramon wasn't as good as Gregory,
but he did have a deeper desire to play the game.
When Gregory reached fourth grade, he had the chance to play on a
basketball team. He wasn't as good in the leagues, because he hadn't had
practiced with a team before, let alone with someone guarding him. When
someone plays at home they don't get a feel for what its like to try and shoot or
...