Summer Ball

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2007

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Chapters 5-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 5 Summary

Danny finds Will, Ty, and Tarik. Tarik is very similar to Will: “He seemed to have his own language, the way Will did. But already you could tell Will liked Tarik’s better” (43). Danny tells them about his run-in with Rasheed, defending himself against Rasheed’s accusation and against Will’s teasing, adding, “‘And I didn’t flop because I don’t flop’” (44). This debate becomes a Danny-says-versus-Rasheed-says conflict for much of the novel.

Back in his dorm, Danny meets Zach Fox, who reacts emotionally when Danny tries to talk to him. As it turns out, Zach wants to go to camp with his friends and feels homesick and anxious, similar to Danny. As Zach starts to cry, he runs out with his basketball. Danny decides to follow him. He finds Zach shooting the ball with the tell-tale launch of a smaller player, “[t]he way Danny always launched it until his dad made him change” (48). He decides to give Zach some pointers, and this helps both boys until they pass a court with Rasheed and another tall player. The other player, when he sees the shorter boys, responds: “‘Check it out,’ […] ‘These two musta got lost looking for the jungle gym’” (49). Mortified, Danny reminds himself that he beat Rasheed before, but questions whether he can do it again.

Chapter 6 Summary

During his first full day at camp, LeBow assigns players onto their teams and puts Danny on the Celtics, with Will and Tarik. However, the camp also puts Rasheed on the same team, and the coach, Ed Powers, forms an instant dislike of Danny, partially based on a long-held grudge against Danny’s father for not playing for his team at the college level. To make matters worse, Power favors Rasheed. During practice, Coach Powers singles out Danny, making him run for talking, and then run again for not initially running fast enough.

Later, Danny calls his mother. He explains the housing situation, putting a positive spin on bunking with Zach. He says, in regard helping Zach, that “‘It’s kind of fun being the old guy for a change’” (58). His mother seems to sense some unhappiness in Danny’s voice, but Danny manages to reassure her, before she hands the phone off to his father. While Danny explains his conflicts with Coach Powers and Rasheed, Richie, Danny’s father, advises Danny to take control from Rasheed. In the face of Danny’s complaints, his father reminds him, “‘If basketball was easy […] everybody’d be a star’” (61). He advises Danny to turn things around for himself.

Chapter 5-6 Analysis

When Danny meets Zach, he sees being short from the outside. Similar to Danny, Zach is short and often confused for a younger boy. He also suffers from a similar anxiety: he feels anxious being at camp. Zach is afraid that people think he is a better player than he actually is and that he will let everybody down. The same thoughts run through Danny’s mind, so he follows Zach out to the courts. From this vantage point, Danny sees a younger version of himself, launching the ball with his body weight, in order to compensate for his smaller size. Danny decides to take Zach under his wing, even after one boy, Lamar Parrish, makes fun of Danny’s and Zach’s size. Despite that setback, Danny wants to be a good role model for Zach. This shows when he tells his mother on the phone how good it feels to mentor Zach.

The novel also reveals some past politics unfairly informing the present. Danny experiences this when the camp places him on Coach Ed Powers’ team. Upon seeing Danny’s name, Powers mentions a past with Richie Walker, where Powers felt certain Richie would attend his college and play for his team, but Danny’s father played for Syracuse University instead. Coach Powers stills holds a grudge. Throughout the novel, Powers resents when Danny questions his method, remembering a comment Danny’s father made to him long ago that criticized Coach Powers’tactics. For his part, Danny’s father remembers the scouts offering him a bribe and thinks Coach Powers lacks imagination. Ultimately, most people fail to recognize how small the elite basketball (or any sport’s) community is for insiders.

These chapters also demonstrate Richie Walker’s single-mindedness when it comes to basketball; when Danny calls home, his father expects him to turn his fortune around, take the ball from Rasheed, and change everybody’s mind. As a result, Danny pretends camp goes well, when he is actually often miserable. His mother notices the difference in his voice, but his father only adds pressure onto Danny, making it clear quitting is not a good option. When he hears reluctance in Danny’s voice, Richie reminds Danny to follow in his own footsteps. He states, “‘Because I don’t quit. And you’re just like me’” (62). As such, Danny’s fear of being a quitter in his father’s eyes forces him to suppress his true feelings.