Jackson Boutin                                                                                                                      1/30/14
805                                                                                                                                           ELA

 

                The book "Foul Trouble" by John Feinstein  is a great story about an incredible athlete almost destroying his whole career. Terrell Jamerson is the best high school basketball player in America. His team is ready to the win the championships and colleges are offering full scholarships.  Plus Terrell is also living like a rock star getting autographs and press coverage at every game. It seems like he has it all basketball talent and fame.  But that's not how his best friend Danny Wilcox sees it who's also a top prospect himself. Danny knows and is suspicious about sneaker guys and managers who say they that sneaker deals are good but there really not. after reading ten chapters there has already been a handful of reporters and so called money makers who have tried to mess and destroy Terrell's reputation. so far he already has been smoking weed and was suspended for a game because of it. As a result Terrell can and might be investigated by the NCAA. Terrell as well as Danny have to play hard and aggressive on and off the court to survive the recruiting game. After summer was over and school had started Terrell's mind is completely focused on which college he should go to but out of the three colleges he visited he learned a lesson: There are people who will use you to get some where and there are those who care about you.

 

                 one reason why people would use you is to get to someone else. for example in the book many colleges not only recruited Terrell but his best friend Danny because they thought if Danny goes to there college so will Terrell. This all happened because they mainly want Terrell because with a great basketball player as Terrell you probably will make it to the final four. Luckily Terrell and Danny realized that they don't need to go to the same college and are able to be stars on their own.

 

                 Another reason why someone would use you is to get to someplace. when being recruited, a coach is looking for someone to get them to the next level, meaning the NCAA championships, final Four and more. After visiting each college it seems that each coach said that Terrell would be a big piece in helping them win a championship. but while reading I realized that Terrell was looking for a school where he not only can play basketball but stay for 4 years and get an education. so I knew some schools who were only looking at his athletic ability will be denied. After visiting Atlanta and looking at there college I knew from the start that this was not the type of school for Terrell. it's all about sports and girls and partying. they don't take academics seriously like Terrell does.

 

                   My final example of being used is being used to get money. for example the "dudes" as Danny calls them is a group of old friends of Terrell who are getting revenge on Terrell for not having time for them and spending way more time with Danny. They are using the mistake that Terrell had made back at the summer camp against him so that he will be able to get money from agents and shoe mangers. After reading that chapter I was disgusted and unhappy about the Dudes behavior in doing such things to there so called friend. friends are supposed to have each others backs. But what the dudes don't realize is that Terrell has a plan and hopes to get people like money managers and agents arrested and fined by the NCAA. and will do so because he's friends with a reporter who is writing a story about agents and how they can damage careers.

 

                    In conclusion you can be used in many ways to get Someone, someplace, and the most popular, money. and some people will go so far to get these things. The book Foul Trouble inspired me and taught me many lessons not only in basketball but also about life. colleges will do anything to get to a superstar such as Terrell Jamerson. That's why he has to be careful because they don't care about him they only care about championships, and money. That's why Terrell needs to chose a college that cares about you and is not going to use you.

  

                

 

 

 



Jackson Boutin                                                                                                          1/9/14
805                                                                                                                         Blog Post

Foul Trouble

 

                          The book "Foul Trouble" by John Feinstein  is a great story about an incredible athlete almost destroy his whole career. Terrell Jamerson is the best high school basketball player in America. His team is ready to the win the championships and colleges are offering full scholarships.  Plus Terrell is also living like a rock star getting autographs and press coverage at every game. It seems like he has it all basketball talent and fame.  But that's not how his best friend Danny Wilcox sees it who's also a top prospect himself. Danny knows and is suspicious about sneaker guys and managers who say they that sneaker deals are good but there really not. after reading ten chapters there has already been a handful of reporters and so called money makers who have tried to mess and destroy Terrell's reputation. so far he already has been smoking weed and was suspended for a game because of it. As a result Terrell can and might be investigated by the NCAA. Terrell as well as Danny have to play hard and aggressive on and off the court to survive the recruiting game.  The Theme of this book is not to be cocky. just because your good doesn't mean you shouldn't practice. Don't throw away your career by smoking or doing drugs like Terrell almost did.

 

                          One reason why you shouldn't throw your career away and be cocky because you can be even better in the future. for example in the book Danny kept on calling player s the next Lenny Cooke. A top high school basketball player in 2002. Lenny Cooke and Lebron James were the top high school basketball players in the country. except Lebron got drafted in the NBA and one two championships and is now known as the best basketball player in the league right now. Lenny Cooke is a nobody now who took an unexpected road. and has never played a single quarter of pro basketball. To clarify he is calling Players who are messing with agents and throwing away their career Lenny Cooke cause they are doing the same thing he did ten years ago.

 

                       Another example Why you shouldn't be cocky and practice all the time is because things like drugs aren't going to solve problems they're going to make them worse and even add to your issues. After getting high Terrell was caught and was suspended for a game. In the book it said " Without Terrell to power the offense or Danny to lead the defense, the rebels looked lost from the start." The quote is telling you that drugs can result in a penalty like health issues and consequences that Terrell and Danny had to go through but in the real world there even worse doing drugs can result in getting killed or end up in jail with other drug users and deals. With out Terrel or Danny the Rebels were lost and the toreros won 85-66 but was still able to get another win in the next game.

 

                      In conclusion don't be cocky and full of yourself always practice to get better don't throw it away by doing drugs or other illegal stuff it will only increase your problems by having to deal with headaches and other health issues. Or you might just end up like Lenny Cooke and be a high school star to a nobody on a street with a name that has been forgotten. I'm still reading the book Foul Trouble and enjoy it a lot. This book teaches a lot of life lessons like another book I read called Hoop dreams. Both authors trying to teach young kids with dreams as playing pro basketball don't happen so easily you have to work at it and practice and not make careless mistakes like doing drugs. So watch your back and take care of yourself because when your the number one recruit, everyone is trying to make a play.