Page 79 of Full Court Love
“Look, everything gets a whole lot simpler when your priorities are in line. I started playing differently when someone special to me reminded me that I’m more than a basketball player. It made basketball fun again. I played harder because I remembered how much I love this game. And that person helped me to fall in love with it again.”
Someone calls out from the back. “Did you fall in love withher?”
Everyone sits forward in their chairs, sticking their microphones out farther like they might miss my answer.
I just give a cheeky grin and raise my shoulders slightly. Then I lean into the mic as everyone holds their breath.
“Sorry, guys, gotta run. Thanks for a great year.”
With a wink, I stand up. They’re all laughing and cheering as I walk out of the room.
I hope Lucy is okay with everything I said. I mean, she still has to play tomorrow, and I don’t want to be a distraction. She helped me win the championship—I definitely don’t want to be the reason she loses hers.
I’m herded back to the locker room with the rest of the team, where we spray champagne and someone even breaks out cigars. This team really has become my family. Well, behind Lucy, of course.
As the celebration dies down and guys start packing up, I remember what’s waiting for me outside. There’s still one battle left to fight. I promised Lucy and myself that I would have this conversation. It’s years overdue, and I can’t put it off any longer.
As much as I might want to.
I know it’s the hurdle I have to jump if I want my future with Lucy to be everything I’ve dreamed. I couldn’t let myself run the risk of her getting hurt or manipulated or dragged down at all.
I also need to do this for myself. Being with Lucy has opened my eyes to all the things I could be. She really has helped me to see myself as more than a basketball player–I wasn’t lying to that reporter. Lucy’s faith in my capabilities beyond the court allowed me to see them too. I know what my personal future holds–and I’m probably heading to a different kind of court.
The idea of that new challenge invigorates me.
It’s time to zip up my smelly bag and do this.
I walk out with Tyler, mindlessly engaging in a discussion about where we might play our first-round game of the NCAA Tournament. Normally, I’d be all-in on this topic. Will we head to Florida or California, or maybe the Northeast?
But right now, my mouth is responding while my head tries to wrap around what I’m about to do and say. My parents are standing a few steps away from the rest of the families, looking out of place.
My mom has tears in her eyes the second she sees me. Her smile is so big, it makes her eyes crinkle and her hands reach out to me, awaiting a hug. I scoop her up, and she laughs.
“Well, that was certainly fun. You were incredible, honey. So wonderful, I almost couldn’t believe my little Jo-Jo was out there schooling all those future NBA players.”
I feel my cheeks getting a little red. Whenever she was able to come watch me, my mom was my biggest fan. Her irrational faith in me is still going strong.
My dad, on the other hand, is oddly quiet. He’s watching the other guys on the team hugging their families, talking and joking. He seems uncomfortable, like he doesn’t know what to say after something good. Critiquing me has been his primary form of communication after games for years.
What does he say when there isn’t much to critique?
We all stand there, awkwardly quiet. I shift my weight from one foot to the other, waiting for him to give any sort of commentary. Finally, he reaches out and gives me a firm handshake.
His words are forced. “You played pretty well. I’m glad to see this move worked out. There are some things we should discuss before the tournament and the NBA combine.”
Here's my opening.
I take one slow deep breath.
“Let’s head down this hallway for a minute.”
They exchange a look, my dad’s face showing confusionwhile my mom’s is only slightly surprised. They follow me down a back hallway, where I turn into the entryway for a supply closet.
I pivot to face them, my whole body tense as I gear up.
“I’m not doing the combine. After the tournament, I’m going to be walking away from basketball…”
CHAPTER 33