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he opened the door to the locker room.
    “Why do you say that?” Ben asked.
    Hud shrugged. “Compared to one of Coach George’s practices,
anything
should be easy.”

Chapter 7
    L isten up!” Coach George called over the noise in the Roosevelt gym. The freshman team huddled around him in their silky, dark blue Raiders uniforms. Ben bounced up and down on the balls of his feet. He could hardly wait to get started.
    It was the Raiders’ first game of the season. They were playing the Putnam Valley Tigers. Parents and students from both teams sat in clusters in the stands. Two referees waited for the teams at the center of the floor.
    “Okay, here’s the starting lineup,” Coach George said.
    Ben caught Logan’s eye. They had beenlooking forward to this moment for weeks. They’d figured they’d be starting at shooting guard and center, but they were both wondering whether the coach would tap Hud or Levon as starting point guard. At times, Hud played spectacularly in practices, amazing everyone with his behind-the-back dribbling and no-look passes. But Coach George was always after him for turnovers and for taking too many chances on defense.
    “Logan will start at center,” Coach George said, checking his clipboard. “Andrew and Jordan will play forwards. Ben, you’re at shooting guard. And Levon will be at point guard.”
    Ben and Logan traded glances, then looked over at Hud. Their friend was staring straight ahead, but he seemed okay with the news.
    “We’re going to begin the game with our half-court, man-to-man defense,” Coach George said. “Remember, take care of the ball on offense. Good, solid passes. I don’t want to see a lot of turnovers.”
    Both teams seemed nervous as the game began. They didn’t try any fast breaks. Instead, they played slowly, as if they were afraid of making mistakes. Levon set up a couple of early baskets by Logan, but the Tigers stormed back and pulled ahead, 8–4.
    A few minutes into the game, Hud and another Raider bounced off the bench to replace Levon and Andrew. Right away, the Raiders offense popped into high gear and started running. Hud dribbled downcourt, charging full speed to the basket. At the last moment, he flipped a pass to Ben, who was wide open at the three-point line. Ben sent up a long jump shot.
Swish!
    The next time down, Hud found Ben again with a no-look pass for another jumper.
    Swish!
    Roosevelt had grabbed the lead, 9–8!
    They still held the lead, 17–14, when Coach George gave Ben and Logan a breather.
    “I don’t know why Coach didn’t start Hud at point guard,” Ben whispered to Logan asthey sat on the bench. “We do a lot better with him in there.”
    Logan took a big gulp of water. “Yeah, and you’re better when Hud plays. He seems to find you no matter where you are.”
    “Just like at Westwood.” Ben smiled, thinking about his open jump shots.
    On the court, Hud threaded a low bounce pass through a maze of players. But the ball bounced out of bounds.
    “Green ball.” The referee signaled in the direction of the Tigers basket.
    Coach George stomped his foot. “Make the simple pass, Hudson. Simple pass! No French pastry!”
    He turned and marched down the bench. “Levon, go in for Hudson,” he ordered. Levon jumped up and jogged to the scorer’s table. Ben and Logan didn’t say a word to each other.
    The score was tied 23–23 as Coach George gathered everyone together before the second half. “Keep playing man-to-man defense,” he said. “On offense, move the ball around for a good shot.” Then he seemed tolook right at Hud. “Remember, make the easy pass. No fancy stuff.”
    Coach George checked his clipboard. “Okay. Same starters: Logan, Andrew, Jordan, Ben, Levon … Let’s go.”
    The Roosevelt offense sputtered at the beginning of the second half and the team fell behind, 30–25. Ben was relieved when he looked over and saw Hud kneeling at the scorer’s table, waiting to come in.
    But Hud’s first