Sooley(20)
The All-American was so rattled he did not make another shot.
Lonnie shook his head and said, “He looked ten feet off the ground.”
“Well, his standing vertical leap is thirty-four inches. Forty-five when he’s moving. Give him a running start and he can jump over the backboard.”
“But he can’t shoot and he can’t dribble.”
“He’s coming around, okay? He works incredibly hard and he’s still growing.”
“Who else is looking at him?”
Ecko smiled and shook his head. “Truthfully, no one right now. If I were you I’d take a chance.”
A waitress brought a bowl of pretzels and inquired about another round. No thanks. Maybe later.
Lonnie frowned and glanced around. “I got a problem, Ecko. A new one.”
“What is it?”
“Two of my players were arrested last night in Durham.”
“For what?”
“Armed robbery.”
“Oh, come on, Lonnie. You serious?”
“As a heart attack. A couple of real blockheads. They’re in summer school, most of my kids are, and they went out on Saturday night and found some serious trouble.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know all the facts but I’ve been on the phone all day. My AD. The President. The police. But they ain’t saying much. Looks like the boys went to a party, smoked some pot, and got in the car with the wrong guy. They had plenty of pot but ran out of beer. The driver stopped at a convenience store, and for some reason decided it would be smart to pull a gun and rob the cashier. Fortunately he didn’t pull the trigger. All three are charged with armed robbery. AD says they gotta go. Now.”
“Good kids?”
Lonnie took a sip of beer and kept frowning. “Good guys, I love ’em, but both come from bad homes. One, Clancy, has a brother in prison. He was my number seven last season, played 15 minutes a game. A junior with little time for classwork. The other, Fonzo we call him, will be a sophomore and is pretty lazy. I have great kids, Ecko, for the most part.”
“But the kids are not armed robbers. Sounds like little more than a dumb mistake.”
“Yeah, but they’re facing serious charges.”
“You gotta replace them?”
“Yep, for this season anyway. I have to meet the AD and the lawyers tomorrow and they’ll try to work a deal. But the kids are out of the program for at least a year.”
“Sooleymon?”
“I’m thinking, okay? Be honest with me, Ecko.”
“When have I ever been dishonest?”
“Never. But you do love your players.”
“Same as you.”
“Sure, most of the time.”
“Lonnie, Samuel could be the steal of the tournament. He’s not getting looks because he’s not scoring. But he will. When I first saw him back in April he had the worst jump shot in Africa. He’s come a long way and he’s still working hard. And growing.”
“He’ll never be a point guard.”
“No. Forget the point. He’ll be at least six six by Christmas.”
“What about classwork?”
“He’s from the bush, okay? He just finished secondary school in his village so you gotta figure he’ll need some help. Surely you can get him in.”
“Probably so. Central is not exactly like the other school in Durham.”
“Oh, so you think Duke worries about SAT scores?”
They shared a laugh and ordered another beer. Ecko was excited by the possibility and pushed even harder. At midnight, Lonnie glanced at his watch and said, “I need to go. I can’t stick around for the game tomorrow. I have an early flight to Durham and meet with the AD at noon. Then, I have the pleasure of going to the jail.”
“Sorry man. Gotta be tough.”
“You got it. Imagine telling two twenty-year-olds that they’re kicked out of school for at least a year.”
“Sounds like they have bigger problems.”
“Can you believe that my entire career hinges on the decisions made by a bunch of immature kids?”
“Didn’t we have this conversation twenty years ago?”
“We did. And nothing has changed.”
“Sign Sooleymon. He’ll make you a genius.”
CHAPTER 13
In 1979, Chevron discovered oil in the southern region of Sudan and soon realized that the country had the third largest reserves on the continent. After a few years, the Sudanese ruling party in Khartoum nationalized its oil fields, kicked out the Americans, and signed a lucrative deal to sell all its crude to China. By the mid-1980s, $12 billion a year was flowing into Sudan. With various civil wars raging throughout the country—North versus South, Islamic versus Catholic, tribe versus tribe—the oil riches only intensified the conflicts. In 2011, South Sudan was given the right to choose independence, and it did so overwhelmingly. Supported by billions in foreign aid from the U.S. and Europe, and propped up by oil revenues, South Sudan became the world’s newest country and its future seemed bright. Most of the money, though, remained in Juba as the ruling elites siphoned off billions and feasted on the unlimited cash. While they stashed it in Swiss banks, and bought apartments in London and mansions in Melbourne, and sent their kids to the Ivies, and armed their soldiers with an astonishing arsenal of guns, tanks, and helicopters, the people suffered even more. The money was not used for schools, hospitals, roads, or infrastructure.