Junior becomes a freshman starter on the varsity basketball team. Still, he is a “yucker,” and vomits from nerves before every game. After their loss to Wellpinit, the Reardan team wins 12 in a row. Meanwhile, Rowdy leads the Wellpinit team to a 13-0 record. People compare White Reardan players to former White players, but no one compares Junior to anyone because he’s still an outsider. He wonders if anyone will be compared to him someday.

Before the Reardan/Wellpinit rematch at Reardan, a local news crew interviews Junior. After a few false starts, Junior tells the news crew that Rowdy used to be his best friend and says on camera that he has something to prove to Reardan, Wellpinit, and himself. He wants to win more desperately than he has ever wanted anything. The stakes are extremely high: “we were all boys desperate to become men, and this game would be a huge moment in our transition” (187).

Before the game, Coach says the Wellpinit is more talented, but Reardan has a secret weapon: Arnold Spirit, who will start and guard Rowdy. Junior’s unsure, but Coach says he can do it; “the four hugest words in the world when they’re put together” (189).