As the point guard crept up to the free-throw line his stomach dropped to the floor. He carefully glanced in the crowd hoping to locate his good luck charm. Did she decide not to show up? How could she do this to me? She knows how important this is to me…

     He continued scanning the crowd and within a second, there she was. Perched up at the top of the bleachers staring down at him. He knew that all the big college scouts were out in that crowd and that he had to make this shot. 

     There were 15 seconds left in the second half and his team was down by two. The referee blew his whistle and the player drew his attention back into the game. He dribbled it once, then a second time, and after the third, he picked it up and shot it with all the precision he had in him. The ball collided with the backboard, and it went right into the hoop, swoosh.  The crowd grew rowdy. His teammates were on the bench chanting his name and clapping their hands. 

     He looked to his left and locked eyes with her. At this moment he knew he had to make the second shot, not only to make his team proud but also to prove to the scouts that he is worthy to be on any one of their teams. He dribbled once, twice, a third time, and threw it towards the hoop, and before he could even follow through with the ball; he had two guards on him. The silent crowd went wild, and he thought to himself for a quick second, I made it! 

     But the quick second that he stood there thinking made him realize that it was not his team cheering, it was the other team's crowd. This put him a few seconds behind everyone else on the other side of the court, and at this moment, he looked at the scoreboard and discovered… 

     The shot never went in.