Basketball Buddies Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  CHAPTER 1

  Wanna Play?

  CHAPTER 2

  Bring It On!

  CHAPTER 3

  A Stolen Shot

  CHAPTER 4

  Showdown

  CHAPTER 5

  Dangerous Play

  EXTRA STUFF

  • Basketball Lingo

  • Basketball Must-dos

  • Basketball Instant Info

  • Think Tank

  • Hi Guys! (Author Letter)

  • When We Were Kids

  • What a Laugh!

  Basketball

  Buddies

  Felice Arena and Phil Kettle

  illustrated by

  Gus Gordon

  MACMILLAN

  First published 2003 by

  MACMILLAN EDUCATION AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

  15–19 Claremont Street, South Yarra 3141

  Reprinted 2004, 2005 (twice), 2006, 2007, 2008 (twice), 2009

  Visit our Web site at www.macmillan.com.au or go directly to

  www.macmillanlibrary.com.au

  Associated companies and representatives throughout the world.

  Copyright © Felice Arena and Phil Kettle 2003

  All rights reserved.

  Except under the conditions described in the Copyright Act 1968 of Australia and subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

  National Library of Australia

  Cataloguing-in-Publication data

  Arena, Felice.

  Basketball buddies.

  For primary school children.

  ISBN 978 0 7329 8965 1.

  ISBN 978 0 7329 9179 1 (Set 2).

  ISBN 0 7329 8965 5.

  ISBN 0 7329 9179 X (Set 2).

  1. Basketball – Juvenile literature. I. Kettle,

  Phil. II. Title. (Series: Arena, Felice. Boyz rule).

  A823.3

  Project management by Limelight Press Pty Ltd

  Cover and text design by Lore Foye

  Illustrations by Gus Gordon

  Printed in Hong Kong

  These electronic editions published 2010 by

  Macmillan Education Australia Pty Ltd

  Level 1, 15-19 Claremont Street, South Yarra 3141

  All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.

  Boyz Rule! Basketball Buddies

  Felice Arena & Phil Kettle

  Adobe eReader ISBN

  9781458610331

  EPub ISBN

  9781458610348

  Mobipocket ISBN

  9781458610355

  Online ISBN

  9781458610324

  Macmillan Digital Australia

  www.macmillandigital.com.au

  Visit www.macmillan.com.au/primary to read more about all our books and to buy both print and ebooks online. You will also find subject catalogues, teacher support material and news of professional development events.

  CHAPTER 1

  Wanna Play?

  Billy wanders down to his local basketball courts hoping to meet up with his best mate, Sam. Billy wants to shoot a few hoops with him. When Billy arrives, he finds Sam wearing a T-shirt with the name “Michael Jordan” written on the front of it.

  Billy “What’s up, Sam?”

  Sam tosses his basketball at the ring. It swishes through the net. Billy gestures to Sam to pass him the ball. Sam does. Billy bounces the ball a couple of times then shoots from the top of the key. He misses. Sam rebounds and completes the shot. He weaves the ball in and out between his legs, pretending he hasn’t heard Billy. Finally he answers.

  Sam “Are you talking to me? My name’s Michael Jordan, not Sam. If you wanna play with me, ya have to call me Michael.”

  Billy (scoffs) “Yeah right!”

  Sam suddenly stops dribbling the ball and walks over closer to Billy.

  Sam “Yeah. ’Cause that’s who I am.”

  Billy “Whatever. Aww, your breath stinks, mate. You really need to floss.”

  Sam glares at Billy and rolls his eyes. He looks annoyed.

  Billy “Hey, relax, will ya. I didn’t mean to put you off. I just wanna play basketball.”

  Sam “Okay, let’s go. You against me, one on one—first one up to 11. Only half court—back to the centre line after you score. And I’m gonna whip your butt, because I’m Michael Jordan!”

  Billy “Yeah, whatever. Bring it on.”

  Sam “I’ll even let you start with the ball. You need all the help you can get.”

  CHAPTER 2

  Bring It On!

  Sam shoves the ball at Billy. Billy begins to bounce the ball by his side. He moves a few paces forward, working out the best way to get past Michael Jordan. Billy suddenly charges towards him, takes a giant lay-up, shoots and scores.

  Billy “Yeah! 2 points!”

  Sam “Maybe you should buy a lottery ticket, ‘cause that was just a fluke!”

  Billy “I don’t think so.”

  Billy returns to the centre of the court, then again rushes towards Sam. He stops and takes a long shot from outside the 3-point line. He misses. Sam rebounds and makes the shot. He now has possession of the ball.

  Sam “You were saying? It’s 2 all! Look out! No stopping me now!”

  Sam successfully passes Billy and scores again. A few moments later he misses and Billy completes the shot.

  CHAPTER 3

  A Stolen Shot

  It’s a fierce, even competition. The score is soon tied at 8 all. Sam currently has the ball. He signals “time-out”.

  Billy “What’s wrong? Why time-out?”

  Sam “Nothing. I just wanna make this more interesting.”

  Billy “What? How?”

  Sam “I’m gonna give you a free shot. But you have to take it from outside the 3-point line. If you get it, it takes you to 11 and you win.”

  Billy “What makes you think I need a free shot?”

  Sam “Well, if you don’t, I’m gonna be the winner. I’m just being nice, that’s all.”

  Billy “Nice! Huh! You’re full of it. Nup, no way. I don’t want a free shot. I want to beat you fair and square. You’re just scared that you’re gonna lose.”

  Sam “Whatever. I know I’d take it if someone gave me a free try.”

  Billy thinks long and hard.

  Billy “Fine, I’ll do it … but to make it less of a freebie, if I miss, then you automatically win.”

  Sam “Cool, if you want to make it even easier for me. You’re on. Take your shot, loser.”

  Billy “Where’s the ball?”

  The basketball is nowhere to be seen. The boys look up and see that in the distance another boy, who had snuck up on them while they were talking, has stolen the ball and is now running away with it.

  Sam “Come back, you dirty rotten …”

  Sam chases after the thief. Billy follows.

  CHAPTER 4

  Showdown

  Sam and Billy chase the thief out of the courts and down several streets and laneways until they finally catch up to him at the driveway of his house—where he has taken cover and protection behind two older boys.

  Billy “Now what are you gonna do?”

  Sam “I’m gonn
a ask for my ball back, that’s what!”

  Billy “Are you crazy? They don’t look like the type to just hand it over.”

  Sam “Yeah, well … we’ll see.”

  Sam leaves Billy and confidently struts towards the older boys and younger thief hiding behind them. A few moments later he returns to Billy—without his ball.

  Billy “So? What happened? What did they say?”

  Sam “You’re right. They’re not gonna give my ball back, unless …”

  Billy “Unless what?”

  Sam “They said the only way I can get my ball back is if we play them for it—us against them. In their driveway. See? They’ve got a ring and backboard on top of their garage door. We have to win if I ever want to see my ball again.”

  Billy “But they’re like twice as big as us. They’ll murder us.”

  Sam “Oh derr! No kidding.”

  Sam starts to wander back in the direction of the basketball courts.

  Billy “Hey! Where are you going?”

  Sam “Home.”

  Billy “What about your ball? You can’t just let them have it.”

  Sam “Why not? They’re going to beat us anyway.”

  Billy “I don’t believe this! What happened to Mr. Tough Guy back at the courts? You can’t just walk away. You’re Michael Jordan! Come back. I’ve got a plan.”

  CHAPTER 5

  Dangerous Play

  Billy tells Sam to move closer to him.

  Sam “So, what’s your big plan then?”

  Billy “Follow me and just do what I say.”

  Billy walks over towards the older boys, with Sam only a few steps behind him. He tells the boys that he and Sam are willing to take up their challenge and play them for the ball.

  Billy “And since we’re younger, we reckon we should start off with the ball.”

  The older boys sneer and chuckle among themselves. They agree with Billy’s request and toss the basketball to him. Billy gets into position as if he is about to play and gestures to Sam to do the same. Sam is totally confused. He shoots Billy a look as if to say, “Are we really going to play these guys?”. Suddenly, Billy yells at the top of his lungs …

  Billy “RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

  Billy charges off down the street with the ball in his hands. Sam suddenly realises what has just happened and sprints after him. The older boys look stunned, but soon take chase.

  Billy (panting) “Quick! Run! Run!”

  Billy and Sam quickly duck down an alley, scramble over a fence, cross a major highway on a footbridge then quickly hide behind a large billboard, located by the side of the freeway. Several minutes pass by.

  Billy “I think we lost them. Here’s your ball.”

  Sam “You can keep it. I’ve got another one at home. It was a cool idea you had back there—crazy, but cool. Thanks, Billy.”

  Billy (smiling) “No problem.”

  Time ticks by. Billy and Sam feel it’s safe to leave their hiding spot.

  Billy “Hey look!”

  Both boys look up to see that on the front of the billboard is an advertisement with the real Michael Jordan on it. They smile and make their way back to the basketball courts.

  Billy “So, I still have my free shot.”

  Sam “Yeah. You still have to lose our game!”

  When the boys reach the basketball courts, Sam remembers he should have been home an hour ago.

  Sam “Gotta bolt. See ya!”

  Billy “Hey! What about our game—my free shot?”

  Sam “Let’s call it a draw.”

  Sam heads off home, leaving Billy staring at the ring.

  Billy takes a step behind the 3-point line. He aims and shoots. He misses the backboard completely.

  Billy (whispers to himself) “Yeah, let’s call it a draw.”

  Basketball

  Lingo

  assist A pass by one player to another that results in the second player scoring.

  backboard The transparent glass or wooden backing to which the baskets are attached.

  bench Where the reserve players in the team sit.

  conversion A successful conversion from a free throw to a goal.

  dribble The player bounces the ball while they move around the court.

  free throw lane The rectangular area under the basket between the free throw line and the end line.

  key The free-throw area.

  Basketball Must-dos

  You should always try to be in the side with the tallest players.

  If you get stripped, you don’t have your clothes taken off. You have the ball taken from you!

  There are usually five players in a team but you can have as many players as you like in a team of park basketball.

  A steal is when the ball is taken away from you during play, not when you decide you like your friend’s basketball and take it home. If you do that you will not be able to play one-on-one anymore and your friend will probably not be your friend.

  Always give a high five when you shoot a goal.

  Always try to do slam-dunks.

  Remember when you dribble, it is with the basketball and not down your chin!

  If someone yells “foul”, it means that you have done something wrong—it doesn’t mean that your mother has arrived at the court with a chicken sandwich.

  Basketball

  Instant Info

  NBA stands for National Basketball Association. It is an American association. The NBL operates in Australia and stands for National Basketball League.

  The record number of dribbles of a basketball in 24 hours is 157.

  The record for the tallest ever basketball player is 2.45 metres.

  An Australian team, the Suncoast Clippers, played for 24 hours in 1998—the longest game on record.

  Michael Jordan holds the highest point-score average in the NBA—31.

  The highest winning score in an NBA game is 186.

  The most basketballs ever dribbled by the same person at the same time is six.

  Basketball was invented in the USA in 1891 as a school assignment, where the student had to invent a game that could be played in winter, indoors.

  Women’s basketball began in 1892.

  Women’s basketball was first played in the Olympics in 1976.

  Think Tank

  1 What do you do when you dribble?

  2 How many players are there on the court at one time?

  3 What is a slam-dunk?

  4 What country is Michael Jordan from?

  5 What is a free throw?

  6 Are you allowed to call “time-out” in basketball?

  7 What is the backboard?

  8 Do girls play basketball?

  Answers

  1. When you dribble, you bounce the ball on the ground as you move around the court.

  2. There are 10 players on the court at any one time—5 from each team.

  3. A slam-dunk is when you jump up to the hoop and slam the ball through it.

  4. Michael Jordan comes from the USA.

  5. If someone fouls you, you get a penalty, which then gives you a free throw at goal.

  6. Yes, you are allowed to call “time-out”.

  7. The backboard is the board that the hoop is fixed to.

  8. Yes, girls do play basketball.

  How did you score?

  • If you got all 8 answers correct, then you might like to try out for the Australian basketball team.

  • If you got 6 answers correct, you should stay playing in your local team.

  • If you got fewer than 4 answers correct, then go down to the park and practise with your best mate.

  Hi Guys!

  We have heaps of fun reading and want you to, too. We both believe that being a good reader is really important and so cool. Try out our suggestions to help you have fun as you read.

  At school, why don’t you use “Basketball Buddies” as a play and you and your friends can be the actors. Set the scene for your play. Wha
t props do you need? Maybe a basketball, or just use your imagination to pretend that you are at the park and about to play in the NBA.

  So … have you decided who is going to be Billy and who is going to be Sam? Now, with your friends, read and act out our story in front of the class.

  We have a lot of fun when we go to schools and read our stories. After we finish, the kids all clap really loudly. When you’ve finished your play your classmates will do the same. Just remember to look out the window—there might be a talent scout from a television station watching you!

  Reading at home is really important and a lot of fun as well.

  Take our books home and get someone in your family to read them with you. Maybe they can take on a part in the story.

  Remember, reading is a whole lot of fun.

  So, as the frog in the local pond would say, Read-it!

  And remember, Boyz Rule!

  When

  We Were Kids

  Felice “Did you ever play one-on-one as a kid?”

  Phil “Yes, against the brick wall.”

  Felice “I bet that wasn’t as hard as playing against the Harlem Globe Trotters.”

  Phil “Did you play one-on-one against the Harlem Globe Trotters?”