Hoops, a novel written by Walter Dean Myers is a novel about a boy who expresses his love for the game of basketball. Lonnie Jackson a seventeen-year-old boy has a hard life. Lonnie has outstanding basketball skills, which he practices all day. Lonnie tries out for a tournament called The Tournament of Champions. Lonnie meets his coach and is not pleased with what he sees. Lonnie's coach, Cal, explains to him that he was once in the NBA. Lonnie starts to show much respect for Cal as he begins to teach them to become champions. Lonnie's teammates help lead the team to victory by making it to the championship. The day before the championship Cal gets a call from some heavy bettors and tells him to lose so they could make good money. [...] I recommend this book to teen readers who are interested in sports. I could easily relate this book to everyday life because it was so realistic. The author did an incredible job in writing this book.