Walking into a big spooky building and seeing hundreds of kids running around, playing with toys, eating, coloring, and painting you don’t know what to expect. Aaron didn’t know any of the kids, but one thing he did know was that their parents passed away, didn’t want them, or were abused. Aaron’s parents loved him very much but sadly their life came to an end as they were brutally killed on their front steps and the worst part is that Aaron actually saw his parents get shot and die. For a young boy to see that bloody scene was tragic and that was probably a mental image he would never forget. Aaron cried every night after his parents passed away, he missed seeing his parents; his mother’s goodnight hugs and kisses, her soft voice when she read him a bedtime story, and his dad’s passion for basketball.

Ten years later, Aaron turned 18 and started his senior year of high school. He played basketball basically his whole life, his dad loved basketball and he did too. This year Aaron is the star of the basketball team at St. Roberts Prep, they offered Aaron a scholarship when he was in middle school but his foster parents didn’t have the money and since the basketball coach wanted him so bad, the school paid 12,000 dollars of out the original 20,000 dollars, just so that he could play basketball there. The basketball coach played at the University of Tennessee, which is division one and that means he was good, and he also knows the game like the back of his hand. Coach T always brought his best three players to Tennessee to meet Coach T’s good friend, Coach Pearl, who is the basketball coach at Tennessee University. Coach Pearl lets the high school players practice with his team and sometimes scrimmage with them too. He also brings the players all around the campus and once in a while the players get to sit in a math or history class to experience a college class.

As the basketball season went by rapidly, Coach T started noticing Aaron’s skills improving. The better Aaron’s skills were getting, the more college basketball coaches wanted him. At the end of the basketball season Aaron was informed that he was ranked in the ESPN top 150 basketball players in the country. He was ranked number 2 shooting guard and number 23 overall. After all of the scholarships and school visits, Aaron narrowed down his favorite colleges to only three. His top three schools were University of Tennessee, University of Kentucky, and University of South Carolina. Aaron decided he was going to announce his decision at the McDonald’s All-American game where all the best high school basketball players were invited to play against each other.

The morning of the McDonald’s All-American game Aaron and his foster parents had a long discussion about which college would be best for Aaron. Finally they made their decision together. The first thing Aaron did when he got to the arena was go out on the court and look and feel what he was going to play on. He started looking around the arena imaging that there were thousands of fans in every seat and they were chanting “ Aaron.“ Just before everything went back to reality he saw his real parents. “I miss you! I love you!” he said to them as tears started rolling down his cheeks. After he saw them he realized that he wasn’t playing for him, his foster parents, or the college basketball coaches but it was for his real parents and he knew his father would want him to play.

When the game started Aaron caught the ball from his point guard, made a good pass fake, and drove to the basket, where he finished with a left handed layup. He made the first two points of the game. On the opposing team’s first possession Aaron came down with the rebound and he found his point guard and passed him the ball. After he passed the ball, he sprinted down the court and did “V” cut and then settled for a wide-open three pointer. At the end of the first quarter, Aaron was leading all scorers with seven points, which put his team ahead. To start the second quarter Aaron started on the bench to take a little rest. He was subbed in with five minutes left in the second quarter and his first possession he hit a contested two pointer. After his basket the opposing point guard dribbled the ball to half court and attempted to pass it to his team’s shooting guard, which was stolen by Aaron. He caught the pass on the run and then turned on the jets, he went up for a dunk and got fouled hard and hit the floor hard too. Aaron made the crazy basket and now he had a chance to make a three point play. Aaron set up at the free throw line and waited for the referee to throw him the ball. Aaron did his foul shot routine which was under ten seconds because if it wasn’t it would be a technical foul. “Swoosh“ the shot was a swish, and after Aaron made the foul shot, Aaron’s coach called a timeout and subbed out Aaron for the reminder of the first half that was only two minutes.

It was time for Aaron to make his big announcement. He sat down on the couch next to his parents with his mother on the left and his father on the right. “Well Aaron it is time, which school will you be playing basketball for next season?” the reporter said. Aaron picked up the Tennessee hat and said, I will be joining Coach Pearl’s basketball program.” (He knew he made the right choice when he looked up and saw his biological parents smile and wink from heaven after he made the decision.) Aaron played a couple minutes of the third quarter and came out because he was having back spasms. Aaron also missed the fourth quarter because of the back spasms.

The rest of Aaron’s senior year flew by and before he knew it he was on his plane to Knoxville, Tennessee. In Aaron’s locker he has a picture of him and his dad. Aaron was on his dad’s shoulders holding the trophy that Aaron’s team won when he was in fourth grade and Aaron’s dad was the coach. Before every basketball game Aaron prays to god and looks at the picture for inspiration. After Aaron graduated college he came home and kept doing what he loved. He began coaching at St. Roberts with Coach T and once he saw the basketball court it brought back all of his high school basketball memories.