Summer Ball by Mike Lupica, Vocabulary List Chapters 7-9

out of the limits or range of

"Beyond word," Tarik said. "Walker here, he's wet."

to lift up : RAISE

But he wasn't pulling up, he was going straight at Danny and straight at the basket, elevating now, exploding into the air the way he could.

very great or extreme

They were on the second team, along with Tarik, who'd turned out to be slow but was a ferocious rebounder.

sincere and honest

At least until somebody finally got a layup off one of the backdoor picks that seemed to be the only thing in the world that made him genuinely happy.

to get together to talk something over

At a few minutes before five, Coach told them to huddle up, they were going to pretend that the game was tied, one minute left, Rasheed's team with the ball.

to make use of (a law, a right, etc.)

He was wondering by then why somebody hadn't invoked the kind of slaughter rule they had in Little League baseball.

an act of throwing or hitting (as a ball) in a high arc

At one point, after he had caught a lob pass from Ty and dunked over Ben Coltrane, Tarik leaned over and said to Danny, "I think after this, Ollie's gonna take Ty for ice cream."

a set of ideas about how to do something or how to live

Then came his defensive philosophy: "Press."

to announce publicly : DECLARE

You might have another flavor you thought was better, but once he proclaimed Phish Food classic, he was pretty much saying the debate was over.

to pierce with something pointed

Danny was actually curious to see how Rasheed was going to handle an offense like this, one that did everything except puncture the ball they were using to take the air out of it.

to give (someone) renewed knowledge and experience of something or someone

"Thought it might be kind of fun for you and Rasheed to get yourselves reacquainted in a game," Powers said to Danny.

showing doubt or unwillingness

Everybody else was up for a game, so Will reluctantly went along.

to move or gather in a large number

Then David or Ben would swat another one of his passes away like they were swatting away the summer bugs that seemed to swarm Right Way at night.

Sorry or pity for another

But he wasn't going to tell Coach Powers that, or act like he wanted any sympathy.

an idea or opinion that is presented as true

"All due respect, sir," Danny said, knowing Will's theory that nothing good had ever come after "all due respect" in the history of the universe.

a change in form, position, or condition

Coach Powers said it was a variation of the four-corners offense his friend Dean Smith used to run with the Tar Heels in the old days.

to move back and forth, up and down, or in and out

The Celtics ran down the clock the way Coach wanted them to, passing the ball around near the half-court line, weaving in and out.