Power of Dedication

The Power of Dedication

In her article, “The Last Shot”, Darcy Frey takes us through the life of a struggling underprivileged senior in high school, Russell Thomas, living in the projects of Coney Island who is using his basketball talent to try and make it to the NBA in hopes of a better life. On the other end of the spectrum, in his article “The Best Pickup-Basketball Player in America”, Timothy Harper embraces the life of a 50 year old successful businessman, Allan Dalton, going through great lengths to continue playing basketball by expressing his passion for the game even though he wasn’t able to make a career from it. Allan Dalton and Russell Thomas are very different in regards to the socioeconomic status and other cultural influences, but even though these players seem like they have nothing in common they share the same dedication and passion for the game. Allan Dalton and Russell Thomas grew up in two very different environments which made a huge impact on their privileges regarding basketball. Frey describes Russell’s impoverished and predominantly black neighborhood of New York’s Cooney Island; “In this neighborhood, on a peninsula of the southern tip of Brooklyn, there are almost no stores, no trees, no police, just block after block of gray cement projects-hulking prisonlike, and jutting straight into the sea.” This shows us that because this neighborhood is so isolated and underprivileged teenagers such as Russell Thomas had no guidance or control and were able to roam the streets all day making it more likely for them to get into trouble and go anywhere except school. The city was full of basketball courts and for the teenagers the game signified an escape from reality. On the other hand, Harper describes the setting of Allan Dalton’s geographic location and why he has to leave his neighborhood in order to find the game he is looking for. “Other husbands and fathers of his age in the leafy suburbs of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey are kicking back, stowing golf bags, putting away tools, firing up gas grills as Dalton climbs into his BMW and weaves along the winding lanes toward the spare hard playgrounds of New York City.” By describing Dalton’s neighborhood as he is exiting he is unfolding his socioeconomic status to us, Dalton drives a BMW, his neighbors are well off or middleclass men who are playing golf and firing up grills while he is going to play in the slums of New York not because he resides there like Russell Thomas but because he is choosing to. Even though Dalton chooses to go areas such as the one that Thomas is growing up in he is not choosing to live there and he is spending only some of his time there which is why the two characters view of the “slums” is very diverse. Overall, Russell faces many challenges because of the scarce opportunities in his surrounding and views basketball as his “Last Shot” to escape, while Dalton on the other hand escapes his reality of a high class superficial society by going to the slums and expressing his passion for basketball as “the best pickup-basketball” player in America. Another important factor that distinguishes Russell Thomas and Allan Dalton is the opportunity of education in regards to basketball. According to NCAA rules, students who want to play sports in a four-year Division 1 school, those with the nation’s top athletic programs, must enter college with at least a 70 average in high school and having received a combined score of at least a 700 in the math and verbal sections of the SAT’s.(Frey, pg 47). For many students, such as Russell Thomas, this was merely impossible due to the lack of education they had received starting from elementary school. Russell Thomas and many others just like himself didn’t have parents as role-models who they could turn to for support and guidance and therefore school became a minor importance to them causing them to give up on their studies. This was highly duplicitous for prospect players such as Russell Thomas, because even though his basketball skills were exceptional his chances of receiving a scholarship and succeeding were diminutive due to his educational standing. For players such as Allan Dalton who had grown up in a healthy environment obstacles for receiving a scholarship in accordance to grades, and obtaining a diploma were much more attainable; basketball or sport wasn’t their only door to success. Allan Dalton was a schoolboy star at Hyde Park High School, in Boston and averaged twenty six points a game as a senior in 1970-1971 for Suffolk University. This shows us that for Dalton school wasn’t such as a challenge as it was for Thomas, and for Thomas basketball seemed to come more naturally while Dalton had to work hard on his game. Timothy Harper shares with us in his article that in the spring of 1971 Dalton was drafted by the Boston Celtics, but he didn’t make it to team and had to resort to playing club basketball. Overall, even though Thomas and Dalton faced different challenges they both had to work hard to overcome their obstacles to reach their dreams regardless of whether the challenge was education or their skill in the game. Although Russell Thomas and Allan Dalton come from two very different backgrounds and are in very different positions they share a common dedication and devotion to the game of basketball regardless of what their reasons for this may be. In her article, Darcy Frey reveals to us that the first time that Russell took the SATs, he received a combined score somewhere in the mid 500s, and you receive 400 points for signing your name. This year he gave up his lunch period to study and lately he’s been carrying around a set of vocabulary flash cards, which he pulls out whenever there isn’t a basketball in his hand. This illustrates his dedication to the game because without adequate grades Thomas wouldn’t be able to play and therefore his dreams of a scholarship would be unattainable. His attitude on having to study more than others because of lack of education is also exceptional because instead of giving up he is trying even harder to prove that even with all the circumstances he was facing he is able to get to the desired level through hard work and dedication. Even though Allan Dalton makes a living through business and does not rely basketball as much he also exerts the same kind of dedication for the game of basketball; “Sometimes on Saturday evenings, back in his hotel room after a day of proving himself yet again, on yet another playground, against yet another group of spring young legs too tired to take of his sneakers, his head pounding from an exertion headache, he wonders whether he should have accept one of those dinner invitations, but the next morning he’s up early again, looking out the hotel window, hoping for some sunshine so that he can play some basketball, checking the breeze to see if he and his teammates can shoot from the outside.” (Harper, pg 56) After all the struggles that Dalton is faced with daily including his age and physical ability he is still not giving up his love for the game. Dalton is an older man and because of his age his is often faced with stereotypes on the basketball court including other young teammates questioning his ability and skill. By dedicating himself to the game of basketball and not letting anything discourage him by keeping a positive attitude, Dalton becomes an inspiration to young players. Inclusively, the dedication that was shown by Russell Thomas regarding his education and Allan Dalton in concerning his pickup games shows us that even though they are two very diverse players they share a powerful characteristic making them more similar than we could imagine on the inside. All of us are faced with different struggles in our lives just like Dalton and Thomas and we must learn how to face these obstacles and try to make changes that will affect us only in positive ways. Russell Thomas had to learn how to cope with the fact that he was underprivileged and accept the fact that there were factors in his cultural surroundings that he could not change such as his socioeconomic status, while Allan Dalton had to face the reality that he was not the most skilled basketball player and would not make it to the NBA. Both of these players did the right thing by accepting what they could not change and making the best of the situation; Russell Thomas worked harder than ever before to educate himself while Allan Dalton kept himself happy by never quitting and continuing to be an example by showing the dedication of a true player by playing pickup basketball and inspiring others. All in all, it isn’t necessarily talent or intelligence that’s going to get you the farthest in life, it’s how you choose to view things and how much effort you put in that is going to reward you. In the end, the happiest people in life don’t have the best of everything they just make the best of everything they have.