Night Hoops

Carl Deuker is the award-winning author of the novel for young readers Night Hoops (2000). Deuker has authored several notable sports novels for teens and children, including Heart of a Champion (1994) and On the Devil’s Court (1991). Night Hoops centers on basketball, bringing together the coming-of-age and mystery genres. The plot revolves around two teen boys—Nick Abbott and Trent Dawson—who play on their high school’s varsity basketball team. As Nick tries to help Trent distance himself from his violent older brother, the narrative explores themes including Judging People Based on Their Present and Not Their Past, The Contagiousness of Bad Behavior, and The Off-the-Court Impact of Basketball.

This guide references the 2000 Houghton Mifflin e-book edition. 

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of animal cruelty and death, physical abuse, graphic violence, and bullying.

Plot Summary

Nick Abbott is a teen living in Bothell, Washington—a Seattle suburb. Nick went to Canyon Park Junior High, where he was a star point guard. The middle school went through ninth grade, so he’ll start Bothell High as a sophomore in the fall. During the summer, Nick plays a pick-up game at the middle school, and Trent Dawson, who is his age and lives across the street, charges into him. Nick calls a foul, but Trent contests the call, squeezing Nick’s face. Trent and his older brother, Zack, have a history of violent bullying and lawlessness, so Nick doesn’t push the conflict.

Scott is Nick’s older brother, and he plays on the varsity basketball team, but basketball doesn’t inspire him like jazz. Scott’s instrument is the trumpet, and he regularly practices it with his girlfriend, Katya Ushakov, whose family is from Russia. Katya has a little brother, Michael, who goes to a school for students with learning conditions. The Dawson brothers regularly make fun of Michael.

Scott and Nick’s father, Dad, played basketball in high school, drawing the attention of college scouts. However, once Dad started playing selflessly—focusing on assists and rebounds instead of scoring points—the scouts lost interest. Dad pressures Scott to choose basketball over jazz so Scott can have the success that eluded him. To encourage Scott and keep his sons away from the Dawson brothers, Dad willfully ignores the wishes of Scott and Nick’s mother, Mom, demolishes her rose garden, and builds a basketball court in the backyard.

Nick and Scott play one-on-one, and Nick gradually makes the games closer before beating Scott in front of Katya and Dad. Scott doesn’t try too hard, and Dad calls him a quitter. Scott announces that he’s done with basketball. Nick has always felt like the “second son,” but with Scott no longer playing basketball, Dad takes Nick more seriously. Fed up with Dad’s overbearing behavior, Mom scolds Dad. Mom and Dad fight regularly until Dad leaves and the parents divorce.

High school starts, and Nick has many classes with Trent, including gym. The gym class plays touch football, and Nick forcefully pushes Trent, causing Trent to fall into a drainage ditch. A scuffle ensues, but the gym teacher breaks it up. Afterward, Trent and Zack nearly drown Nick in a drainage ditch near their homes. Thankfully, Luke Jackson, a basketball player who attends Bothell, interferes.

A basketball tournament becomes the focus of gym, and the tournament serves as a showcase for Coach O’Leary—the school’s sardonic but knowledgeable basketball coach. To impress Coach O’Leary, Nick and Luke practice together on the backyard basketball court, with their chemistry manifesting in the games. Trent, too, plays well in the games. Luke thinks he, Nick, and Trent can make varsity.

The Dawson house is loud and messy. Ericka Dawson—Nick and Trent’s mother—has many boyfriends, and her current boyfriend, Steve Clay, comes to the Abbott house to ask permission to use their basketball court at night. Without consulting Nick, Mom agrees, and Nick hears Steve and Trent play. Steve isn’t overbearing like Dad, and the “thump” sound soothes Nick.

Dad takes Nick to see an intrasquad game between players on the NBA team, the Seattle Supersonics. (Also known as the Sonics, the team moved to Oklahoma City for the 2008-09 NBA season, becoming the Oklahoma City Thunder.) The Sonics have Gary Payton—an all-star who plays the same position as Nick: point guard. While Nick can’t fathom modeling his game after someone like Michael Jordan, he thinks he can learn from Payton. In the game, Payton plays unselfishly until the end, when he takes over and makes the game-winning shot. Dad thinks Nick should also look for his shot during “crunch time.”

During official tryouts for varsity, Trent crashes into a player. O’Leary calls a charge, so Trent yells at the coach and trashes the locker room. The next day, Trent apologizes. Trent, Nick, and Luke make the team. Police arrest Zack for animal abuse, but Trent says he wasn’t involved, so once his grades improve, he’ll play. Steve and Ericka break up; instead of playing with Steve on the backyard basketball court, Trent plays with Nick. Gradually, the two boys form a loyal bond.

Heeding Dad’s advice, Nick tries to take the game-winning shot in Bothell’s first game. The opposing player easily blocks it, and the Bothell players treat Nick like he’s a “contagious disease.” O’Leary moves Nick to third string, so he doesn’t play, and Bothell loses 2-5.

Michael is the key witness in the animal abuse case, but Michael’s testimony changes. Sometimes, he says it was just Zack; other times, he says it was Trent and Zack. One night, Zack stops by the backyard basketball court and tries to get Trent to go somewhere with him, but Trent declines. Soon, Nick reads a newspaper about the shooting of a Bothell youth—Michael. The police and most of the community believe Zack shot Michael as payback. Trent claims he had nothing to do with the shooting, and Nick believes him and sticks by him, though it leads to Nick’s isolation.

Trent has started passing his classes, so he can now play basketball. As the team continues to perform poorly, O’Leary gives Trent and Nick minutes, and the two propel a winning streak. However, Trent might have to leave at any moment. Zack is on the run; once he finds a secure place, he’ll call Trent, and Trent will go to him. Trent feels loyal to Zack because Zack cared for him when he was little. Nevertheless, Nick doesn’t think Trent should “mess up” his life for Zack.

The final game of the season is against the powerhouse basketball high school Garfield, and Trent is absent. The game is at Bothell, but Bothell plays poorly, and the fans boo. Nick helps lead a comeback, but a bloody nose sidelines him. Trent appears, and Nick returns to the game. The two friends play well together, and in the final seconds, Nick finds an open teammate who shoots an “ugly” three-pointer that manages to go in. The fans rush the court, and Trent implies that he has no plans to run off to his brother: He’ll stay in Bothell with Nick.