Primal: Part One by Keith Thomas Walker Page B

negativity.
    “Let me guess,” the man said.  He leaned forward with his long forearms on the desk.  “They’re too slow.  They don’t hustle enough.  They miss all their shots.  They cry when they fall down, and no one comes to their games…”  His grin was bright and sunny.
    Marquis felt like he was being set up, but he nodded.  “Yeah, that’s about right.”
    “Man, that’s wrong,” Phillip chided him.
    Marquis grinned slightly.  “Hey, those were your words.”
    “But you agreed with me,” Phillip said.  “I was just fishing, trying to find out what your complaints were.  I don’t agree with any of that.  I think this position would be very rewarding.”
    “Have you coached girls’ basketball before?” Marquis wondered.  “You sound like you might have a little experience.”
    “Oh, no,” Phillip replied.  “I’ve never coached or played any sport professionally.  I didn’t even play in high school.”
    “Really?” Marquis asked, raising an eyebrow.
    “I know.  People see a tall, skinny black guy and assume he can ball.”
    Marquis shrugged.  “I did think that.”
    “No, I’m just a fan of the sport,” Phillip said.  “All sports, really.  I have a few sons who did pretty good in high school.  One of them got a basketball scholarship to TCU.  He’s not a starter, but he does get some playtime.  All of my boys went to Castleberry…”
    Marquis couldn’t hide his interest.  “I went to Castleberry.”
    “Yes, I know,” Phillip said.  “Class of 2007.”
    Marquis knew the recruiter got that information from his application, but he was surprised that he remembered such a small detail.
    “You played basketball all four years,” Phillip went on, “varsity for the last three…”
    Okay, that information wasn’t on his application.  Marquis’ expression was now guarded and curious.
    The recruiter laughed.  “I remember you!” he explained.  “My oldest son came out of Castleberry in ’09.  You played with him your senior year.  His name’s Barry.”
    Marquis’ eyes lit up.  “Oh, wow.  I remember Barry!  How’s he doing?”
    “Great!” Phillip said.  “He got a nursing degree from Texas Lutheran.  Lives in Weatherford now.Married with two kids.”
    “That’s awesome,” Marquis quipped.  “I always knew that guy would end up helping people one day.  He was one of those kind of people you could always count on.”
    “Yes,” the recruiter said.  “He is.  But my point is you have a strong basketball background, so I think coaching the girls’ team would be a good move for you.”
    Marquis was not thrilled to get back to that subject.
    “I know you went to LSU on a football scholarship,” the recruiter said.  “And everyone knows how great you played for the Cowboys.”
    “Yeah, right.  I didn’t even finish my first season.”
    “Through no fault of your own,” Phillip added.  “If you had been healthy, you’d be on a Gatorade bottle by now.  Those numbers you were putting up had every defensive line in the league shaking in their boots when they saw you on the field.”
    Marquis’ mind drifted back to his glory days in the NFL.  But some of his memories were not as pleasant as the recruiter’s.
    “I also know about the rough patch you had when you returned to Overbrook Meadows in 2012,” Phillip continued.  For the first time during the meeting, his smile went away.  “I know about the partying,” he said.  “I know about the fights, and I know about the arrest …”
    Marquis suddenly had a sinking feeling in his gut.  The rough patch the recruiter was referring to didn’t last long, but it was memorable.  Marquis was somewhat of a celebrity at the time, so his few bad deeds made it to the local papers.  One had even made it to the national news.
    But, “Those charges were dropped,” he said in his defense.
    “Yes,” the recruiter said, all smiles again.  “I know.  I don’t think you