Foul Trouble

Terrell is the second protagonist and point-of-view character of the novel. While Danny plays more of a support role on the team, Terrell is the star who makes difficult shots and leads the team to easy victories. Terrell’s character also demonstrates the price of talent. While Terrell loves basketball and feels at home on the court, this sense of ease is also challenged by the attention that his skill brings him. While Danny initially wishes for similar attention, Terrell just wants to play basketball and remain free of entanglements. In the early chapters, Terrell trusts the people who claim to be his friends and help him to get whatever he wants, and it isn’t until he faces serious consequences for his poor decisions that he realizes The Power of Temptation. Terrell learns his lessons quickly and reinvests himself in the pure love of the game itself, and this shift in mindset ultimately saves him. Terrell finds the money associated with Athena and the University of Atlanta appealing because it would allow him to provide for his mom, something that he wants to do. However, to provide for her in this way, he is expected to trade in his freedom to play basketball on his terms, and he is not willing to pay this price.

Danny’s dad is the coach of Danny and Terrell’s high school basketball team. Whereas many other coaches are more concerned with their team’s success than with the welfare of their players, Danny’s dad steadfastly commits to the safety of his team. This approach sometimes seems harsh, such as when he benches both Danny and Terrell to punish Terrell’s decision to take drugs. However, Danny’s dad does these things out of love, not cruelty. He has been coaching for years and understands that The Power of Temptation can corrupt young athletes unless they have down-to-earth supporters. Danny’s dad represents the kind of coach who can truly make a difference. Thanks to his influence, both boys develop strong morals.

Swanson is a star player whom Danny and Terrell meet at basketball camp. His struggle with the pressures of fame indicates that life experience leads to important growth. When Swanson first appears, he is arrogant and mean, and he willingly takes bribes and gifts from brands and recruiters. On the court, Swanson makes it clear that he has the skill to back up his attitude, but that skill alone is not enough to make Danny or Terrell respect Swanson or his choices. Following Omar Whytlaw’s injury, Swanson starts to question his attitude and reconsider his willingness to accept money and bribes. Swanson’s choice to free himself from these toxic arrangements foreshadows Terrell’s similar decision at the end of the book. Swanson’s journey indicates that it is never too late to change, and the friendship he develops with Danny and Terrell exemplifies the importance of Valuing True Friends over Fair-Weather Friends.

Bobby Kelleher is the only reporter that Danny and Terrell trust. Whereas other reporters want juicy stories to turn into scandals, Kelleher is more concerned with exposing the shady deals and bribes that occur behind the scenes of college football and the recruitment process. He initially goes to Danny because his years of investigative experience tell him that gaining an outsider’s perspective is the best way to learn what is really happening. Because Danny has little to gain or lose from the brands and recruiters, he is an excellent source of information. By the end of the book, Kelleher acknowledges that the story has been months in the making. He knows that a story of this magnitude cannot be rushed, so he remains content to let the information flow in its own time to report as accurately as possible.