Murray was out with Robin and was not back at midnight. Sooley went to sleep and was awakened shortly thereafter when his roommate made a noisy entrance and turned on the lights. He was distraught and said he needed to talk to someone. When Sooley could focus he realized Murray’s eyes were red.
“She broke up with me,” he said, his voice hoarse and strained.
“What?”
“She ditched me, just like that.”
“Did she say why?”
“Of course she said why. We’ve been at it for the past two hours. Said she’d found somebody else and wanted out. Said all sorts of crazy shit.”
Sooley suddenly had a knot in his stomach and was horrified that he might be the “somebody else.” “I’m so sorry, Murray. I don’t know what to say.”
“There’s nothing to say so just listen, okay? How can she do this to me? I love this girl and I thought we were on to something great. And, man, was she hot in bed. I mean, one minute we’re doing great and the next thing I know she’s found another man. I don’t believe this.” He wiped his eyes and for a long time stared painfully at the floor, completely heartbroken.
Timidly, Sooley asked, “Any idea who the other guy is?”
“No. She was too chicken to tell me.”
What a relief. Sooley suspected that the truth was that Robin had slept with several athletes, and he was secretly thrilled that she was out of the picture. His best friend deserved better.
Sooley’s phone buzzed quietly. He looked at the screen and was horrified to see a text from Robin: I still wanna c u naked.
He put the phone under his pillow and stretched out on his bed.
Women!
CHAPTER 37
Conference play began in earnest with a short bus ride to Greensboro for a game against North Carolina A&T, Central’s biggest rival. With the students still on break, the small gym was only half full and both teams were sluggish. Midway through the first half, Coach Britt yanked Duffy Sunday, a guard who’d thrown up four bricks, and replaced him with Murray. Still feeling jilted and with something to prove, he promptly stole a pass at the top of the key, sprinted to the rim, and finished with a rousing slam dunk. Sooley had never seen him move so fast and the play inspired the Eagles. The next trip down, he hit a long three and screamed at the bench. The team came to life and went on a 10–0 run that put them up by six at the half. A&T fell apart in the second half, primarily because Murray was all over the court. He played 27 minutes, led the team with 15 points, then led the singing all the way home. Late that night, in the dorm room, he called Ernie and they debriefed for half an hour.
Their home opener was against Coppin State, Monday, January 11. Miss Ida, Jordan, and Ernie arrived early and Sooley visited with them in the stands before the game. They were excited because Murray would be starting. It was amazing how a little playing time could lift the spirits of parents.
Miss Ida said, “He’s playing better because he got rid of that girl.”
Ernie said, “She was nothing but trouble, but he’s playing because he deserves to play.”
Sooley offered no opinion on the girl. Robin had stopped texting and had probably moved on to her next victim. When it was time to get dressed, he hugged Jordan and said goodbye for a few months. She would leave the following day for law school.
Murray gave them plenty to cheer about. He and Mitch Rocker controlled the backcourt and kept the pace a little slower, something Coach Britt had planned. Coppin State was small but fast and preferred to run, but struggled from the outside. Murray had three steals and six assists in the first half, and though he didn’t score he played 15 minutes. He hit two bombs to start the second half and the Eagles never looked back.
* * *
·?·?·
Four days later, the team left on a chartered flight to Tallahassee to play the Rattlers of Florida A&M. FAMU was a top preseason pick and had beaten Howard at home four days earlier. The Central coaches were hopeful that with two straight wins the team had turned the corner and found some traction. The new lineup, with Murray at guard and Jabari Nix at forward, had looked unbeatable against Coppin State. FAMU was known for its aggressive man-to-man defense, and surprised the Eagles by pressing full-court from the opening tip-off. Murray and Mitch Rocker struggled to break the press and the offense was out of sync. When they managed to cross mid-court, 10 seconds were gone and they couldn’t run their plays. FAMU jumped to an early lead and never slowed down.
Flying home, Coach Britt checked the other scores from around the conference and saw what he expected but didn’t like. Central was the first MEAC team to lose 10 games. And two of those teams, Howard and FAMU, were even better than the experts had anticipated. At 6–10, with fourteen conference games to go, he had the queasy feeling that his team was in free fall, and he wasn’t sure how to save it.