Ruby & Spear — Todd Walton

Fired sports columnist Vic Worsley discovers a renewed vigor for life when he becomes involved in the promising career of Spear, a talented young basketball player, who refuses to trust Vic's encouragement.

Sportswriter Vic Worsley is forty-four, divorced, and burned out. His basketball column for the San Francisco Chronicle is fueled by strong coffee, red wine, and anger, instead of the love he once had for the game. But his life is about to be changed by two women. One is Greta Eagleheart, whom he has known, worked with, and flirted with for three years; the other is a fierce old soul named Ruby Carmichael, who insists that Vic come watch her child play basketball as no one before him ever has. Although Vic resists at first, he finds himself inexorably drawn to the roughest neighborhood in Oakland--to Tillsbury Park, where many of the legendary great men got their start.

Spear Rashan Benedentes is a twenty-seven-year-old giant, a phenomenal athlete who soars effortlessly above the rim and commands the respect and awe of Tillsbury's savviest players. In spite of his protestations and bad back, Vic is thrust onto the court, where the game is as serious as life itself. While Spear teaches him a new understanding of sport, brotherhood, and family, Greta forces him to look deep within himself--for the courage to change and for the strength to play and love with all his heart.