The Unkindest Cut

Scoogy draws and redraws a red line through D. Buchanan.

The next target on the list is Poughkeepsie Kris. His skills are on a par with those of the other top point-guard candidates, but he missed two weeks of intra-murals when he was suspended for fighting, and he's in academic trouble. "If he stood out a lot from the other guys, maybe you'd consider it," says Mark, "but with these other things...."

"You've got too many point guards as it is," says Ricky. Scoogy draws another red line, through K. Bottoms.

The discussion turns to Preston. "He's a great kid, a super kid," says Ricky. "But you can't have that many guards. Why drag it out for him?"

Scoogy has Preston in gym class, and he likes the kid a lot. He slowly draws a line through the boy's name.

"You're going to have to get rid of Doober," says Nick. "You can't keep that many point guards."

"Yeah, but Doober, he's the smartest kid on the court sometimes," says Ricky.

"I'll give him another look," says Scoogy.

When they finish, Ricky ribs Scoogy: "Man, you are gonna be unpopular around here. You ain't even gonna be able to go to church! People gonna be throwin' Bibles at you!"

Wednesday, 7 a.m.