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CHAPTER 4: DRAFT DAY
 By Jim Caple |
Previously at 24 College Avenue: Jill Thomas’s college basketball career ended
when she tore her ACL during a She Devils game. After a grueling rehab program,
she’s playing with a pro team in Ljubjlana, Slovenia. Meanwhile, her old
boyfriend, Devils star Dwayne Patterson, has been preparing for his likely
first-round selection in the NBA draft. . . .
Jill sipped the beer and rubbed her right knee, unconsciously tracing the surgical
scar with her finger.
Somehow, she and her teammates had not only found a bar in Ljubljana with a
satellite dish and the proper coordinates to pick up the NBA draft, they had
convinced the owner to stay open well after 2 a.m. so they could watch it.
“Look at those guys,’’ Chardonnay Knight griped. “They’re dressed like they’re
waiting for a remake of ‘Shaft.’”
Jill laughed and took another drink. She and Chardonnay had been arch rivals just
a few months earlier when they were playing for State College and City University
but they had become good friends since signing with the Ljubljana Amazons. The
only two Americans on the team, she and Chardonnay shared an apartment in the old
town. They stayed up late swapping college stories, tutoring each other in
Slovenian and crying to each other whenever they got homesick.
“What a phony,’’ Chardonnay said, pointing at the screen. “How could anyone
possibly be that excited about playing in Indianapolis?’’
“I know what you mean. It’s like when Dwayne thought Utah was going to pick him.
He went on and on about how he was going to love playing in Utah, how there was so
much to do there and the fans were so great. And after about five minutes of this,
he turned and asked me, ‘But there’s one thing I’m not sure about. Is Utah a city
or a state?’ ’’
“Men,’’ Chardonnay nodded. “It’s a miracle they can get dressed in the morning.
Though, looking at some of these guys, I’m not sure they can.’’
For all the joking, the truth of the matter was they were all insanely jealous of
the money the players were about to receive. The top picks would receive more than
$12 million while even the lowest first-rounders would get about $3 million.
That’s the real reason they should have been called lottery picks – they were the
ones who were about to win the lottery, and they would go on cashing their checks
for years to come. The highest paid player on the Amazons – God, Jill hated that
name almost as much as she hated She Devils – earned $63,000 though even that was
an overstatement. For this lofty salary, center Camilia Brabrickavich was also
expected to coach seven youth basketball camps, speak at weekly breakfasts to
boost ticket sales and help maintain the arena during the offseason.
Jill, meanwhile, would make $23,289.54 – “and FIFTY-FOUR CENTS,’’ she always
stressed whenever telling anyone her salary – for her rookie season. Dwayne would
make more than that per game.
Dwayne. That’s the main reason Jill wanted to watch the draft. She hoped he would
slip far down in the draft so she could see him squirm in his chair and his new
suit. It would serve him right for the way he had treated her. To think he had
actually refused to drive her to the airport the day she left for Europe because
he had to get fitted for that lime green monstrosity. Worse, he had said that he
wouldn’t miss her once he started getting women on the road with his NBA team. And
worst of all, he had waited until AFTER they had had sex one last time before he
told her any of that. Jill had slapped him so hard that she half expected to see a
welt still on his cheek when the camera panned across the row of future
millionaires.
Jill not only was disappointed to see there was no welt, she had to reluctantly
admit to herself that Dwayne looked striking in his green suit.
“Damn, not many men can pull off a green suit but your man definitely can,’’
Chardonnay said.
“I told you a hundred times he’s not my man anymore,’’ Jill said. “He’s just a @#&
bastard.’’
“Well, baby, you might want to kiss and make up because I’m telling you, he’s
looking good.’’
“And he will be rich soon, no?’’ Camilia said.
“Yeah, he’s going to be rich,’’ Jill said bitterly. “He spent the last three
months we were together talking about nothing but what he was going to buy when he
signed his contract. Cars, a house, a $50,000 home theater system, bling. But I
noticed that he never mentioned buying anything for me.’’
“Men,’’ Camilia said. “All bastards.’’
Jill chuckled. She wondered about Camilia’s sexual orientation and her
relationship history. She exuded absolutely no hint of sexuality, especially when
wearing the Amazons red home uniforms that made the center look like a large
Texaco gas pump. She once saw Camilia wipe her eyes while watching a teammate
kissing on the dance floor. Which person was she sad to see kissing though, the
teammate or the man?
Jill watched the first four picks go by with only slight interest. Dwayne might
have convinced himself he was going to be a high lottery pick but she knew better.
She figured he would go somewhere between 10 and 14.
Yet, the 10th through the 14th picks came and went, and Dwayne wasn’t picked. A
camera picked him up rising slightly from his seat when the TrailBlazers announced
they were picking “Dwayne . . .’’ and Jill laughed when he was forced to sit back
down as they completed the pick by saying “ . . . Ellis. Dwayne Ellis of City
University.’’
“Good for him,’’ Chardonnay said as Ellis held up a Blazers jersey. “He’s a very
nice guy. Smart, too. He knows where Utah is.’’
Jill slapped hands with Camilia when Dwayne wasn’t taken in the first 20 picks and
hugged Knight when he wasn’t taken in the top 25. For once, Jill felt better about
her career than Dwayne’s. Sure, she wasn’t getting paid much but the point was she
was being paid something to play basketball. And while she would have rather
played in the WNBA, she found living in Slovenia a wonderful, eye-opening
experience. She loved watching the older women scurrying about the market place in
the morning, loved buying delicious meats, cheeses and bread in the shops, loved
sitting in the city square sharing coffee with her teammates in the late morning
sun or sharing beers with them in the late evening. It was like being on the
longest, best vacation of her life. Dwayne would never realize what he was
missing.
Her joy – schadenfreude, actually – was short-lived, As the first round went by
and Dwayne’s name still wasn’t called, Jill found herself feeling sorry for
Dwayne. She knew how much playing in the NBA meant to him – how he had no other
goal or interest in his life. What was happening? Why wasn’t anyone picking him?
Even the broadcasters were asking the question.
The second round picks came and went. The 40th. The 45th, the 50th. And when the
final pick was announced, the camera focused in on Dwayne’s face, catching a tear
running down his cheek as he realized he had not been drafted. It was the moment
Jill had wanted to see ever since he refused to take her to the airport. But
seeing it just made her feel awful.
Camilia stood and gave out high-fives and shouted “Take that bastard! No money for
you!’’ But Jill just wanted her to sit down.
Chardonnay looked over at Jill. “Hey girl, why are you crying?’’
“It’s nothing,’’ Jill replied. “Just something in my eye.’’
Next: Charles Bridge
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