The Outside Shot

by Walter Dean Myers

New Ebook Bonus -Book Group Discussion Questions-Q&A with screenwriter John Ballard-Excerpt from Hoops-Excerpt from 145th Street-Excerpt from On a Clear DayWhen Lonnie Jackson leaves Harlem to take a basketball scholarship at a midwestern college, he knows he must keep his head straight and his record clean. That's the only way he'll have a chance of making it to the pros someday.But his street smarts haven't prepared him for the pressures of tough classes, high-stakes college ball, and the temptation to fix games for local gamblers. Everyone plays by a whole new set of rules -- including Sherry, who's determined to be a track star. Her independence attracts Lonnie, but their on-again, off-again relationship is driving him crazy.Lonnie has one year to learn how to make it as a "college man." It's his outside shot at a bright future. Does he have what it takes?

Genres: Sports, Young Adult, Fiction, Realistic Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

pseudonyms:
Stacie Williams
Stacie Johnson

Walter Dean Myers was born on August 12, 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia but moved to Harlem with his foster parents at age three. He was brought up and went to public school there. He attended Stuyvesant High School until the age of seventeen when he joined the army.

After serving four years in the army, he worked at various jobs and earned a BA from Empire State College. He wrote full time after 1977.

Walter wrote from childhood, first finding success in 1969 when he won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest, which resulted in the publication of his first book for children, Where Does the Day Go?, by Parent's Magazine Press. He published over seventy books for children and young adults. He received many awards for his work in this field including the Coretta Scott King Award, five times. Two of his books were awarded Newbery Honors. He was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award and the Virginia Hamilton Award. For one of his books, Monster, he received the first Michael Printz Award for Young Adult literature awarded by the American Library Association. Monster and Autobiography of My Dead Brother were selected as National Book Award Finalists.

In addition to the publication of his books, Walter contributed to educational and literary publications. He visited schools to speak to children, teachers, librarians, and parents. For three years he led a writing workshop for children in a school in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Walter Dean Myers was married, had three grown children and lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. He died on July 1, 2014, following a brief illness. He was 76 years old.

Reviews

[Bryson Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a dearth of young adult literature centering Black boys, so I enjoyed reading a book that spoke to my experiences as an adolescent. The storytelling isn’t compelling, but it’s familiar and I enjoyed reading it.

[The Jred · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the book the outside shot. It was about an African-American basketball player from Harlem who is going to play college basketball for a small college in Indiana. This book is about him adapting to life outside of Harlem. It is one big adventure for him where he gets into some trouble, finds love, and gets to help change people's lives.
The book starts out very slowly but once you get halfway through this book the real storyline takes off and lots of excitement takes place. I would recommend this book if you are a person who is looking for an interesting basketball book based in the late 70's to early 80's. The characters and their language are believable. I didn't think that the people sounded normal in the book but i also wasn't around in the time period that this book was written. The plot was also believable it involves some gambling, academics, suicide, and a little bit of racism. The story had a good message about the way people have to adjust to life in order to succeed. Overall it was an interesting book about basketball. It was a little slow at the beginning but it turned out to be an alright book. I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

[Skinnywhitedude19 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Outside Shot is about a guy named Lonnie Jackson who plays high school basketball in Harlem, New York. Then there?s some scouts who see him so they gave him a scholarship to play college basketball at the University of Montclair. Then he got there and met his room mate Colin Young. After a while he meets Some more friends and meets a girl named Sherry and starts failing some classes. Then Lonnie breaks up with sherry after a while and gets in a fight with his coach and can?t play for a game or two. Then a kid dies at the college and they get in trouble at a store in their town and almost get caught by the police. Then at the end he gets back together with Sherry. `

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
Lonnie leaves Harlem for his opportunity to play college ball in a small Midwestern town. He is not strong academically and not motivated in that arena. For a street smart youth, he is naive about the troubles/temptations that face him. Hopefully athletes are better informed about NCAA regs, but there are always some kids that think rules aren't for them.

As much as I love basketball, this book was not written for me. I do think it would be a very good book for high school athletes to read, especially if they have the opportunity to play collegiate sports.

[Dequan Cade · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Outside Shot is the most positive book Ive ever read because the book is about a harlem guy is tryin to turn his life around from being a struggle into a huddle

[Reese · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Outside Shot Book Review
If given the chance would you change yourself? This is the internal conflict Lonnie Jackson faces in Walter Dean Myers’s realistic fiction The Outside Shot. The Outside Shot follows Lonnie Jackson, a boy from Harlem, through his journey at Montclare State. Lonnie was accepted to Montclare on a basketball scholarship and soon realizes his scholarship is not as much as a blessing as he thought. Now at Montclare State Lonnie faces new emotional, social, and legal problems he had never faced in Harlem. He is overwhelmed by all the change happing so quickly in his life and is looking for security in the crazy world of college he has entered. He meets a beautiful girl named Sherry, she is exactly like Lonnie, but he can’t seem to get her interested in him. After the turndown, by Sherry, Lonnie looks for different friends. He finds them, but they are in all the wrong places. Without a lifeline, Lonnie feels like an outsider just looking in on to his own life.
The Outside Shot is an incredible story written by an even more incredible author. Each line seems perfectly crafted to allow the reader to experience the book with all five of their senses. For example, “Hauser had dirty-blond hair and grey eyes that never blinked.” Myers uses similar descriptive patterns throughout the book which allows the reader to understand every aspect of the story. These descriptions were extremely engaging and held the reader’s attention. While still being descriptive, the author keeps the language and word choice of The Outside Shot very casual and typically. The main character, Lonnie Jackson, is a college freshman and talks very similar to most teens and young adults now. On one of the pages in the book Lonnie States, “The cat’s face wasn’t like blank, which is what I thought Ann meant.” Myers uses his casual word choice wisely and makes reading this book simple yet still exciting with the aid of an amazing plot. As the book progresses, Lonnie worries and insecurities are introduced and are identical to what many young adults go through. As anyone would, Lonnie wishes to fit in and when that does not happen the author realistically describes what would happen when a person is feeling excluded. Since the author gives a realistic description of Lonnie’s emotions the reader is able to make connections, which allows the book more personable. The final comment to make on this book would be the inclusion of all abilities and types of people. The Outside Shot consist of a multitude of characters and each character is representative of a specific person. The inclusion of all these different characters helps normalizes and embrace people’s differences which is what every book should aim to do.
The Outside Shot was an astounding book plot-wise and extremely well written. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who has the ability to read. I believe the target audience for The Outside Shot is fourteen and above due to some of the more serious topics discussed in the book. The realistic descriptions, word choice, and inclusion in this book are the key factors to what makes The Outside Shot an incredible read.

[Nate]

The Outside Shot by Walter Dean Myers was a very good book. The setting was Montclair State College in Indiana. The main character was Lonnie Jackson also Lonnie's Mom was involden Along with his basketball team from college and there coaches and some friends that make the story quite interesting. I found this book while looking for something to read mainly a sports book so I looked around and found it on my teachers book shelf.

Lonnie Jackson has to learn how to adapt to indiana and the college. He meets his basketball team and they want him to go play a pick up game for money so they have some cash. Then one thing led to another and Lonnie was getting asked to throw games or shave some points off to win money. But he doesn't need to because he has a job in the hospital working with Eddie and he helps Eddie break out of his shell. Eddie's dad tries to interfere and mess things up and eddie seems to always want his dad to do good. So Lonnie let his dad win when they played and that made Eddie happy.

I thought the book ending was great. Lonnie was accepted into the brotherhood. Also Eddie had broken out of his shell and he said Lonnie was a nice guy. This made Lonnie happy so he told everyone even Sherry. By the end it seemed him and Sherry were starting to come together as a real couple. My favorite part was when Lonniw was playing basketball with Eddie and Eddie started playing hard and tried to beat Lonnie which helped Eddie come out of his shell. The book was very well rounded and it finished very well.

I personally liked this book and how it was made. It had basketball game sit had their practices. Also it Had a little love. But it also had Lonnie helping out kids which shows how even between College work, basketball he still had time to help a kid who needed him and only him. I think people who are into sport books even if you don't like basketball you will still like the book. Also people who like Walter Dean Myers would love this book. This is one of my favorite books by hims so I recommend it for others into sports.

[Kristina Pauna]

Lonnie Jackson was chosen to play basketball for Monteclair university. When he gets there he has a difficult time getting used to the college life. He has to deal with school and basketball and his social life. He meets a nice girl named Sherry who helps him with his feelings. During the games Coach Leeds is real mean to him. Lonnie gets in a fight with the coach and cannot play.
At the end of the story he almost got killed defending his good friend when he was getting jumped by these guys. They started beating each other up and he got stabbed by a guy with a knife.
I think that this book is meant for young people to love and read and relate to. With Lonnie's on and off girl problems with Sherry, lot's of kids can understand that and his struggles with school and grades. The Pros to this book are that is Lonnie going through lots of things people can learn from. I like this book because people can understand the things that go on in his life.
"
By the time I said my last good-byes to the people in my mother’s apartment building and started for the airport I chilled out a little, but not much. My moms went with me to the airport and we went through one of them things about not knowing what to say to each other. She was boohooing and whatnot and it almost got to me but I caught myself.

“You go out there and play good and do what they tell you,” she said.

Moms was okay. She didn’t know boo about no basketball, but she was okay."

[Chanelle S · Rating 3 out of 5]

CAUTION: YA Topics. Teen sex.

This is the sequel to Hoops, so read that one first.

Lonnie goes to college and is trying to make the pros, but class pressures, high-stakes games, and his girlfriend make the situation challenging.

(REVIEW: Good sports action. Issues: Teen relationships with parents and other adults, trust, teen sex. Written in 1984, so language may hold up some reluctant readers due to changes in slang.)

[Marcos Jimenez · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is cool.

[asahi :3 minimini · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was ab street hoop gambling. read it in 7th grade and this was what made me think reading wasn’t too bad

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot and characters were really nice to read about and it was a fun read but the ending was a little confusing but overall good read.

[Jonathan]

The Outside Shot by Walter Dean Myers addressed the college life of a Student athlete Lonnie Jackson.This book got me excited to go and play sports in college it showed me everything a student athlete goes through on the court,and in the classroom.Lonnie is a good basketball player but has some trouble in the classroom,but doesn't want to just let his scholarship go to waste so he gives everything he has at all his classes. I also like how Sherry the attractive track runner he meets in his history class keeps him going by telling him he can do well in his classes if he just keeps working hard, it just comes to show that if you have the right person in your corner, you can get through things you see as rough or impossible to accomplish.



The theme of The Outside Shot is that even while helping others you can still achieve your dreams, Lonnie was a very good friend to his teammates, and helping Eddie a little kid who seems shy and inside himself, Lonnie helps him to open up.But even through all this Lonnie focuses on taking his basketball game to a new level, and staying up on his classes.The author uses a simple but elegant writing style all from his point of view, I didn't really dislike or find anything special bout his writing style, it was very understandable so I had no problem with how Myers wrote the book.Myers used Humor between Lonnie and his teammates and towards people he came in contact with in College to show how he was a easy going person who could get along with anyone.Myers Explained the the college campus very well it made me feel as though I was on the campus,in the gym, and in the hospital where Lonnie worked.Myers Had a very Calm and Humors tone throughout the book.The tone on this book was more calm than the other books I've read by Myers.

Lonnie is a talented athlete and a very kind person who can hold a conversation with anyone who he meets,but has a little problem with talking to smart women he comes in contact with, like Sherry,When Lonnie first meet Eddie a kid he was helping at the hospital even though Eddie would keep his head down, and not pay attention to what Lonnie was doing, he continued to try and talk to and help Eddie open up.Sherry is a track runner from Milwaukee she is a very intelligent black woman she finds Lonnie as a hard worker and nice person but isn't looking for a relationship like Lonnie is but that won't stop her from pressuring a friendship with him. Then there's Colin the first teammate Lonnie meets he is from a small town in Illinois who doesn't look like much of a basketball player but when he gets on the court your jaw will drop. I like these characters because they all look out for each other which is something people need in life when your in a new place so I can relate to how a good friendship can help you get by in life and school.

The book takes place in Harlem for a short while, then in a Midwestern college called Montclare.The books setting differs from my school for one I am in high school, and unlike the campus on Montclare its more diversity.Myers detail drew up a beautiful campus to the point that if I closed my eyes and while I was reading the book I could see everything from how the buildings looked, to how the sky and trees looked.

Lonnie is trying to get use to the college life, which isn't so easy because he is far from home and isn't to use to the way his team plays but with help from his friends,and Sherry he gets though it all.Which comes to show we can get through everything with a little help.

I can't relate the book to any other book I've read but this book can relate to every day life with the help from friends or family.On a personal note I know that without the love,and support from my family I wouldn't have the mental strength to do the things I do everyday.


I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about how a college athlete goes thorough when he/she leaves home.

[Anthony Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book review
The outside shot
By: Anthony Cruz

For my English part of my special interest project, I read the book The Outside Shot. Now this book relates to my topic because it is a novel about a pre-adult in college that gets excepted to a college, and plays basketball, but he has many challenges in front of him. This book I read shows more than a maturing man playing basketball, it shows the life lessons he learns, and what playing a sport is really about.

In this book, I thought to myself, and looked at the problems he face. First, the character’s name is Lonnie Jackson, and he is from Harlem. He isn’t a bad person, but his behavior skills could be better. This young man plays basketball, and is so good at it, a college in Montclare offers him to stay at their for the college team, and it gives him a chance to make it in the NBA. Now when he goes to Montclare, he makes a lot of great friends. and he meets this girl at the nursing home, and later on, they become more then friends. Now, Lonnie first starts off meeting a fatman, and his name is fatman. He gives the basketball player money and free pizza if they win their games. When Lonnie first gets into their college, he sees that their is really no one better than him, but he gets less time on the game. The other basketball player are friends with him, but soon he finds new problems.

first, he needs a job, and works with a boy name Edd. Edd has autism,. and Lonnie tries to teach him how to play basketball. At first, it does work, but after awhile things change. Then the girl that works their, Sherry, finds herself and Lonnie getting together. he does like her, but his behavior affects it. And the biggest problems he has is; he does something to the team that suspends him from basketball. another problem is that him and Sherry are in a on and off relationship. Also, Edd is making any progress and the dad wants to play him in a game. And one of the last problems in college is that he finds himself almost getting in trouble by the cops. but soon his problems will be faced, and he will learn from them.

Now with the Edd problem, he keeps playing with him, and after weeks of work, he talks and is more active. then his father wants to play him in a game. But Lonnie decides to play the dad in a one on one game instead. Lonnie wins, and the boy becomes healthier because of Lonnie. Lonnie job is to help Edd and it pays off. With Sherry Lonnie learns from his past mistakes with her. For example, he tried to get her to a bed she he could do something with her, but she wasn’t agreeing with his ideas, and he got mad. But he learned, and their relationship is on, and not off. And the biggest problem is that he slacks off in practice, and messes with one of the players. he feels ashamed of himself, and has to apologize to everyone on the team. but after the suspension, he learns, and continues to play ball. And when he almost got in trouble by the cops, he had to help hide his friend sneak out of a store because they were stuck in their.

In the ending, he thinks about the future, and learns and looks back at his adventure. He knows he might not make it to NBA, but he knows the future is bright, and he will shine. Also, he still got to play basketball, and he knows that his real friends will get to the NBA because they deserve it. But at the end, he realized that basketball isn’t bout being athlete. Its about being focus, and learning. And as he said, he was doing ok.

[Sergio · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Spoiler Alert**

If you think you aren't good enough you should "The Outside Shot" and it will show you that you are good enough. " The Outside Shot" by Walter Dean Myers is a realistic novel. I really enjoyed this book.


Lonnie Jackson, a college kid from Harlem, New York wants to go to college and play basketball. However its very rare kids from his town go to college, but Lonnie does. He got a scholarship from Montclair in Indiana. It's a different lifestyle that Lonnie is used too, but Lonnie has to make a lot of changes. While Lonnie tries to prove that he could play college ball he faces many problems. The coache Leeds doesn't give him a lot of playing time. Leeds feels Lonnie can't handle and play at the college level. Lonnie on the other hand believes he make the pros. Lonnie Jackson is sort of in a relationship with a girl name Sherry. Sherry is a track star. Sherry is smart and determined about track. Sherry and Lonnie don't really get along that good. Lonnie tries to get money so he plays basketball for a gambler named Fat Man. Fat Man owns a pizza place not far from campus. He scares people and is tough. Fat Man likes to bet even if he loses money. Lonnie and a teammate Larson play for fat man. Another way Lonnie tries to earn money is he helps out in the clinic. He spends time with this kid called Eddie who is very quiet and has disability. Lonnie tries to interact with Eddie with basketball. Lonnie takes Eddie to the gym and tries to play basketball with him. Later on Eddie really likes Lonnie. Lonnie is the only one who could make Eddie have a good time. Then something happens a guy named Ray commits suicide after not making an Italian team. Lonnie was friends with him. They met while play basketball for the Fat Man. Lonnie is struck by this and starts to see life different. There one more problem Lonnie faces and this is a huge one. Lonnie was charged for contacting local gamblers. Police and Montclair investigated to see if Lonnie was contacting with criminals. As for now Lonnie Jackson has been suspended from playing with Montclair and taking classes at Montclair. While Lonnie is so depressed he gets drunk every night. Sherry and his teammate and roommate Collin who is a country boy from Indiana try to get him back on his feet. Lonnie was then found innocent. He became a starter and proved himself to everyone. This is a person vs person conflict.


My favorite part was when Lonnie went to meet Collins family in Indiana. It was funny because Lonnie tried to adapt to the farm type. Lonnie also adapted to Montclair and the lifestyle their. Montclair is different from Harlem because in Montclair most of the people are white. The way they basketball is different from Harlem. You can't play your own way at there college. Lonnie trys to adapt to it.


I like the way Walter Dean Myers made Lonnie. Lonnie is a normal person from the city. Lonnie is also in a different lifestyle than what he is used to. He tries his best on the court and in the class. I can relate to him because we both like basketball and we are both from almost the same lifestyle. Lonnie is also like Poalo a character from " The Hero on The Bicycle" because they both want to prove something.


Overall, I liked this book. It was entertaining and interesting. I would rate this book a 10 because it was a good book and that I understand and connected with it also. I recomend this book to people who want to be good at a sport. This book a great book.

[Jordan Buchas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Outside Shot by Walter Dean Myers is a sports book that had me flipping pages quickly from the beginning.

The story begins with Lonnie, a teenager from Harlem is granted a scholarship to a small school in Indiana to play basketball. He has never been outside of New York, and attending Montclare State, he is one of the only African Americans on campus. It's hard for him to adjust to this.

Lonnie begins to tryout for the basketball team and is very nervous whether or not he will make the traveling team or not. What that means is that they team only takes a certain number of guys to play at away games. He begins to get to know his roomates and other teammates and is starting to enjoy the college experience a little more. He meets a girl named Sherry that he begins to like going to the movies to and hanging out with. But, Sherry confuses Lonnie and he doesnt know what she wants in him.

Lonnie begins to face adversity. For example, his teammates have broken into a music store in town, and one of them was locked in the store and had no way of getting out. Lonnie goes into town to help his teammates get Juice out of the store, but Juice is to big to get out of the whole he fit in to get in. They all end up locked in the store until the morning when the store was opened, but without stealing or damaging anything, they got out of it. Also, he is not a big fan of the assistant coach on the team and he back talks him once in practice and gets suspended for a game.

In Highschool, Lonnie had trouble with gambling and shaving points to lose baseketball games. He got rid of the habit for a little while, but was reencountered with gambling when he met The Fat Man. Lonnie faces many troubles in college and has to figure out ways to overcome and focus on his game.

In my opinion, Lonnie is stupid. He goes to one of the best schools in the nation to play college basketball and he is more worried about throwing it all away for money. He needs to focus on reaching his goal to make it to the NBA as an emerging star.

[Zack Marcinkiewicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lonnie Jackson is back and this time he’s in college. He grew up in the streets of Harlem and had no idea that he would eventually get a college scholarship from Montclare, a university in Indiana. He leaves Harlem to pursue his career in basketball. Once at college, he realizes that there aren’t many African-Americans around his campus. Not only that, but he realizes that most of the people playing at a college level had skills, and that surprised him. He feels a bit nervous at first, but then starts befriending people starting with one of his roommates, Colin. He also meets this girl that he seems to have a connection with named Sherry. He realizes that he has to make money because the scholarship only covers books and tuition. He gets a job at the University Hospital and he has to monitor “challenged” kids, and one in particular, named Eddie, he makes a connection with. Apparently, his job at the hospital didn’t pay enough. So he starts talking to a guy called Fat Man who makes bets on games and pays Lonnie for doing him favors like coaching an amateur game for example. Despite the fact that his old coach was murdered because of being involved in these bets, he still figured he needed the money, which eventually gets him in big trouble.

The Outside Shot is a direct sequel to the book called “Hoops”. Anyone who enjoyed the first installment would love this one as well. As a kid from Harlem, I love basketball, and I am also determined to make a career out of it. Anyone who generally likes basketball would enjoy this book. I actually couldn’t find a book when I found this, and when I read the blurb, I could not believe that it was the sequel to Hoops. I was eager to read. You feel like you really connect with Lonnie in both books and I have no regrets about reading them.

[Jermaine Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since my last good reads book was Hoop`s by Walter Dean Myers, Walter Dean inspired me to read his next sequel called “The Outside Shot.” I picked this book because; since I read the first one I would already understand this book more than others. Walter Dean is a very creative writer. In this book Lonnie gets a full ride scholarship to a mid –western college that is known for their basketball team. Lonnie use to gamble and fix basketball games. This is very bad. Then in college he started this up again, there was a person that started up these games. His name was Fat Man. Fat man would put more money on Lonnie then other players because he knew that Lonnie would win.

Then in the middle of the first semester a close friend of Lonnie had a severe heart attack. Then Lonnie had an interest in a girl named Sherry. Sherry was a great helper and supporter for Lonnie about the death of his friend. Lonnie coach was looking at Lonnie in the first game; the coach said that Lonnie was looking good. When the game was over, told his coach that he had fix the game .The two weeks after that game Lonnie is suspended.

Lonnie is an African American that is street smart and intelligent. Outside of the basketball court Lonnie is caring, loving, and very emotional. But on the court he is very tough and strong. Lonnie has been taught everything isn’t about winning it’s about having fun.Lonnie is a very good basketball play and he love to get girls.

If I was Lonnie I would hang around the right crowed of people. I wouldn`t gamble unless I gone to a casino. He should realize that if he goes to the NBA and he gambles all his money then he will be bankrupted and want to be able to afford a nice house or cars. Lonnie will hopefully be a NBA superstar that will be a billionaire. People that play basketball would love this book.

[Shawn Callender · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review

"The Outside Shot" by Walter Dean Myers is an sports(genre) about a teenage boy named Lonnie who gets a full sports scholarship to Midwestern college. Growing up in Harlem Lonnie has been educated in a different way than college appears to educate him. Lonnie struggles with his fairly new experience to maintain playing ball, classes/courses and a relation ship with a girl named Sherry. By the end of the novel Lonnie has adjusted to his life on campus and has learned from his many mistakes, the character begins to gain control of the pace of his life.

There are several things I enjoyed about this novel. First I enjoyed reading this specific type of genre. Sports is one of my main interest in reality so I already knew that I would like "The Outside Shot". The book covers the grounds of a teenager form the inner city chasing his dream to make it as a professional. It displays the realism of a college student and some of the many struggles a freshman in college will have to overcome in order succeed. This part of the story makes you feel as though you are in the characters shoes during the story.The last thing I enjoyed about the book is that it had a mixture of action, drama and suspense which are my favorite genre's in one book.

I would highly recommend this book to teens and young adults. It consist of many events that people of our age group can relate to or understand. This book is filled with excitement so it will not seem to bore you. The book is short and straight forward. That is why I would recommend this book.

[Khari · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Outside ShotThe book the outside shot was about the sport known as basketball. The main character in the story is named Lonnie. Lonnie wants to be professional ball player. He has to work hard so that he can get there. Where he grew up he was known as being a good player. He would practice and play on an organize team so that he can accomplish his goal. Also, he had friends that he hung out with and play ball with and he had a girl named Sherry. Next, college was a different thing for Lonnie. He knew that things were going to be different than how things were at home. Lastly, Lonnie has to do well in college in order for him to go the NBA.

There were things that I like about this book. I have an interest in basketball so i like reading this book. It showed how someone will work hard for something that they want to do. The main character put in allot of effort to make he achieve his dreams. Next, there was nothing that I dislike about this book. This was a book that I was interesting in reading because it is about my favorite sport which is basketball.

I would recommend to this book. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy the sport known as basketball. Also, I would recommend this book to people who like sports and people who like to read all of the time.

[Ben Collinge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, I thought this was an excellent book. It was about the life of an African American teenager named Lonnie. He grew up in Harlem, New York in a fairly poor family. However, this didn't stop him as he was granted a scholarship to play basketball at Montclare University. They were known for having a very good basketball team so this was an excellent opportunity for Lonnie to advance his basketball career. He was an excellent ball player since day one, but he always had a problem with gambling and fixing basketball games which rolled over into his collegiate career. Luckily, he was not found guilty through a school investigation and was able to resume playing after just a two week suspension. I would highly recommend this novel for high school students who are interested in sports. Lonnie's story truly is entertaining and had me always wanting to read more. I think if he keeps up his very hard work and determination, the sky is his limit and he will pursue his NBA aspirations. I thought the book was very well written and it kept me intrigued from the very beginning. If you are not into sports, I would not recommend this book as it includes a wide variety of basketball terms that only a sports-minded person would know. Overall, I thought The Outside Shot was an excellent novel and I am looking forward to reading more novels by Walter Dean Myers.

[Trevor H · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main characters name is Lonnie Jackson, a young African-American male who lives in Harlem. His dream is to be a basketball player; to be a star in college and eventually make his way to the pros. Living in Harlem is tough, living around rough conditions, but Lonnie finds away to keep himself out of trouble by dedicating all of his time on the basketball court. With his hard work and determination Lonnie’s dream of playing basketball at the college level has finally become true. After his senior year in high school, he has offered a scholarship from a small Midwestern college Montclair State. Although Lonnie is a smart kid he is still going to be pressured with tough college classes and high level of play college basketball, but he finds a way to manage that all. Unfortunately Lonnie makes one slip up in the temptation of fixing games for local gamblers; he finds a way back into focusing on school sports and only that. This is a great book and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in basketball and playing it at the next level in college. I highly encourage you to read the book “The Inside Shot”, by Walter Dean Myers.

[JulianM · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Outside Shot by Walter Dean Myers
Setting: Montclare State,Indiana
Characters:Lonnie,Sherry,Larson,Juice,Colin,Eddie
I found the book when the class was just walking around the classroom reading the books.

Lonnie is going to Montclare State university for basketball. He gets there and it is a whole new environment and he has to try and adjust to it between trying to have a girlfriend and trying to be good at basketball. He also has a problem because he is suspected of gambling because he knows somebody by the name of fat man.
The book ended with the police telling Lonnie that he was not a part of the gambling so he can play ball again and Lonnie and Sherry which is the girl he was trying to get with for a while have now started dating.
My favorite part in the book would probably be with him teaching Eddie how to play ball and be more social.

My personal opinion is that it is a good book with character development and have people that seem very real. Similar books would be any book from Walter Dean Myers. People that like basketball or people that like more of a realistic book would like this type of book.

[Kenny Li · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sequel to Hoops, this book continues the life of Lonnie Jackson, a hoops star hoping to reach the NBA. Before reading this book however, I highly recommend reading Hoops first. Reading Hoops will show the reader how Lonnie evolves through the 2 books in many ways. That is a reason why many people read books and is definitely evident in Hoops and The Outside Shot.

Like I said, The Outside Shot is a sequel to Hoops. Both books follow Lonnie Jackson. In The Outside Shot, he is a bit older and in college. He is adapting to the college life and meets many people like Fatman, a guy who bets on games and Sherry, a girl he likes. Things don't turn out good with everyone though, especially Fatman. Fatman bets on games to make money and Lonnie gives him a little help which eventually gets him in trouble.

As much as I did like this book, there were some bad things about it. It was a bit slow for my liking but gets a bit more suspenseful later on in the book. I highly recommend this book to anyone because it shows you the college life and also how much Lonnie grows up.

[Sebastian · Rating 5 out of 5]

The name of the book is called The Outside Shot and the author is Walter Dean Myers. This book was about a kid named Lonnie Jackson is going to to college and is playing basketball for a school named Monteclare University getting used to this life style. It is a very basic story and is usual for kids going into sports as Lonnie flares up problems when he gets there as the story continues.

I chose this book because it is about basketball and about an athlete and his struggles in college his freshmen year. A friend recommended this book to me. My favorite part was when Lonnie and the team got accused of point shaving. After all of this transpired he went to his friend named Sherry and was there for a week feeling depressed and horrible for a week. The school eventually pleaded him non guilty. MY least favorite part was how he didn't know anything and people were treating him like jerks. Yes because I compare myself to Lonnie. Yes i would recommend this book because it talks about how athletes go through difficult situations. That is why I would recommend this book.

[Obi · Rating 4 out of 5]

My independent reading book this trimester was The Outside Shot. This book is about a boy named Lonnie Jackson who grew up in Harlem. Lonnie got a scholarship to Montclair state in Indiana. Lonnie plays basketball also. When he goes to Indiana he meets his roommate who becomes really good friends with Lonnie. They get into some trouble playing basketball for money outside of school against the coaches wishes. He also falls in love with the girl from the doctors office. That's what this book is about.
I like this book because it's about a black male making it out of the hood going to school and playing ball. Even though it starts off slow it is still interesting. I recommend this book for kids ages 8 to 17. I recommend it for that age group because our minds think like that. We want to go to school and play sports. So this is kind of inspirational for us to want to do well and one day go to college and play sports.

[King Jalen Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really cool I think I like it so much because it's about a sport I like and it relates to me in a way this book is about a high school boy named Lonnie Jackson from Harlem who get's a scholarship to go play basketball at a small Midwestern college once he gets to college big changes in his life start to happen he get's in trouble with some of his friends from college and gets suspended for a few games he struggles with one helping one of his patients named Eddie at the place he works at because the boy doesn't really talk to anyone so his mom sends him to therapy to get help and Lonnie Struggles with trying to get to know him and figure out who he is Lonnie also struggles with things like school and curfew so he can wake up the next morning and make it to basketball practice this entire book is basically about Lonnie adapting to changes in his life learning its time to grow up.

[Sandra Strange · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this sequel to Hoops, the protagonist goes to a prestigious Indiana college on basketball scholarship. His growth continues as he confronts conflicts with teammates, a challenging academic schedule he cannot handle, real effort to make the team and get along with the coach enough to play, and a moral conflict when an outside business owner tries to get him involved in the businessman’s group betting on point spreads in the games. The only questionable parts in the novel come with the protagonist’s girlfriend, who teaches him about independent women, scorning his assumptions that she is his for the taking. The novel skillfully skirts questions of physical relationships with or without love and respect. The novel is positive, with positive choices and consequences and hope for the protagonist at the end.

[704jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book you really see a lot of characters and amazing personality descriptions. While reading The Outside Shot for example of good understanding of characters and there development is there are so many different characters in the book and all of the ones the author wanted you to feel were important did. Each of the supporting and main characters really changed over the coarse of the book and felt so real.
Lonnie is the main character of this book. The beginning of the book is very good especially if you have read the first book. It expresses many feelings and ideas of his that make the setting all the better. He is on his way to college and it shows that he is nervous to help give the setting vibe that it is an all-white city primarily and school. Very impressive!

[Sherry Ou Yang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lonnie is now in college where his talent in basketball has brought him. However, when he reaches college, it isn't all that he expect. There is more behind the simple game of basketball than he had originally planned it to be. Growing up in Harlem certainly couldn't have helped him much when he meets all these other great basketball players, all like him wanting to make it as a professional player.

Overall, this book was really good, it talked a lot about Lonnie defying the odds against him and experimenting new things. He learns not to give up. Even though I didn't know much about basketball, in fact, I know nothing about basketball. The plot is very good though, it talks a lot about the struggles you will face in college, which is still a pretty long way for him. But, hey it is never too late to start thinking about it.