Full Court Press: A Young Basketball Prodigy's Journey

by Eric Price, Kristin White

The inspiring, true coming-of-age story of a young man who was blessed with a unique talent for basketball and also the resilience to overcome the trouble around him. Eric Price was raised in Washington, DC's notorious Sursum Corda housing project, a community that served as the city's largest open-air drug market. He was a basketball phenom and was given a ranking of number one in the world by the basketball media when he was just ten years old. Eric went on a journey around the country, playing in select tournaments and camps with many of today's NBA stars. He attended five different high schools, playing for national power Montrose Christian, and prep stand-out Blair Academy. But Eric's true test came when, like many other young players, a career in basketball did not work out. He uses the strength and determination he learned from the game of basketball to continue moving forward and building a life for himself. Eye-opening and deeply moving, Full Court Press is the story of a young man's life that offers a glimpse into the world of high-stakes youth basketball.

141 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 28, 2019

About the author

Eric grew up in central Illinois, and he now lives in northwest Iowa with his wife and two sons. He began publishing in 2008 when he started writing a quarterly column for a local newspaper. His first short story, “Ghost Bed and Ghoul Breakfast,” a spooky children’s story about a haunted bed and breakfast, came out later the same year. He has published more than 30 nonfiction articles/columns, four short stories, and a poem. Three of his short stories have won honorable mention in the CrossTIME Annual Science Fiction contest.

His first two young adult fantasy novels, Unveiling the Wizards' Shroud and The Squire and the Slave Master, are available from Muse It Up Publishing.

Reviews

[Paola · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading about Eric Price and the world of competitive high school basketball.

I found the book to be well written and easy to read. I appreciated the author's view of the Sursum Corda housing project where he grew up. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and for the projects to suck him back in and was relieved when that did not happen.

As a Georgetown Hoya the Washington DC references were entertaining - Mr. Price's tutor was in my class at GU so the personal connection made this meaningful to me as well.

I plan to read this to my son. I think it will inspire some worthwhile discussions about the consequences of our choices and having (and appreciating) a strong support system.