The Barber brothers know their way around a football field—but can they succeed on the basketball court? Find out in this slam dunk from NFL superstars and bestselling authors Tiki and Ronde Barber. As Tiki and Ronde count the days until the start of football season, the basketball coach approaches them looking for new recruits, and Tiki and Ronde accept. While Hidden Valley Junior High has always been a powerhouse in football, the school has never done as well in basketball. Ronde is a good passer, but he needs Tiki to get free to sink his shots. Tiki doesn’t feel the inner confidence he felt on the football field: it’s one thing to play in the driveway, but it’s another to sink one on the court, when so much is on the line. The brothers need a winning attitude—and they need to bring everyone together to win. That is their only way to victory. Can they do it? Tiki Barber is a record-holding retired running back for the New York Giants. He married and is the father of four children. Ronde Barber is a record-holding cornerback who retired after fifteen seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He is one of only two cornerbacks selected to the Pro Bowl five times. He is married with two daughters. Paul Mantell is the author of more than 100 books for young readers, including books in the Hardy Boys and Matt Christopher series. Jump Shot 1 A NEW DOOR OPENS “Thanks, man.” Ronde Barber exchanged an elaborate handshake with one of his many fans at Hidden Valley Junior High School. “Yeah, dude, thanks a lot,” said Ronde’s identical twin, Tiki, slapping the boy on the back. “No, thank you guys. For everything.” Ronde didn’t even know the kid’s name. He didn’t know him, and he was pretty sure Tiki didn’t either. It happened a lot like that. These days, in the second term of their last year at Hidden Valley Junior High, the Barber twins were “Big Men on Campus”—stars of the school’s history-making football team. The Eagles had been State Champions two years running and, this past season, owners of a perfect record. Everyone knew their names all right, even at a big school like Hidden Valley. But there were plenty of kids whose names Tiki and Ronde didn’t know, or had forgotten. It wasn’t that they were stuck up about their superhero status. Not at all. But it was hard to remember everyone’s name who knew yours, when yours had been plastered all over the school paper, the local TV news, the Roanoke Reporter, and even newspapers as far away as Richmond. Remembering names wasn’t a big problem by any means. It was great being popular. The only real problem was, their football career at Hidden Valley was over. Ever since the final celebrations had ended, Ronde’s and Tiki’s lives had become more and more . . . well, boring. Oh, school was okay, and it was fun catching up on their favorite TV shows—but it was winter, and it was cold, and there was nothing really important going on in their lives anymore! No practices to get their blood pumping. No video strategy sessions with the team to get their minds racing. No big games to look forward to every week. It was only the end of January, but to Ronde, it felt like winter had been dragging on for months! And here they were, on a Thursday afternoon that had already turned dark by four o’clock, waiting to get into the gym so they could sit in the bleachers, crammed in with all their friends and those other kids whose names they didn’t even know or couldn’t remember . . . just to watch a basketball game! Watching was not the same as playing, Ronde thought sadly. And basketball, while it was fun, was only the Barbers’ second-favorite sport. Besides, while Hidden Valley Junior High had always been a powerhouse in football, it had never done well in basketball. The team hadn’t won a league championship in forty years, and for five straight seasons, they’d fallen short of making the play-offs. This year’s team was better than most, but their record was only about .500 at this point, midway through the season. And the only reason it wasn’t worse was the team’s all-star point guard, Sean Morton. Sean was only in eighth grade, but he was already a league all-star, and was being talked about for the All-Virginia team. Sean—or “Sugar,” as everyone called him for his sweet jump shot—was averaging twenty points a game, and his brilliant ball-handling was reason enough to come see an Eagles game. So the bleachers were packed. And most of them were here not so much to root for the team, as to see “Sugar” put up some serious numbers. “I can’t believe this is the first game we’ve been to this year,” Tiki said as they climbed up into the bleachers and found two seats together, way back near the top row. “I know,” Ronde said, sitting down. “It’s weird being in the stands, watching the game.” “Tell me about it.” Tiki reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a bag of peanuts. “Want some?” Ronde cupped his palm and caught the peanuts just as the game began. S