Keystone Park, 7:49pm
September in Omaha. Forecast for rain, the air hangs heavy with humidity. All the kids have gone home, it’s a school night. Khyri stays out, staring at the red rim that hangs just a few feet in front of him. Averting his gaze now would be a fool’s errand; the punishment that this simple piece of metal has had inflicted upon it all evening is beginning to show its wear.
Bounce.
Bounce.
Khyri lines up to give the white backboard a shake and swirl as he prepares to dunk the basketball one final time; he knows that the structural integrity of the rim has reached its breaking point.