The secret of basketball is that it isn't about basketball.
From Sports Illustrated:
On Dec. 17, a high school basketball coach suspended five players for what he described as a general lack of discipline. Eight other teammates thought the punishment was unwarranted and came to practice two days later along with the five to ask him to reinstate them. When the coach refused to discuss it, those 13 players left the gym, and the team.
Six players stayed, all sophomores and freshmen on the varsity. They lost twenty straight games. But they stayed.
"I had to make some sacrifices to pay her this season," said one. "I didn't just want to give all that away."
The coach said the players who left are welcome to return next year if they're willing to meet with him, but for the moment he'd rather focus on the ones who didn't leave.
The final record wasn't pretty, but something beautiful emerged among the six players who stayed on the team.
"We really bonded," one said.
"These guys could have folded up and quit, and no one would have blamed them," said the coach. "But they refused to do that. I can honestly say this is the best season I've ever had as a coach."
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