NBA player A. C. Green writes:

Men often talk about their "glory years" in high school. At Benson High School, in Portland, Oregon, I was a sports-minded, egotistical maniac. I was the tallest guy on the team and could have broken scoring records, but Coach Gray wouldn't let me. Even with the brakes on, twice that year I scored 39 points, and in the season finale against Wilson I scored 40. I averaged 27 points per game. As a team we scored more than 100 points in seven games and averaged over 90. I was voted the Oregonian's 1981 All-Metro area player of the year, and joined Dean Derrah on the All-Metro team.

Coach Gray wouldn't allow me to be a hotshot scorer because he was more interested in the final stat—number one. He knew the only way we could reach that championship level was for us to become team players.

In basketball and in life, everyone starts out with a what's-in-it-for-me attitude. Children are selfish. That natural selfishness has to be broken to be a winner. You have to realize you can't do it all by yourself. You need the team. Coach Gray made me pass the ball and play unselfishly. Regardless of individual stats, we, the team, reached the top. We went all the way.