One kid is disgruntled and some flak is expected when Matt Cornwall's liberal principal father decides that the eighth-graders' varsity basketball try-outs should be opened to girls. What wasn't anticipated is the kids' solidarity; when Matt's best friend and longtime teammate Iggy doesn't make the team, Matt, two other teammates, and the two girls who are chosen close ranks and threaten to quit if Iggy isn't reinstated. Donna, who's tall and perhaps the best player of all, helps Matt lead the protest because she thinks the coach takes winning too seriously and Iggy's feelings too lightly; but fat Iggy knows that he just isn't good enough. Principal Cornwall finally cuts the knot by suggesting that the coach make Iggy his assistant. It's a lame solution, but meanwhile for a light sports-issue story this makes the right points with an easy touch.