BEYOND THE ARC

In Brundage’s novel, a 21-year-old basketball player earns success and learns valuable life lessons.

DJ Joyner is a college basketball phenomenon as a point guard but not good enough for the NBA draft. He then competes in the NBA’s Summer League, playing for the Washington Wizards and hoping for a permanent spot. He hangs on and succeeds, but his position on the team is still precarious. Then a mystery man shows up who goes by the name Marion Lake; he’s also known as The Invisible Hand—a basketball trainer with a legendary reputation. Someone equally mysterious has sponsored DJ, paying Lake’s fees, and the training regimen becomes truly brutal. DJ is willing to let his training consume him, even to the point where it threatens his relationship with WNBA player Shanice Barton. His determination pays off: DJ was good, but now he’s better. Success follows success, and it becomes clear that someday he, too, may be someone’s mysterious benefactor—and a superstar. This is an unabashedly heartwarming story. Brundage is a former basketball player himself and is now a successful motivational speaker and the author of the self-help book Shoot Your Shot (2018). This novel is clearly meant to illustrate his motivational philosophy, with passages such as “He had allowed envy and his wounded ego to dictate his actions, fogging his outlook,” but it does make for a feel-good read. Those who follow basketball may be more familiar with the technical basketball terminology and jargon than nonfans will be, but the author often provides helpful context. Still, the prose is often infused with sportswriting overkill, as when a basketball is said to have “voyaged to the hoop” or “the rotating sphere descended to the rim.” On the other hand, Brundage has a gift for describing the second-by-second drama of gameplay; he knows how to get readers on the edges of their (stadium) seats as the game clock relentlessly ticks down and players execute split-second plays.

An enjoyable basketball book even for those who aren’t hoops aficionados.