Samuel Sooleymon es un adolescente de Sud̀n del Sur con un gran amor por el baloncesto, un salto prodigioso y la velocidad del rayo. Un torneo de exhibici̤n por Estados Unidos puede convertirse en su gran oportunidad, pero sus condiciones naturales necesitan trabajo y Sooley pronto se da cuenta de que le queda un largo camino por recorrer. Sin embargo, ̌l cuenta con algo que ninguno de sus compąeros posee: una feroz determinaci̤n por triunfar y as̕ ayudar a su familia a escapar de la guerra que asola su pa̕s. Y para ello necesitar̀ hacer lo que ninúgn otro jugador ha logrado: convertirse en una leyenda en solo doce meses. In the summer of his seventeenth year, Samuel Sooleymon gets the chance of a lifetime: a trip to the United States with his South Sudanese teammates to play in a showcase basketƯball tournament. He has never been away from home, nor has he ever been on an airplane. The opportunity to be scouted by dozens of college coaches is a dream come true. Samuel is an amazing athlete, with speed, quickƯness, and an astonishing vertical leap. The rest of his game, though, needs work, and the American coaches are less than impressed. During the tournament, he receives devƯastating news from home: A civil war is raging across South Sudan, and rebel troops have ranƯsacked his village. His father is dead, his sister is missing, and his mother and two younger brothers are in a refugee camp. Samuel desperately wants to go home, but it's just not possible. Partly out of sympathy, the coach of North Carolina Central offers him a scholarƯship. Samuel moves to Durham, enrolls in classes, joins the team, and prepares to sit out his freshman season. There is plenty of more mature talent and he isn't immediately needed. But he has something no other player has: a fierce determination to succeed so he can bring his family to America. He works tirelessly on his game, shooting baskets every morning at dawn by himself in the gym, and soon he's dominating everyone in practice. With the Central team losƯing and suffering injury after injury, Sooley, as he is nicknamed, is called off the bench. And the legend begins.
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