"Jackie, I think I am your #1 fan. I play basketball too and you’re my role model. I have had a rough time in basketball this year, I haven’t got along with my teammates very well this year (it’s my first year in junior high ball). Anyway, I got in an argument on the bus and I thought that if I couldn’t get along with my teammates then I really shouldn’t play because I’d show a side of me that I wouldn’t want to show so when we got to the school, I went to the bathroom and changed out of my jersey and handed it to my coach and said, "This wasn’t easy for me at all, I loved basketball and I always will."

Anyway, then the next day she talked to me and said that she realized I was just upset and that I should actually think about it through and then decide if I really wanted to quit, so I did and I HAD TO PLAY!!!! because when I handed her my jersey I was crying within 2 seconds sooooooo bad that I was having a hard time breathing and one of the things that STILL made me want to play was......I wanted to go somewhere in basketball someday and I knew I wouldn’t if I gave up now and then I thought ya know I bet Jackie Stiles had rough times too but she never gave up and look at her.

So I decided not to let ANYONE make MY dreams go down the drain.

Thanks Jackie you really do mean a lot to me. Keep up the great work.

Well, gotta go to MY basketball game now. Bye.

Love, #40 Amanda Blaine"

This is NOT a book about a meteoric sensation in the WNBA, where Jackie Stiles receives Rookie of the Year honors...

This is NOT the story of Jackie's unrivaled college career, where she becomes the all-time highest scorer (male or female) in NCAA history...

This is a story from America's rural heartland. A warm winter's tale.

 Set between seasons of growing crops and grazing cattle, where high school basketball provides team participation for students, and social and entertainment opportunities for parents and commuity.

This is a tale of rival local high schools.


  Every year, Frosh through Senior, a basketball shooting star blazing her way through the record books, meets up with a team centered on diminutive but basketball-savvy twins, with another State Championship at stake.

Jackie and the 5'2" twins, Amber and Amy, are summer-league friends, attending schools in neighboring Kansas villages.
As winter is easing its icy grip, both sides take their unbeaten records to a winner-takes-all clash in the postseason playoffs.

The 'Skins against the 'Cats.
 
The Cat's Unstoppable Scoring Machine playing the Skin's All-State All-Stars.


Which Team will cut down the net, in the Court of the Yellow Brick Road?

Who will wheel away the Pot of Gold at the end of the Rainbow?



                                                                                                                     


"We went up and down the court with her...

'Our plan'? Our plan was to try to stop her. And we never did that.

I think she set personal records when she played us...
I know she dropped 53 on us one night, and we double-teamed her the whole game. And she still had 53 points."

 - Amber Prose, after a Regional Championship Game


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** Jackie sets a new state scoring record. Early next season, her record is broken. A few weeks later, Jackie breaks it again. **

** Jackie breaks her wrist, just before Christmas. Right after New Year's Day, Jackie appears on the court dribbling and shooting left-handed. **

** Jackie averages 50 points a game in the second half of her senior season **

** Jackie's rivals, the Skins, with so many good players, they come on court in "Waves". Each five-girl squad has their own set of point-guard twins. **

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Now available for pre-order, "Hoops in the Heart - Jackie Stiles in Kansas"

Click HERE to pre-order.

Estimated release date - November 18, 2024