Guest Author - Khara Aisha

HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE, a novel by Rita Ewing and Crystal McCrary Anthony


Every wonder what its like being married to a rich and famous professional basketball player? I think I have an idea, after reading Homecourt Advantage. (And great seats aside, I don't think I would like it much.)


Homecourt Advantage is the story of the women behind the men of the fictional NBA team, the New York City Flyers. There’s Casey Rogers, the wife of Flyers starting forward Brent Rogers. Casey is a sexy, savvy lawyer trying to forgive her husband for an affair that he had three years before. Casey’s struggling to find it within herself to forgive her husband, but Brent has left her with a permanent and constant reminder of his betrayal – a three-year-old daughter, Nikki.


Then there is Remy Baltimore, singer and entertainer of Flyers small forward Collin DuMott. Remy’s career has made her a superstar in her own right, but she has a feeling that it isn’t her career that’s interfering with her relationship with Collin. Collin never seems to have time for her anymore, and they aren’t communicating enough for her to ask him what’s going on with him.


Actually, it seems that every Flyers’ love life is full of drama. Flyers rookie Michael Brown refuses to even discuss setting a wedding date with his fiancée, Dawn Simpson. Michael is enjoying his status as star rookie and shooting guard too much to want to be tied down anytime soon, even to someone as beautiful and as smart as Dawn. Steve Tucker is having trouble breaking it off with his demanding ex, Kelly (who has no last name, as far as I could see). Steve has a new girlfriend sitting in his home court seats, but that does not stop Kelly from showing up – drunk and uninvited – at the games and causing a scene. Lorraine Thomas, wife of point guard Paul Thomas, is busy with her work as a nurse, but when she and Paul are home, she’s distracted with nightmares that she’s too scared to tell Paul about. And NBA veteran Rick Belleville is getting more belligerent and insulting by the day, both on the court, and at home with his wife, Trina. Trina is a stay-at-home mom, and has generally been very patient with Rick’s demanding ways. But with her own future to consider, she’s finally getting fed up with Rick’s disrespect.


The women all want to have a serious talk with their men, but they find themselves under strict orders to stay quiet. Flyers Coach Mike Mitchell, and his meddling wife, Alexis, inform the team and the “wives” that the team is on verge of being sold to rich and spoiled Leonard Hightower of Hightower Enterprises. The team is not generating enough of a profit to justify the money that the current owner spends to run it. Okay, so teams are sold all the time. The problem in this case? Hightower has a reputation for being a right-wing racist, and, even worse, he plans to move the Flyers from New York City to Albany, New York. If the team doesn’t win the NBA championship, they’re as good as sold. Will the team win the championship? Will their wives and girlfriends be able to keep quiet long enough to let the men concentrate? And even when they swallow their pride make the sacrifice, why is the team still about to lose the championship? I won’t tell you anymore, I would not want to ruin the surprise.


Homecourt Advantage is an entertaining read, a sneak peek into a new world. The writing is clear, though unremarkable, and the characters are all pretty interesting. I like it that the women – almost all of them, anyway – seem to have real interests and ambitions, other then being the wife or girlfriend of an NBA player. None of them are portrayed as groupies. Instead, they all seem to really be in love with their men – even drunken, stalking Kelly. The only annoying part of the book was all the name dropping – between the celebrity names, the designer brands, the fancy cars, and the opulent décor, it got to feel like the book was more about flaunting the players’ money and possessions than about relationships. On the other hand, I guess people like that have money, so it was just part of setting the scene? I don't know, I can’t help but to think reading on every page about what kind of shoes and lipstick a rich lady wears does not really tell me that much about her.


And the moral of the story? Basketball players must be allowed to concentrate at all costs. When winning the championship is in sight, their wives and girlfriends are to refrain from distracting them with any talk of pregnancy, already existing children (even illegitimate ones), familial responsibility, money (including gambling debts) or extramarital affairs. Perhaps because men are too stupid to concentrate on more than one thing at once? Now that part of the story I can relate to.