The Heart of the Game

Photos and video by Andrew Beall

Basketball- the game that I’ve loved my entire life. Growing up in the outskirts of Los Angeles, my earliest memories of the sport are watching my hero Kobe Bryant dominate the opposition with scintillating crossovers and exhilarating dunks. The more I watched, the clearer it became that the style of play in Los Angeles ultimately reflected the city itself. Now living in a different region of the United States, curiosity compels me to uncover the intricacies of basketball in the Midwest. I decided to head to one of the top high school programs in the Midwest in the hopes of discovering the heart of the game.