Who is Greg Harris from Slam! and what is their importance?

At seventeen years old, Greg “Slam” Harris is the main character and narrator of the novel “Slam!” by Walter Dean Myers. Slam knows basketball in and out. The son of Moms and Pops, and the older brother of Derek, Slam has a major crush on Mtisha, and is best friends with Ice. When the novel begins, Slam is hardened by life in Harlem. He attends the magnet school Latimer in South Bronx. Slam is antagonistic and self-absorbed, suffering in academics, though he is deep thinker. Slam is slowly drawn out of his shell by Assistant Coach Goldstein, who makes Slam realize that his future is open to any possibility, if Slam is willing to work towards it. By the end of the novel, Slam is committed to his future through academics as well as basketball, committed to pursuing Mtisha, and committed to winning the city championships.