We're not just playing for ourselves, we're playing for this community.
-- Ivory Brien (Prologue)

Importance: Before the Arlee Warriors' championship, the teammates dedicate their game. One of the team's senior players, Ivory Brien, insists that they are playing for their community. This moment not only establishes Streep's interest in highlighting and exploring the importance of the Arlee community to its youth, but the ways in which the team fosters this sense of community. Basketball acts as a point of connection between the Arlee townspeople. At the same time, the community supports, energizes, and encourages the Warriors teammates.

I knew nothing.
-- Abe Streep (chapter 5)

Importance: When Streep first arrives in Arlee, Montana, he thinks that he is writing a story about the Arlee Warriors team and its star player Phil Malatare's journey from high school into college. He feels comfortable in Montana, as he says that he loved the state and believed that he knew and understood its cultural...