Steve is King of the Bench. No brag. It's just a fact. And this season, Steve and his athletically challenged best friends Joey and Carlos-along with super athlete Becky O'Callahan-are joining the Mighty Plumbers basketball team. But instead of playing on the court, Steve is waiting on the sidelines to perform his top-secret ritual that turns the tide of every game in an instant.

Although he is shorter than most of his classmates and everyone discourages him from trying out for the basketball team, eight-year-old Chris Paul, future NBA All-Star, just works harder than everyone else so his size will not matter.

"Rip and Red find that fifth grade continues to challenge them in brand-new ways and discover that sometimes radical change is nothing to be afraid of"--

Fourth grader Zayd Saleem has some serious hoop dreams. He's not just going to be a professional basketball player. He's going to be a star. A legend. The first Pakistani-American kid to make it to the NBA. He knows this deep in his soul. It's his destiny. There are only a few small things in his way. For starters, Zayd's only on the D-team. (D stands for developmental, but to Zayd it's always felt like a bad grade or something.) Not to mention,...

Fifteen-year-old Justin keeps a list of goals stashed under his mattress. Number 1 is "figure out life plans." Number 5 is "earn Zen Master rating in WoW." Number 7 is "play a little basketball every day." Nowhere on that list is "take on the crew from Ghosttown," but that's the type of trouble that always seems to finds him, and he's not the type to back down from a challenge.

Lizzy Trudeaux loves basketball. She doesn't have much by way of money, but she has access to the community court, a worn ball named Ginger, and she practices constantly. After fighting to join the boy's team at her school, Lizzy is finally given the opportunity to show off her hard-earned skills. When she answers what she believes is another bill collecting phone call, Lizzy receives a magical wish: the ability to sink every shot. Pure Swish. Now...

As the basketball playoffs draw near, Chocktaw teen Bobby Byington shares the legend of No Name with his teammates, who are dealing with family problems all too familiar to him.