Drew Rogers

Before the Spotlight Drew Rogers

When Kirkwood High School's integrated basketball team faced Raytown South's all white team in the 1972 Missouri Class L state basketball championship game there was more at stake than just a game. This is the true story of how the game drew Kirkwood's white and black players together enabling them to overcome society's mores and their disparate backgrounds to fashion a perfect 31-0 record going into the state final. In this gripping memoir, Drew Rogers, Kirkwood's All State center recounts growing up in the sixties when race riots and the Civil Rights movement dominated society and a group of athletes bonded together for the sake of the game. Rogers describes the simplicity of the game, a common thread that united this team and held it together in the face of "The Game", and its promoters who sought to politicize and commercialize events for the sake of money. His recount of those times is both humorous and sobering as he draws his readers in with childhood anecdotes , societal movements and dramatic game descriptions culminating in a state tournament showdown; city versus county, black versus white - an outcome determined by the final shot in a game described by onlookers as the greatest game in Missouri high school basketball history. Rogers' story is a candid look at change in the sixties and a moving introspective on racism and how the game contributed to change.