No Matter What

Most people don't know quite what to make of Jay McGee. His teammates call him "Mac Daddy," ('90s slang for a smooth-talking ladies man). But Jay is nothing like that. In fact, he just doesn't fit neatly into any box-honors student, basketball player, church kid-and he's okay with that, as long as two people notice: Coach Mays, the fiery perfectionist standing between Jay and his basketball dreams, and Nicole Ellis, the cheerleader he's secretly liked since sixth grade.

When Jay finally seizes a moment of boldness with Nicole, he steps into new territory-only to discover her life is far more complicated than he ever imagined. Maybe he should just focus on basketball. Except Coach Mays seems blind to Jay's potential, harping only on his flaws.

Caught between pressure, failure, and secrets no one talks about at Sunday school, Jay is forced to wrestle with deeper questions-about who he is, what he believes, and what it really means to be seen, to love, and to become someone worth noticing . . . no matter what.