Rucker Park Setup

Rucker Park Setup (2007) by Paul Volpani is a young adult novel recommended for ages fourteen and up, particularly those who have an interest in sports. Set in Harlem, New York, the story takes place in the present day. Critical themes include competition, jealousy, betrayal, and conflict.

Mackey and J. R. are best friends. The two teens are between the ages of sixteen and seventeen and have been friends since the fifth grade. Mackey is black and J. R. is Puerto Rican, but they are as close as brothers. J. R.’s father, Stove has been a father figure to Mackey. The teens play basketball on the streets and share the same dream to one day play professionally. They join the Greenbacks, which is sponsored by a rapper who is spreading money around the neighborhood and gambling against the meanest and toughest team around known as Nonfiction.

Mackey and J. R. have set their sights on winning a local basketball tournament in their hometown. Rucker Park is a legendary place were some of basketball’s greatest heroes have competed against street legends. This is Mackey and J. R.’s first time making it to the finals, something it seems for which they have waited their entire lives. They are both looking forward to winning.



On the day of a critical game, J.R is stabbed to death; Mackey witnesses his friend’s death. Though innocent, Mackey suffers a great deal of guilt, feeling responsible for J. R.’s death. He makes a critical decision to accept a bribe to keep his mouth shut about the killer’s identity, which further traumatizes him and contributes to his self-blame. Mackey undergoes a serious shift in temperament after J. R. dies, going from not taking life too seriously to a far more stoic and contemplative teenager. His inner conflict fuels a turning inward as he grapples with overwhelming emotions. Much of his processing through difficult emotions comes from playing the game.

Mackey finds himself in the middle of conflicting forces he doesn’t fully understand, but he will not give up his dream to finish the last game of the Rucker Park Tournament and do so on his own terms. Mackey also wishes for revenge but the killer is in the stands, close by, and always watching.

In the epilogue, Mackey confesses to the police and is branded a traitor for the betrayal of J. R. Rucker Park Setup includes many flashbacks. It is a story of conflicts, including person versus person such as between the protagonist, Mackey and Fat Anthony. Perhaps the biggest conflict of all is between Mackey and himself. Ultimately, Mackey learns some critical lessons and comes to rely on himself.



The writing is descriptive. The language is raw. Games are described in detail, using common slang. Readers will be caught up in the mounting tension as they wait to find out whether Mackey truly sold out for money or if he will reveal his friend’s killer. The answer comes at the very end of the book. There is a rich contrast between a beloved sport, a celebrated tournament, and the dark underbelly of evil lying in wait.

Paul Volpani is a writer, teacher, and journalist. In 1992, he taught reading and writing to incarcerated youth on Rikers Island. This experience helped form the foundation of his first young adult novel, Black and White, which won the 2006 IRA Young Adult Book Award, an ALA Best Book Young Adult, and a Quick Pick Award. Volpani graduated from the City College of New York with an MA in American Literature and holds a BA in English from Baruch. He lives in New York City.