If you fall down get up and finish. Dwight Slaughter graduated from Verbum Dei High School, a school with one of the top 10 winning basketball teams of all time. While at Verbum Dei High School Dwight was voted number one player in the Country in 1972 by different sports magazines. He then went on to further his education and play basketball at Cal State Los Angeles from 1972 to 1976-a period that would set a precedent with new laws changing how colleges accept athletes. During his athletic career, Slaughter was interviewed by such greats as Howard Cosell, on his show SportsBeat and in his book, I Never Played the Game; Morley Safer from 60 Minutes; and John Chancellor from World Nightly News. He was voted by ESPN and Sports Illustrated as one of the top 100 basketball players in the State of California. As a child, Slaughter relied on basketball to build his self-esteem and relieve the stress of mental and physical abuse. His gripping memoir follows his public career and takes the reader inside his personal life as well-into a childhood of abuse, betrayal...even murder.