Kirby Nickel lives in a basketball town whose claim to fame is Brett McGrew, NBA superstar. Kansas University is about to retire McGrew's number and, as part of the ceremonies, the seventh-grade team from Stuckey, Kansas, is invited to pay a scrimmage game before the crowd. Kirby can't play basketball without falling over himself, but he's determined to join the team with the hope of getting close to McGrew. He needs to solve a mystery. Meanwhile the coach of the seventh-graders has them practicing in their underwear. After all, desperate times call for desperate measures.