Ray again emphasizes the discrimination that he faces nearly every day at school. He faces overt racism, like white people yelling racial slurs at the basketball game, but he also experiences more subtle forms of racism, too. This passage shows an instance of subtler discrimination that has broad consequences: the scout doesn’t try to talk to Ray despite the fact that he is instrumental in winning the game and one of the top baseball players in the state. And since Ray knows he needs a scholarship to attend college, being overlooked like this doesn’t bode well for his future.