Greg “Slam” Harris is the 17-year-old protagonist and narrator of the novel. At the beginning of the novel, it is clear that Slam has been hardened by life in his Harlem neighborhood. He is accustomed to hearing sirens and gunshots, and perhaps as a way out of that life, Slam leaves his local high school, Carver, and attends a charter school in the Bronx, Latimer, which has a strong focus on the arts. Slam is a very talented basketball player and has hopes of bringing Latimer’s team back to relevance, but his antagonistic, selfish nature makes him a difficult teammate and player to coach, as well as a challenging student in the classroom. Slam’s academics suffer greatly, in large part due to his disinterest in putting forth the effort to change, grow, and learn. Slam does have a keen and observant eye, seeing and internalizing much that happens around him, which eventually helps him with his schoolwork—seen in the film project he makes—and allows him to get to a point of self-discovery and growth by the end of the novel.

In his personal life, Slam is involved with a young woman named Mtisha and is best friends with Ice, both of whom are from his neighborhood and go to Carver.