In "Play Their Hearts Out," George Dohrmann delves deep into the shadowy corners of America's youth basketball system, exposing a world where ambition, greed, and exploitation run as rampant as the dreams of the young athletes caught within its grasp. With unparalleled access and a narrative fueled by genuine compassion, Dohrmann follows the lives of Southern California's most promising basketball prodigies, revealing the high stakes and high pressure world of Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball. Through the intertwined stories of AAU coach Joe Keller, who seeks to cement his legacy by discovering the "next LeBron," and Demetrius Walker, a young talent burdened with expectation, Dohrmann paints a vivid picture of a lucrative yet deeply flawed sports machine. This book is more than an exposé; it is a heart-rending journey through the dreams and disappointments of young athletes and the adults who both support and exploit them. Dohrmann's storytelling brings to life the dizzying highs of potential stardom and the crushing lows of failure, all while questioning the true cost of success in the cutthroat world of elite youth basketball. "Play Their Hearts Out" is not just a tale of sports; it's a compelling narrative about the loss of innocence, the seductive power of ambition, and the relentless pursuit of a dream, no matter the price.