Legally Questionable Content

Though I’m sure it’s too late to get tickets, today an event in Chicago is being held to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the documentary Hoop Dreams.

Hoop Dreams documented the middle and high school lives of William Gates and Arthur Agee, two poor African-American youth who demonstrate a strong potential to excel in basketball. Each of them slowly learn how difficult achieving the dream is. I don’t want to give away too many details for those who haven’t seen the movie, it perfectly captures the dog-eat-dog world that is basketball recruiting. Both William and Arthur are offered scholarships to attend the prestigious St. Joseph’s High School whose HS basketball team is frequently watched by college scouts. But both players have to grapple with the the pressure to perform to keep their scholarships at St. Jo, the pressures living in an impoverished neighborhood, the strange social setting of a white suburban high school, the difficulties in scoring an 18 on the ACT to meet NCAA eligibility and one of the player’s attempt demonstrate to college scouts that he has recovered from a serious injury. You’ll have to watch the film or use wikipedia to find out if they made it to the NBA. I will say this about the ending; the last line of the movie is one of the top five most memorable lines I’ve ever heard from a film.

Even if you aren’t a big sports fan, the documentary is worth it for showing the pressures and difficulty of being a poor inner-city youth. Don’t let the sports topic deter you from seeing the film. I’d highly recommend seeing it this winter if you haven’t already.