The movies got better, and so did my reviews

Hoop Dreams (1994)

Rated: PG-13

Runtime: 171 minutes

Stars: William Gates, Arthur Agee

Director: Steve James

Awards: Nominated: Best Film Editing (This movie, along with Crumb, changed the way Academy members nominated documentaries. Both movies were “turned off” by members during viewing after 20 minutes. Neither was even nominated for Best Documentary even though Hoop Dreams would eventually earn the award for Best Documentary from the L.A. Film Critics, National Society of Film Critics, New York Film Critics, and Sundance Film Festival. Chicago Film Critics even awarded it Best Picture. Crumb would achieve similar success the following year after its Oscar snub. I just found this really interesting, so I thought I would mention it here.)

Plot: Documentary that follows the lives of William Gates and Arthur Agee, 2 Chicago area basketball hopefuls. Over a 5-year period, we see William (a Michael Jordan fan) and Arthur (an Isiah Thomas fan) go through several ups and downs in their lives as they and those around them struggle with drugs, physical abuse, prison, unemployment, and welfare. William and Arthur are similar in many ways, extremely different in others, but they both share the passion to get their teams “down state” to win the Illinois high school basketball championship and to continue their success in the NBA.

Rating—out of 5 basketballs: 4 basketballs. 1 for my recommendation, 1 because it should have won the Oscar for Best Documentary, 1 for the thrilling story, and 1 because Jerry Sichting and I shared a court and for one brief moment I was almost as awesome as he was.

Tournament seed: 2-4—movie is one of the top teams and should be a popular pick to make it to the final 4. As long as nothing unfortunate happens along the way, this team can go very deep into the tournament. Don’t be afraid to choose this as one of your favorites.

This movie gives a fantastic look into the world of high school basketball, and an interesting look into the creepiness that surrounds it. Gene Pingatore, the head coach at Saint Joseph’s high school, only cares about his team when they help him succeed. His compassion towards his players is best shown in a scene with William as he prepares to graduate from high school: “Well, another one walks out the door, and another one comes in the door. That’s what it’s all about.” Way to stay classy, my friend. Earl Smith, an unofficial “talent scout”, hangs out around playgrounds to recruit kids to Saint Joseph’s and then never talks to them again. That sounds Law & Order SVU-ish. And Curtis Gates, William’s brother, former Colby Junior College player of the decade, un-coachable benchwarmer at the University of Southern Florida, hangs around his brother and tries to live vicariously through him. Maybe the music/score of the film will keep my mind occupied and make me forget about the awkward feelings. Nope; all we get is cheesy jazz music played throughout and the song “Hoop Dreams” by Tony M. of Prince’s New Power Generation fame. (My friend Jon will love this reference.)

But don’t get me wrong, this movie succeeds at a high level, with its ability to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat as William and Arthur take to the courts in their attempts to become legends. Both kids enter Saint Joseph’s High School (a Catholic College Prep School in Illinois) as freshman in 1987, the same school that former NBA star Isiah Thomas attended. Arthur becomes the starting point guard on the freshman team, while William makes the varsity squad and already has several colleges (Creighton, Illinois State, Marquette, and Rice) pursuing him. One of the things I really enjoy about this movie is that William and Arthur both experience winning and losing moments at different times, so there is a lot of back and forth when rooting for these kids. William’s team makes it to the state tournament, but loses to a team with Eric Anderson, the current Mr. Basketball of Illinois and future star at Indiana University. Arthur, on the other hand, is forced to leave Saint Joseph’s because his parents can’t afford the tuition. As sophomore year begins, Arthur is now attending Marshall Metro High School. He makes the sophomore team, but instead of starting, he comes off the bench. Saint Joseph’s makes the tournament again but loses a game after William misses a shot late in the game. Junior year appears as if it is going to be a great year for both. William is now being recruited by big schools such as Duke, Georgetown, Indiana, Michigan State, and UNLV, and Arthur finally makes the varsity team. But William injures his knee and is projected to be out until the state tournament. In the meantime we find out that he and his girlfriend are to be parents, and William scores a 15 on the ACT.... He will need a score of 18 to qualify for a scholarship to any 4-year university. William does indeed return to the court for the tournament, and makes 4 free throws late in a game to clinch the victory and live up to the title of always being a “clutch free throw shooter”. But in the next game, William is at the free throw line with six seconds left trailing by one and he misses both shots and Saint Joseph’s loses. Now that the season is over, William gets his knee scoped again, and Arthur is worried because he needs his Saint Joseph’s transcripts to stay on track to graduate but they won’t release them until his family pays the balance on his tuition. The summer before their senior years couldn’t have been more different. William attends a Nike All-American basketball camp with about 100 other high school players. Dick Vitale and Spike Lee are guest speakers, and top coaches such as Bobby Knight Mike Krzyzewski and Rick Pitino are there to check out the talent. Where was Arthur? He was working at Pizza Hut for $3.35/hour. William hurts his leg at the camp, but that’s ok, because he signs a letter of intent to attend Marquette University. As the season progresses, William is averaging 16 points a game, Arthur scores late to win a game, and he is starting to attract interest from some junior colleges. Late in the season, Arthur goes to a Saint Joseph’s game to watch William play. Saint Joseph’s loses as William misses a shot late, and is knocked out of the tournament by a team with star player and future Kansas Jayhawk Sean Pearson. William and Arthur hug it out and say “I love you man” to each other. Arthur then leads Marshall to victory in the City Championship, but after a few games in the state tournament the team loses to a team with Mr. Basketball of Illinois and future star at DePaul Howard Nathan. Arthur signs a letter of intent to attend a junior college in Missouri, William gets a 17.5 on the ACT, which they round up to 18. (So why don’t they just say you need a 17.5? I don’t get it), and then Arthur gets robbed at gunpoint a week before graduation. The end.

This movie brought back a sweet memory of my younger days as a hoop star. Arthur attends a basketball camp and his idol Isiah Thomas shows up and they play a little one on one. I attended a basketball camp in junior high and former Celtic role player Jerry Sichting showed up and I almost beat him in a game of knock-out. Arthur is seen throughout the film wearing a #11 jersey (Isiah’s number). Me ... I used to rock the #12 jersey (Sichting’s number) during my 2 years of varsity hoops. Yep, this movie could have been about me. Just kidding. But it could have been about any high school stars the same ages of William and Arthur: future college and NBA stars Juwan Howard, Glenn Robinson, Jalen Rose, or Chris Webber. But that wouldn’t have been much fun, because sometimes failures make a more interesting story than successes. William has a line towards the end of the movie that sums it all up perfectly:

William: “People were always saying to me, when you get to the NBA don’t forget about me. I should have said, if I don’t make it don’t forget about me.”