Hoop Dreams Summary PDF

Preview

Summary

Official Summary of the film Hoop Dreams...

Description

Hoop Dreams Summary Hoop Dreams is a documentary that focuses on two main characters: Arthur Agee and William Gates, both fourteen years when the filming process begins. Arthur is from West Garfield Park Neighborhood and William is from the Cabrini-Green Housing Projects and both neighborhoods are labeled by their respective residents as “the ghetto”. Both young men express their desire to play in the NBA one day. The story more or less begins when Earl Smith, an unofficial talent scout for high schools in the area, sees both Arthur and William playing basketball in their neighborhoods and brings them to the attention of St. Joseph’s Head Basketball Coach, Gene Pingerton, who runs a highend basketball program at St. Joes (James 00:06). During their Freshman year, William and Arthur’s different paths begin to show themselves. While William made it onto the Varsity team as a freshman, Arthur played for the Freshman team and struggled with immaturity, discipline, and academics. William, however, seemed to thrive at St. Joes and he moved up four grade levels by the end of his Freshman year (James 00:16). William seems to be set up as the next Isaiah Thomas, an alumni from St. Joes who had made it all the way to the Pros (James 00:21). During Arthur and William’s Sophomore year, the two boys’ paths become even more starkly different. While William makes Honor Roll and his tuition gets completely paid for by Patricia Wier and her husband, Arthur’s family has trouble paying for Arthur to continue his education at St. Joes. Arthur’s mother emphasizes how, in the beginning it seems as though all of the expenses will be taken care of, but now that Arthur is not performing in basketball the way that he was expected to, the school does not care as much to ensure that his expenses are taken care of, like they do with William. Eventually, Arthur is forced to leave school mid-year and transfer to Marshall, his local public school (James 00:24). We also learn that, during Arthur’s Sophomore year, his dad leaves his mom and begins doing hard drugs (James 00:36), while William gets hired by Patricia Wier as a low-skill worker and is able to contribute fifty dollars of his paycheck to the family income. By Arthur and William’s Junior year, the stakes of making it to the NBA become much higher. While William gets dozens of letters from D1 schools who are interested in recruiting him, he also recovers from a bad knee injury (James 00:44). In addition, it is revealed that William now has a baby girl, Alecia, with his girlfriend Catherine Mines. He struggles with his ACT score but is able to procure free tutoring through Patricia Wier’s company (James 00:57). He also re-injures his knee in a critical basketball game, recovers, and then injures it again at the Nike All-American Basketball Camp. Though his injury really hinders him, William is determined as ever to get recruited by a college because he feels it’s his only way out of “the ghetto” and to make a life for his girlfriend and daughter (01:44). Arthur, meanwhile, has finally made it to the Varsity team at Marshall. His mom has been living on welfare and has trouble making ends meet (James 00:47). His dad finally comes back after recovering from a crackcocaine addiction and spending seven months in prison, and both of his parents got to St. Joes to get Arthur’s transcripts released by paying back the debt they owe to the school (James 01:18). Finally, Arthur is able to procure his transcripts from St. Joes for his Senior Year at Marshall. Though he is barely getting by, he still has a chance to graduate with his class now that

he got his transcripts (James 01:28). Arthur is still playing basketball at Marshall, and Senior year becomes “his year” with regards to the sport. He becomes the second highest scorer on his team, junior colleges begin looking at him, and finally, he leads Marshall to win the PublicSchool Championship that year (James 02:12). Marshall finishes Third in the state and Arthur is recruited by Mineral Area College after a tough academic and financial year for himself and his family (02:27). William, however, has a tough Senior Year, and St. Joes’s basketball season ends earlier than it has in years (02:01). He still gets recruited by Marquette and, after finally securing an 18 on the ACT, he is able to accept his basketball scholarship (James 02:35). In the final scenes of the movie, both Arthur and William express their feelings about their fourteen-year-old self’s dream of making it to the NBA. William explains that basketball has become more of a job than something fun and that Coach Pingerton is obsessed with it and wants everyone else to be that way too (02:31). Ultimately, basketball is simply William’s ticket to get to college at Marquette and try to make something of himself for his family. He no longer dreams of going into the NBA (James 02:46). Arthur explains that, when he was young, all he wanted to do was get to the NBA because he thought that his only other alternative was selling drugs or robbing banks. However, he now realizes that he can, and probably will, fall somewhere in the middle and, similarly to William, can use basketball to get him to a place where he is successful and financially stable (James 02:45). However, at the end we learn that Arthur finally makes it to Arkansas State for basketball and by his Senior year of college still dreamed of getting to the NBA simply because of his love of basketball (James 02:47)....