January 12

This is one of the most recognizable, iconic documentaries of all-time and it was one of the first films I placed on the list of possible docs to watch during this Genre-ary. Hoop Dreams follows two black youths from the inner-city Chicago area on their struggles to get through high school with a dream to make it to the NBA.

The two boys were named Arthur Agee and William Gates, and, one of the things that I liked about Hoop Dreams was it was much more in depth than just basketball. It truly looked at the problems each boy faced as they navigated their way through their specific high sachools.

At first, it seemed as if they would both be going to the same high school, St. Joseph, but after their freshmen year, Arthur was behind on the tuition payment and wound up being removed from the school. William had financial issues too, but he received help from donors of the school. It was implied that William received the aid because he was seen as the stronger basketball player.

The film spent time with family members of both kids too. Arthur’s family provided the most drama as his father left during his high school years and ended up in prison. He was able to return to his family eventually and did appear to have turned a page on his criminal activities.

William went through an injury to his knee during his high school days and it was something that really caused problems for the young man. There were moments of game footage that was tough to watch as he struggled to make it through the injury.

Coach Gene Pingatore was a major character in the documentary, and he was not always portrayed in a positive light. He was that old school basketball coach in the vein of a Bobby Knight (who did cameo in the doc) and watching that today was challenging at times. Pingatore’s final meeting with a senior William was about as awkward as it could possibly be.

Hoop Dreams was a deep dive into the inner city youth whose only hope to escape came with a basketball. Both of the young men involved faced their difficulties with a differing level and reached for what they could. It was a very involved doc.