Throughout the movie, "Hoop Dreams" the lives of William Gates and Arthur Agee are followed. Both of these boys were African American and had a passion for basketball. They both were given scholarships to St. Joseph's for their skills on the court. After trying out for the team, the results were in. William was on Varsity and Arthur was starting on the Freshman team. Since Arthur was not on Varsity he was only given a partial scholarship. Arthur's mother could not keep up with paying for him to attend St. Joseph's because it was so expensive and there was no help from Arthur's father. His father became a drug addict and never spoke to the family. Arthur was then kicked out of St. Joseph's and forced to go to a public school, named Marshall. As a junior Arthur leads Marshall to the city championship game and into the final championship that they won! Arthur went on to college and continued to play ball. As for, William he was the star on Varsity and he impressed all his fans. The only ones not impressed with William was his teachers. His grades dropped and he never got a full education like the other students did. On top of having poor grades, William faced other issues in High School. William now had a son that was his responsibility and a huge inconvenience for him. Also, during one of his games he experienced a tragic knee injury that never correctly healed, because neither him or his coaches gave it time to recover. With his baby, his knee, and his basketball career there was no time for school, so William's grades were still very low. The struggles William and Arthur had to face as a teenager in High School scare me for my High School experience, but both boys ended up in college with scholarships to do what they do best, and that is play basketball!
The theme of this movie was, to never give up on your dreams even when the skies are rough. Both William and Arthur had dreamed about making it to the NBA and being part of the basketball world. Although neither one made it all the way to the professional league they still both got to enjoy the high school and college experience which I think is pretty awesome! William faced issues left and right throughout high school. First, his family did not have a lot of money to begin with. Second he had a baby while still in school which made focusing on anything impossible. Third, he had knee injuries that never went away and bothered him throughout college. And last, the grades William got were never good enough and he was never a smart student. Arthur, had low money income to his family and the could barely afford food on his table. He only started off on a freshman team, which lowered his confidence and the teams he was competing against weren't challenging him. And last for Arthur, his father was a drug addict. He was never around or never home and never there to support Arthur during his games. My dad is my number one supporter when it comes to me and sports and if he wasn't able to ever come to my games or talk to me about my game I don't think I would be the athlete I am today. So I can't imagine how hard that was for Arthur to not have a father to bond with. Clearly both William and Arthur have faced unbelievably difficult challenges through high school, but the one thing the boys never did was give up. All the bumps in their paths only made them stronger and helped them to get to where they are. Neither boy ever gave up on their dream and I'm very glad I got to learn about these boys.
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