Blog Post #4: "Hoop Dreams"

        In the documentary "Hoop Dreams" the audience is taken through the difficult life of William Gates and Arthur Agee. William and Arthur were two high school kids dreaming of making it to the NBA. Both had to overcome many obstacles throughout their high school career, which is shown in the documentary. William and Arthur lived in the ghetto with mostly absent fathers and struggling mothers. Both Arthur and William received the opportunity to play basketball at St. Joseph's high school. William, being the more promising player due to his ability to make varsity his freshman year, was given money to help pay for his attendance of St. Joseph's. Arthur, a junior varsity player, was not offered money. This setback made playing at St. Joseph's that much harder. I sympathized for Arthur when he was forced to drop out of St. Joseph's sophomore year due to financial struggles. Arthur attended his local public school called Marshall, where he had to prove his talent to a whole new program. William continued his basketball career at St. Joseph's, but hit a severe bump in the road when he badly injured his knee. After returning from that injury, William never really healed and he continued to get injured frequently. This worried William and his family, because not only did he want to succeed for himself, he wanted to succeed for his family. William also struggled academically. He could not score an 18 on his ACT test, which decreased his chances for a scholarship. But, William overcame his obstacles and received a scholarship to Marquette University. On the other hand, Arthur's family had little to no money and Arthur's father was now out of the picture because his drug problem increased. Despite these factors, Arthur shined on Marshall's basketball team and he stayed on top of his school work. Arthur also received a college scholarship to Arkansas State. Arthur succeeded for his family, for this matter.

          A theme in the documentary "Hoop Dreams" is to never give up on something if you want it bad enough. William faced family problems such as an absent father, lack of money, and having a daughter his junior year of high school. William refused to neglect his child like his father neglected him. On top of raising a child, repeatedly getting injured, and living in poverty, William never lost sight of his goal: the NBA. William focused solely on his basketball career and made life decisions that would give him a better chance of making it. Additionally, Arthur had plenty of struggles to weigh him down and make him want to give up. His mother had no money, he got released from St. Joseph's, and his father was a drug addict. Arthur could gave given up basketball when he was thrown out of a great developmental program and thrown into an inner-city program. Arthur continued to play because he also never lost sight of his goal. He did whatever it took to help himself reach that goal, like William. Arthur also overcame the bad influence from his father because all he cared about was basketball. William and Arthur can inspire people all around the world to work harder than they ever thought possible, focus on what they want, and go get it. Do not let a single person or thing stop you. If you have a dream, never lose sight of it and never let it slip through your fingers.