Hoop Dreams Page #4

at the University of Central Florida...

but he didn't get along with the coach

and rarely played.

Even if he didn't play ball...

it was a nice university.

He could have finished school.

But he couldn't handle it.

Security. Can I help you?

I'm used to everybody

in the neighborhood loving me...

and knowing how good I can play.

It just seemed like people looked up

to Curtis Gates when

it came to basketball...

but now...

I'm just a regular old guy

on the street now.

Welcome to the prep game of the week...

in the Class AA Sectional Final.

You got the guru,

the legend, in Gene Pingatore.

Gates.! Good.!

Boy, Gates is on fire.

William Gates is one

of the premier sophomores.

William scores

17 points in the first half...

as the Chargers look to return

to the state finals.

Gates.

Good.!

He is a thoroughbred of a player.

Can they get it done here now?

In the second half, Gordon Tech

turns to their own sophomore star.

Kleinschmidt

drives the middle, puts it up. Good.!

Gordon Tech hangs on to a slender

lead in the waning seconds of the game.

Three-point lead with 12 seconds left.

My guy's William Gates.

I'd like to see him get it, just get to go

one-on-one and pull up and ice it.

Oh, boy. This is it.

- Gates is the man with the ball.

- That's the one I would want.

He's gonna pull up from way out.

Off the front of the rim.!

Kleinschmidt hits it around.

Three seconds left.

Cunningham goes out. It's up.!

No good.! Gordon Tech wins.!

Congratulations

to the Gordon Tech Rams.

They're on a joyride,

one game now from Champaign.

Come on.

Arthur's season ended well,

and he has high hopes...

to play for the varsity next year.

Whoo! Lots of iron on that sh*t.

Arthur's dad shows up.

Man got big hands.

These days, Arthur rarely sees him.

- Watch this. Watch this dunk.

- Joe, I'm gonna go after you, okay?

Watch this.

You got old legs, Dad.

Old legs.

Hey, man.

I'll see you later on, okay?

Bye.

Increasingly, this playground court...

has become a place

to buy and sell drugs.

"Dear Mother...

"I hope when Mother's Day comes...

"you will light up the sky

with a big smile.

"You, Mother,

are the only one in the world...

"who can provide

and take care of me.

"You are the one

that makes our family work.

"You are the one that I will miss so much

when I go away to college.

"No one can replace you ever.

Love always, Man."

Mother's Day, 1989.

I said to him,

"What are you gonna do this summer?'"

he said, well, he didn't know.

So I said, "Well, if you need a job...

let me know, and I'll see

if I can help you."

We had a job that didn't require

a lot of previous training...

so we hired him.

I messed up so bad on my first day

'cause I wanted to do everything right.

Just messed up everything.

Puttin' tapes in the wrong numbers...

all sorts of stuff.

But I just pushed myself

to come out here...

because I know, in the long run,

it's gonna be good for myself...

and for my family.

I give my mother $50

out of my checks.

All she done for me, I

don't think there ever

be enough that I can

get to pay her back.

Unless I make pro.

Then I'm pretty sure I can pay her back.

I drew on these.

Look at my name.

Tuss.

I had heard that his

nickname used to be

Tuss, so I just started

calling myself Tuss.

Say "Tuss. '"

You know, I say,

"Man, you may not make it to the NBA. '"

he said, "Don't keep on

telling me things like that.

That's just like showing me

you don't have any trust in what I do."

I said, "I do, but don't just keep

putting everything into this."

he said, "Ain't nobody gonna

take my dream away from me.

That's what I wanna be,

and that's what I'm gonna do."

Go first.

I say, "hey, it's your dream.

What can we do?'"

Yeah!

"Dear William, Georgetown University

basketball staff is very

interested in you. '"

"We are going to kick off the season

with a midnight madness celebration."

Bobby Knight called.

Michigan State -

boy, do they ever call.

"Will be on national television."

Any school you name.

"Dear William, there's gold

at the end of the rainbow.

$500 in there for you too."

Did you see Isiah play the other night?

Yeah, I caught the end of it.

- how'd you like it?

- He played pretty good.

The whole school

see me as being a Isiah Thomas.

I'm trying to build my own identity.

When I leave, they're gonna be, like,

"You're gonna be the next William Gates. '"

The St. Joseph Chargers

are strictly man-to-man.

- Gene Pingatore believes in that system.

- Watch Isiah come.

- Going down the middle, throws it up.

- What did he do?

- he took the charge.

- He took the charge.

Something we have to

get you to do, right?

Yeah.

Everything he does

is what a coach is looking for.

You listening?

Out to Clark.

This is Thomas with the ball again.

What an eye.!

You're actually a better shooter

than Isiah from the outside.

True.

That's heads-up ba -

Oh! Thomas! What a move.

That means you have

a lot of responsibility, William.

Can you handle it?

I hope so.

I'm ready to go downstate.

- You wanna go downstate?

- Yeah.

You gotta do something about it.

You have two years to get us down there.

It's going to be all on your head.

Isiah Thomas has just hit his 20th point.

Go.!

Hold up.! William.

The man playing defense

dropped way off here.

Now, who would you rather

have shoot the ball?

Stras shoot the ball there,

or you stop in here and shootin' the ball?

- Me.

- Well, shoot it!

William practices today

having just recovered

from a slight knee injury.

Come on. Let's go.

You're playing soft.

William? Does it bother you?

Don't be afraid though.

Don't favor it.

Tempo.! Tempo.!

Hold it. That's bullshit!

You didn't jump to the ball

and deny the man!

Go!

That's still one.

Nope. It's still one.

We'll stay here all day

until you get a 10-seconder.

William, you gotta take it easy.

Go!

Go!

Go.

Now we start all over.

You people just refuse to work.

You don't know what it is

to be intense!

And if you don't have it,

you're gonna be crap for this team.!

Give me a good reason why I should

keep you on this team, Corey.

How 'bout you, Reed?

Give me a good reason.

What do you think, William?

I mean, how many of these people

work hard?

- Not too many.

- Not too many.

Wanna stay home

when the state tournament comes?

All right. Go on in.

The next day in practice,

William reinjures his knee.

You, most likely,

have at least torn this cartilage...

the inside cartilage of your knee.

And you may have

a ligament tear in your knee, okay?

If the ligament is torn, William,

you would miss this year...

entirely.

This is a lot to happen to you

at an early age. A lot.

I think, if all goes well...

you'll be able to come back.

Everything was just going great.

Now this.

All you guys can't get large.

- Somebody accidentally-

- What's up, man?

Somebody gotta wear medium. You little

skinny guys wanna get in a large.

What the other guys gonna put on?

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