Hoop Dreams Page #7

And then Arthur,

he was watchin' me-

What move would I make now?

Am I just...

bein' like this

since I just come back...

or am I gonna break bad again?

William's dad invites him

down to his auto repair shop.

He hasn't lived with the family

since William was a baby.

The car that I was gonna give you,

uh, I didn't finish it up yet.

I got some more to do to it yet.

I didn't see him for, like, three years.

It never popped in my mind.

- The car back there?

- No, that's the car right over there.

That black Cutlass right there.

I think he's, like...

"Oh, he really must be able

to play some basketball. '"

I think now he sees

somethin' at the end for himself.

I remember one time he tried to whup me,

but I wouldn't let him.

I said, "You may be my dad biologically,

but as far as being there-

Enough. '"

You say you'd like to come

to my next show that I do?

Yeah, come out and...

finally get a chance

to see you sing and -

Okay. What I'll

have to do

- I don't have my schedules

right this minute.

But I'll have to get that,

and I'll let you know.

Alicia, you're my only friend.

"A'wight? Jimmi-fi."

Thank you.

I always knew that I was

gonna be a better dad than he was.

I wouldnt just leave her like that.

- Alicia?

- Hmm? Yes, Mama?

If Alicia has a problem,

then I have a problem.

She's believing whatever she said.

William's second rehabilitation...

is at the Baxter Clinic...

used by many

of Chicago's pro athletes.

Both of William's operations and rehabs

have been paid for by

the school's insurance.

Don't expect to be playing in a game

the first day back.

My mother put a big restriction

on those pickups.

She said, "These are her knees now."

When you're out on a date,

do you have to have sex?

- No! No! No!

- Yes, you do!

No, you don't!

What about the woman's perspective?

All right, quiet down a minute here.!

For the second straight year,

Arthur and Shannon must take summer school.

- Restate your question.

- What'd I say?

Shut up!

This class

is for freshmen, sophomores and juniors...

who have failed English.

The basic problem here...

is that we were strapped for money...

and we only had one English class

available to our students.

Hopefully you could touch a nerve

in some of them...

like a spirited discussion

on a controversial topic.

Because exactly what is having sex...

but engaging in an act

that doesn't fulfill -

Shannon really didn't care...

so he just stopped coming...

and he was dropped

from the roll.

Usually in an illicit-

Even if Arthur passes summer school...

he may not graduate

with his class next year...

because St. Joseph's is refusing

to release his transcripts.

I called up the school.

The lady explained to me

that he owed $1,800...

so I felt, well, they have

a school policy there...

and there's, uh, nothing

I can do about that.

About how much can you afford?

Okay, we're looking at 18-

- 13. 10.

- Oh.

13.10?

1,813. 10.

Well, to total that out...

and from here to -

June -When is graduation?

We're looking at somewhere around-

It's 181.30 per month.

Is there any way possible that his-

I don't know. I'm just asking.

- Sure.

- Could his credits be released too?

I will get a promissory agreement

drawn up. Okay?

As long as you show me good faith

after the first two months...

I'll release 'em, uh -

That would be end of September.

- Yes, sir.

- Okay.

- Then I'll send 'em to Marshall.

- Okay. That would be fine with us.

- I really appreciate this.

- How's Arthur doing, anyway?

Pretty good.

I can't really complain about him.

- Good.

- Wish he could've stayed here, though.

- Yeah. Me too.

- Well, things-

- Things happen, you know, and -

- Things happen, you know, and-

- hey-

- That's part of life.

- I can't let him down no more.

- Good.

Okay, good.

I hope we can work something out then.

- I'd like to thank you.

- No problem.

- That's why we're here.

We try to help people.

- That's right.

- Okay? Very good.

- All right. Thank you very much.

- have a nice day.

- Take care now.

Okay. Very good.

- Okay.

- Okay.

- That's what I need.

- Yeah.

I think about it-had I not been on drugs

when Arthur went to St. Joseph's...

just how good

it would have been for him.

He wouldn't have had to leave.

Here's one of the corners right here

where I used to come

up and cop all the time.

Threw away a lot of money

on these corners, boy.

I almost threw my life

right along with it.

He can just look at my life...

and say here's a good example

of what not to do.

If he had my ways...

I would be shakin' in my shoes

right now.

Hey, look at that Georgetown coat.

Man, I might get that.

- Dang!

- Pocket on the side.

That's the one I was tellin' you about.

How much?

Seventy bucks even, no tax.

Some of the drug pushers

in the neighborhood...

they'll give us money, tell us,

"Go shoppin; Go get you somethin; '"

They're thinkin; we playin' basketball

and they can give us stuff...

and keep our career goin;

So that's how we were to

keep up with the styles.

A'ight.

While you're sitting here today...

you should feel like a million dollars.

You should feel so special.

You are one of a hundred

of the best high school players...

in this country,

the United States.

My mother, God bless her,

she's in heaven today.

She used to always say

to me, "This is America.

You can make something of your life."

Come on! Come on!

Okay.

All the coaches from over here.

To the stands, please, coaches!

Coaches, we gotta clear!

If you a player, somebody up there

gonna recognize that you a player.

So there's 250 of us here.

We're doing it to try to find out who

the best players are and

get 'em in our program.

There aren't very many kids at any level,

including the NBA...

that really understand

what basketball is all about.

We always say, you're

going to war, would you

want him behind you covering your flank?

If you're pouting,

they're gonna also recognize that.

And don't tell me

they're not gonna write

it down in that book.

At the prestigious Nike camp...

William hopes to prove

the injuries are behind him...

and he belongs

among the nation's best.

One, two, three.

Next.!

One, two, three, four.!

Arthur and Shannon spend their summer

at Pizza hut earning 3.35 an hour.

Yeah.

- hello. how are you all doing today?

- Fine.

It's a waste of my time down here.

I'm ready to go home.

Here I am, always tryin'

to play this team ball.

A few coaches - more coaches

comin' around to look...

everybody feel they gotta do

they own little thing here.

Move it.! Move it.!

Stick in the post.!

Some of you are gonna make it

where you want to be...

and others of you will not make it.

This is summer for them.

They don't wanna be sitting in a classroom.

But we provide them with an experience...

you can't get anywhere else...

in that we simulate what it's going

to be like to be a student athlete.

Fifteen hours a week for basketball.

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