To Live the Dream
The book “Hoop Dreams” is a biography on the lives of two NBA hopefuls: Arthur Agee and William Gates. “Hoop Dreams” actually started out as a non-profit documentary of live in the inner cities, to be aired on PBS. It ended as a commercial film with an Oscar nomination.
    This story goes through six years of Gates and Agee’s life, starting with eighth grade and ending with his freshman year of college. It tells of the trials and tribulations these to boys have while trying to reach their dream of becoming NBA All-Stars. This story shows the courage, determination, ambition, victory, and defeat
of these two boys, and at the same time reflects the lives of millions of other black, inner-city kids living the same dream: the dream of making it to the NBA.
    “Hoop Dreams” goes back and forth between the two boys life, starting with Arthur being scouted on the south side, and William growing up in the Cabrini Green project. Both of these boys start the story by going to St. Joseph’s, a two-hour commute from their houses. Isiah Thomas, their role model, went to this school and ended up in the NBA playing for the Pistons. They hope to follow in his footsteps.
    When Arthur doesn’t live up to the expectations on the basketball court, and his
parents can’t pay the tuition, he is forced to leave St. Joseph’s. He returns to his old
neighborhood and starts school at Marshall High. On the court, William shows the
potential to be a high school All-Star, so the booster club pays for most of his tuition.
During the course of their high school careers William has to deal with the added responsibility of a new baby and an injury to his knee. Arthur has to learn to cope with a drug-addicted father and has trouble keeping his grades high enough that he can play.

During their senior year Williams team lost in the second round of the playoffs after William spent most of the first quarter on the bench. After going to college he decides he doesn’t want to play in the NBA.

Arthur’s team won all the games they had been expected to lose and went on to place third in the state tournament. He has started a foundation to help inner-city kids called the Arthur Agee Role Model Foundation. He still dreams of going to the NBA.
“Hoop Dreams” does not really have an ending because Arthur and William’s lives
are not yet over. We do not know if Arthur will make it to the NBA and live happily ever after, or if William will ever play basketball professionally again. Arthur and William can only hope that whatever happens in their life they are able to handle.