Blood on the basketball

Note: This post is part of the Dads in Media Blog-a-Thon at Strange Culture.

Its name is Hoop Dreams, but very little of it is about basketball. The most memorable scene in the movie is a basketball game, but not once during the scene do you feel like you're watching a basketball game. Still with me? One of the main reasons Hoop Dreams made such an impact in 1994 and continues to be relevant is the fact that the documentary's primary themes and subjects persist. The documentary chronicles two rising basketball players through high school, but what gets in the way of their visions of swishing baskets is what keeps you glued to the screen for 171 minutes. The cameras of Steve James capture many unintended moments of crushing drama, and the most powerful is a father and son relationship that effectively ends with the drop of a sweet 12-foot jump shot.


We meet Arthur "Bo" Agee as he's eagerly discussing his son Arthur's prospects as a basketball player, which have led him to a scholarship from the prestigious St. Joseph High School outside Chicago. Bo speaks in glowing terms, but it's obvious that while he's excited about his son's success, he's also giddy about what it may mean to he and his family. Arthur idolizes NBA superstar Isaiah Thomas, and since basketball scouts have compared his son to the Pistons point guard, perhaps a future NBA career isn't out of the question. Hoop Dreams paints a portrait of Chicago's Cabrini-Green neighborhood as a place where escape is only possible through unlikely feats like a pro sports career, and the local playground is full of kids like Arthur preparing for just such a leap.

Hoop Dreams hits you with its first dramatic punch when we abruptly learn that Bo has left his family and fallen into drugs again. Bo's disastrous behavior coincides with his son facing the reality at St. Joseph that there are plenty of rising basketball stars in the city, and he's just one of them. With only Arthur's mother, Sheila, to support the family, the boy's scholarship at St. Joseph comes into question and he is forced to withdraw and enroll at a public school.


Arthur never speaks about his father's transgressions, but there are several times when his silence tells us everything. When the power is shut off in their apartment, Arthur walks silently through the house with a candle and into his room, knowing the darkness is caused by his cowardly father. And in one of the most heartbreaking moments in the movie, Bo abruptly shows up at the playground while Arthur is shooting hoops. After trying (and failing) to dunk, Bo walks down to the edge of the playground where we see him flash some dollars to a small group of men. James' camera catches this perfectly as we see it through the silent eyes of Arthur, knowing exactly what is transpiring.

The silence grows when Bo returns to the family after some sort of spiritual awakening, escorting the family to church on his first weekend back. Bo's face is full of optimism, but his son appears to see through this act, perhaps curious how it coincided with his improving basketball success at high school. And when Arthur leads his school on an unlikely deep trip into the state playoffs, Bo is right there alongside him with the same fire in his eyes we saw in the beginning. Throughout the playoff run, Bo has the look of a fan and never has the courage to offer his son any real advice or encouragement before the games.


So it's little wonder that Arthur and his mom Sheila give a half laugh in disbelief as Bo tries to give some objective parental opinion as his son weighs a scholarship offer. It's not from Indiana or Illinois, but rather a downtrodden junior college in rural Missouri. Arthur and his mom know it's probably his best (and only) chance at a college career, while Bo is visibly disappointed that his son's late-blooming high school career didn't result in more interest from recruiters. After signing the scholarship offer, James immediately turns our attention to Bo and Arthur on the playground court, surrounded by well-wishing onlookers.

What starts as Bo playing around showing the ball skills he still has, devolves into a heated one-on-one between father and son. Arthur's motivation in the game is clear: showing his father what he achieved in his absence, and how he will never sink to the depths of his elder. Bo's intentions are a little foggier -- by trying his hardest to win, he may be attempting to show Arthur how there's no way out of Cabrini-Green, and that inevitably he'll end up just like his old man. As the game goes on and Arthur continues to get the best of his old man, things get chippier with Bo starting to get more physical and even shove his son as he puts in a lay-up. When Bo disputes the score, Arthur lets his emotions and memories spill out.

"Ain't no con game going on anymore, Dad," he says. "I'm older now."

He's not falling for his father's tricks like he might have at a younger age, he's settling this on the court with one more shot. With Arthur at the top of the key, Bo lays off his son to guard against a drive to the hoop, and like the cold-blooded scorer he is, Arthur takes this challenge by launching a jumper that goes right through. Game over. Arthur lets his game do the talking and leaves the court, while Bo mutters some frustration-filled excuses.

Bo Agee was murdered in 2004.