Hoop Dreams: Is sport a viable way out of poverty?

     Hoop Dreams is a documentary following two 14 year old, Chicago-native boys throughout their high school experiences. Both are identified as potentially star basketball talents and the movie details the differences between the two paths they go down. At the start of the film, both William and Arthur say that the NBA is their dream and once they make it, the first thing they would do is buy their moms a new house and get themselves cars. In support of their sons' dreams and the potential to make it big, both families put the boys' basketball careers first and in Arthur's case, this actually means that his mom could not put food on the table at times because she had to pay off his debt to St. Joseph's. For William, basketball brought he and his brother, who missed his shot at collegiate and professional hoops, together, but by the end of the film, it is revealed that William did not appreciate his brother living through him vicariously and that he actually lost most of his passion for the sport due to the intense culture at St. Joe's.
     A high school talent scout finds both boys prior to entering their freshmen year of high school and brings them to St. Joseph's, a private school in a seemingly affluent suburb. On his way to visit the school for the first time, Arthur vocalizes his concern regarding a mostly white school in a nice neighborhood and how he will not know how to act. For this reason, both boys were shy and perceived as quiet upon their arrival to St. Joe's, especially in the classroom because they were far behind their peers. Arthur's feeling of being an outsider potentially foreshadows his ultimate fate at the school as one study found, "[…] Proximity [to one's hometown] may increase recruit performance by facilitating learning, trust-building, and social commitment," all factors that Arthur failed to posses (Barden, 2013). As William lived up to the hype on court, he was treated as an asset to the school and in return received a full scholarship when his family was in financial trouble and he was at risk of dropping out. With this guaranteed educational stability, William started to do better in the classroom, ultimately making him a realistic collegiate recruit. Additionally, the wealthy, white couple that provided William with academic financial support also gave him a summer job in order to contribute to his and his family's incomes. Unfortunately, Arthur did not live up to his athletic potential while at St. Joe's and when his family got in financial trouble, the school did not offer the same help and he was forced out of the private institution.
     West Garfield and the neighborhood around St. Joseph's appear to be polar opposites in terms of socio-economic status. Gang activity and drug deals seemed to be omnipresent in West Garfield as shady activity was often seen on screen, however when the neighborhood around St. Joe's was shown, it tended to just be nice houses with nobody walking around. In West Garfield, no houses were seen, but instead rundown apartments, stores and basketball courts. Based on the contrast between these two areas, it should be clear to every viewer that the class identities are extremely different and that West Garfield residents do not have bright futures, while those around St. Joe's are seemingly successful. Additionally, the people in these two areas are shown dressed extremely differently as all the adults around St. Joe's are shown in standard business attire at all times, while those in West Garfield are seen wearing worn down clothes or shirtless.
     This film had me feeling optimistic that these two boys would achieve their dreams due to the build up and the hardships they seemingly overcame, but the end did not fulfill my expectations to the degree I would have liked and after further research, I sadly learned that neither made it to the NBA. However, I think it is inspirational that both William and Arthur received degrees from four year colleges despite their respective difficulties. Hoop Dreams definitely made me reconsider the idea of sport as a passport out of poverty because although it worked out, to a degree, for these two players, both lost a lot on the way and it became apparent that not all good talent receives the same opportunities. The apparent emphasis on education seemed to offer both guidance they needed and in both cases, basketball was their reason to continue putting in some sort of effort to school, which absolutely contributes to potentially escaping poverty.

Works Cited

Barden, J. Q., Bluhm, D. J., Mitchell, T. R., & Lee, T. W. (2013). Hometown Proximity, Coaching Change, and the Success of College Basketball Recruits. Journal Of Sport Management, 27(3), 230-246.