Hoop Dreams Essay, Research Paper

HOOP DREAMS

Main Idea

The book Hoop Dreams Paul Robert Walker shows how life can work against you

in every way imagined no matter how hard you work. It shows how all good can turn to

bad in the blink of an eye and how all your dreams can be thrown away after everything

you?ve worked towards completing. The story is based on two men Arthur Agee and

William Gates who?s lives are basically recorded from their freshman year in high school

to their senior year of playing basketball. Their story means something to anyone with a

dream to play basketball at a higher level. The purpose of this book was for Walker to

show all the things that can turn something good for somebody bad and for somebody

who has something bad to work to change it to good.

Information

Arthur Agee and William Gates are two young teenagers ready to jump into

highschool basically not for school but just for basketball. Both of these talented young

players are scouted by a top basketball highschool in the country. They are both given

scholarships for one semester for this school to play basketball. After one semester

William is given a scholarship to go to highschool for the rest of his highschool career at

this school while Arthur isn?t . Arthur?s family cannot afford the school so he has to

change schools in to a sluggish school with little future given to it?s graduates. Arthur

loses all the credit he earned at his former school because he cannot pay the cost for the

days he went to school there.

Question

Their is many problems addressed in the book about money. William has his school

paid for which means he will get the better education and he has the better basketball

highschool for being scouted at by top college teams. Arthur is back tracked in debt and

must pay 1,200 $ before he can get his transcripts and credit for the classes he took. This

is bad for Arthur because at one point in the book the heat and electricity is turned off for

3 months because the Agee family is very poor and in debt. After continuing problems

Arthur?s father leaves the family and barely visits Arthur and stays away from his life. So

basically this puts Arthur in a situation of being poor going to a rough school and not

having a good basketball school that would draw scouts for his future dreams of making it

to the NBA. William has a situation where he starts varsity as a freshman and he is already

being looked at as a sensation and doesn?t have to worry about school tuition and a very

superior education that Arthur. The book takes you through their freshman through senior

years in highschool and shows Arthur?s struggles and shows William?s stardom at his

prestigious highschool know for its top players and teams throughout it?s basketball

history. During their senior years Arthur gets his chance at varsity and William?s school is

favored to win Chicago?s city championship. Along the way everything is on track as

Arthur?s team matures and Arthur starts to play his role on the team to help them win. A

little way through the season William tears knee cartilage and will sit out 16 weeks of the

season and watch his team struggle without him, and his team must learn to win without

him. Arthur?s team makes it to the state tournament and roles through it?s opponents

upsetting some of the biggest school names in the Chicago area. William?s team roles

through its first two opponents as it did when it made it to the state championship semi

finals and finals the past three years. William suffers a knee blow in only the second round

of the state tournament to watch his team exit the state championship the earliest in ten

years while he sits on the bench helpless because of his knee. Arthur?s team is given the

nickname the ?giant killers? after it beats all of its opponents winning a unpredicted state

championship given Arthur media stardom in front of William?s coach which cut his

scholarship because he thought Arthur would never develop into a basketball player to see

Arthur mature and win and lead his team through the state championship showing his

leadership and passion to win. The passion and leadership was what costed William?s team

the game after he reinjured his knee and was unable to play.

Point of View

Arthur Agee was always simulating that he was in the NBA whenever he would

play basketball on the playgrounds in Chicago. His NBA dream was so strong he would

spend hours practicing using this as an escape to his problems of poverty welfare problem.

The pressure was on Arthur by his brother Craig who played basketball at the same

highschool as he did and was a standout star. Craig blew out his knee and his future but he

once was a top prospect as Arthur wants to be given the chance. William is almost

identical to Arthur but not having as many money problems. WIliiam?s dream of making it

to the NBA is as strong as Arthurs. William wants to portrey Isiah Thomas that went to

his highschool and later on to the NBA. I see Arthur and William as having an unstopable

dream because of their talent. Arthur and William don?t realize how good that you have to

be to make it to a big time college or the pro?s. William tore cartilage in his knee which

kept away his chance of any interest by schools while Arthur never was watched by scouts

because of he didn?t start varsity untill is senior year without much experience. Arthurs

family was too over confindent with Arthur because they strived just as he did for him to

make it to the NBA because of their poverty. This came crashing down on Arthur because

it was now harder for him to let go of his dream becaue it was thought by so many people

around Arthur that he could make it that he felt he was throwing his life away by not

making the pro?s. William?s family is not really shown in the book as much as Arthurs but

are always seem to be in the crowd giving encouragement to William. I saw William as

definitally having luck go is way in life. Arthur didn?t grow much untill his later career in

school and William seemed to be filled out his freshman year which got him the start for

his prestigious highschool.