Hoop Dreams

Hoop Dreams, motion-picture documentary about six years in the life of two talented school-age basketball players. Released in 1994, this film won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival. William Gates and Arthur Agee live in poor and dangerous urban neighborhoods in Chicago, Illinois. The boys are recruited by talent scouts from Saint Joseph High School, the former training ground of basketball star Isiah Thomas. They receive limited scholarships to attend the private suburban school in order to play on their basketball team and be groomed for a possible sports career. During the difficult six-year period, the boys experience many setbacks and triumphs, illustrating the often coldhearted strategies used in teen basketball recruitment and life in the black urban ghetto.

Director

• Steve James

Featuring

• William Gates (Himself)
• Arthur Agee (Himself)
• Emma Gates (Herself—William's mother)
• Curtis Gates (Himself—William's brother)
• Sheila Agee (Herself—Arthur's mother)
• Arthur 'Bo' Agee ( Himself—Arthur's father)
• Earl Smith (Himself—Talent scout)
• Gene Pingatore (Himself—Saint Joseph High School basketball coach)
• Isiah Thomas (Himself—Detroit Piston basketball player)
• Sister Marilyn Hopewell (Herself—Saint Joseph High School guidance counselor)
• Bill Gleason (Himself—'Sportswriter on TV' reporter)
• Patricia Weir (Herself—President, Encyclopedia Britannica)
• Marjorie Heard (Herself—Marshall High School guidance counselor)
• Luther Bedford (Himself—Marshall High School basketball coach)
• Aretha Mitchell (Herself—Marshall High School guidance counselor)
• Shannon Johnson (Himself—Arthur's best friend)
• Tomika Agee (Herself—Arthur's sister)
• Joe 'Sweetie' Agee (Himself—Arthur's brother)
• Jazz Agee (Herself—Tomika's daughter)
• Catherine Mines (Herself—William's girlfriend)
• Alicia Mines (Herself—William's daughter)
• Alvin Bibbs (Himself—William's brother-in-law)
• Willie Gates (Himself—William's father)
• James Kelly (Himself—Marshall High School teacher and school registrar)
• Michael O'Brien (Himself—Saint Joseph High School Director of Finance)
• Dick Vitale (Himself—Television sports commentator)
• Kevin O'Neill (Himself—Marquette University head basketball coach)
• Bobby Knight (Himself—Indiana University head basketball coach)
• Joey Meyer (Himself—DePaul University head basketball coach)
• Frank DuBois (Himself—Nike Camp academic director)
• Spike Lee (Himself—Film director)
• Bo Ellis (Himself—Marquette University assistant basketball coach)
• Bob Gibbons (Himself—Independent basketball scout)
• Dennis Doyle (Himself—Saint Joseph High School assistant basketball coach)
• Clarence Webb (Himself—Marshall High School science teacher)
• Stan Wilson (Himself—Independent basketball scout)
• Derrick Zinneman (Himself—Marshall High School basketball player)
• Tim Gray (Mineral Area Junior College basketball coach)
• Myron Gordon (Himself—Mineral Area Junior College basketball player)
• Steve James (Narrator)

Awards

• Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary (1995): Steve James, Frederick Marx, Peter Gilbert
• Directors Guild of America, USA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary/Actuality (1995): Steve James

Quote

• William Gates: “When somebody said, ‘When you turn N.B.A, don't forget about me’ and all that stuff, I should've said to them, 'If I don't make it, well, don't you forget about me.'”