Hoop Dreams (1994)

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Interesting to see this after Moneyball, since one of the subplots there dealt with the deleterious effects of Billy Beane's offer of a big league baseball spot at the cost of attending Stanford or Yale. The players in Hoop Dreams are younger and the stakes higher: basketball is a ticket out of poverty, a scholarship to a good school, the chance to go to college.

It's a very good documentary, more interested in telling the story than judging the actors. It seems pretty clear that putting kids into this sort of pressure-cooker is not positive -- but, ultimately, the outcomes for some of them are good. Is giving up your youth for your future a fair trade?

Anyway, worth seeing.

- Sam - 2011-12-22 00:15:01