Arthur Agee and William Gates, two high school basketball players, dream of playing basketball in the NBA. Arthur controlled the basketball court as point guard at local playgrounds in Chicago. He competed against boys three years older and still dominated. One day, Big Earl Smith, the legendary playground basketball scout, approached Arthur to discuss his future playing basketball. Big Earl delivered to Arthur a tuition paid scholarship offer to attend St. Joseph. This presented Arthur the opportunity to play for Gene Pingatore, the coach of St. Joseph, considered the greatest high school coach in the suburbs and city. With the scholarship, Arthur attended St Joseph and met William Gates, another basketball prodigy and recruit at St. Joseph. Unfortunately for Arthur, William developed into the more proficient and touted player. Due to William’s success and notoriety, St Joseph passed Arthur’s scholarship money onto William. Arthur’s impoverished family situation, coupled with losing his scholarship money, forced him to drop out of St. Joseph and attend Marshall, the local public school. Throughout Arthur and William’s high school experience, they …show more content…
received poor grades, thus using basketball instead of academics to gain entry to college. In addition, they underwent several predicaments, such as pregnancies, financial stresses, and injuries. But, through it all, Arthur and William overcame numerous barriers and persevered through such hardships. William Gates lives an eventful and strenuous life: “William was moving, a young man in a hurry, up early and to bed late, always with someplace—school, practice, Catherine’s—to go” (136). Despite continuous and problematic obstacles, William remains optimistic and displays keen focus towards the important aspects in his life. Throughout William’s high school career, he revolves everything around basketball and achieving his goal of playing in the NBA. Primarily, during junior year, William encounters multiple hitches, causing stumbling blocks in his basketball performance. Catherine, William’s girlfriend, explains her unforeseen pregnancy to William. Considering William’s occupied high school life, “he was a dutiful daddy, visiting [his daughter] Alicia every chance he got” (193). During the course of his challenging junior year, William suffers with a severe knee injury: “The next day at practice William was stretching his leg when he felt a sharp tear, like bone ripping, and his knee stuck in place” (155). Although William does not reach his goal of playing in the NBA, he obtains a scholarship to play basketball at Marquette University. Bo Agee, Arthur’s father, lives a deviant life.
Bo’s persona consists of nothing but trouble. He displays countless unlawful acts, such as selling drugs, robbery, escaping jail, spousal abuse, and infidelity. As a result of his illegal actions, Bo spends considerable time in jail, but usually absconds: “They took me to the Kedzie Street station, but I was able to sneak out. Two officers chased me. Two shots rang out” (120). Bo constantly abandons his family, for hours to months. Although Arthur understands Bo’s illicit nature, Arthur both loves and appreciates Bo and wisely avoids partaking in Bo’s actions. Ultimately, Bo ceases his prohibited characteristics and becomes a minister: “One day Bo showed up at the apartment, clean shaved, his hair combed, wearing a tie and slacks and carrying the bible”
(209).
In John Feinstein’s Foul Trouble, Danny, a basketball player, experiences the tough NCAA restrictions. Terell and Danny were on their way to the most elite showcase basketball camp in the country. They arrive at the camp and make their way inside. All kinds of diverse reporters and television hosts swarmed Terrell. Danny was feeling as if he does not belong there. He walked into the building and sat on the bleachers. The whole place was teeming with college coaches. Danny could not wait to start the camp games. Coach Wilcox, Danny’s father, was also very eager.
Your dreams of being someone may not turn out the way you think they will. The documentary Hoop Dreams is a story about two boys from the ghetto that want to play in the NBA. Arthur ¨Man”Agee goes to Marshalls and William Gates goes to St. Joseph’s which are both situated in Illinois, where their dreams of becoming a pro basketball player vanished. Both of the boys face obstacles that are outside of themselves. Arthur´s family struggled with money, education, and pressure from others hurts him. Also, William struggled with balancing his family with basketball, the pressure from others, and education.
Wes Moore, the author, had many important role models in his life that would eventually enable him to live up to his full capability. Uncle Howard, Wes’ mother’s brother, filled the hole that was left when Moore’s father died and when“[he] was eleven… and having difficulty in and out of the classroom [he could lean] on Uncle Howard’s shoulder”. Moore’s uncle was the man who convinced Moore that he could achieve more than just basketball at school, that education would allow him to reach his full potential. The persuasion to drop basketball as a career, enabled
Bo provides comfort for his mom Ellen when she see’s Bo is doing well even though he had a abhorrent past. Ellen states that “I wasn’t responsible for what he did to you. I was responsible for what I didn’t do” (Crutcher 182). This quote states that Ellen didn’t take action when Bo was getting yelled at by Lucas. After Bo decides the meet with his mother, she is blissful when she see’s Bo is doing well living by himself. Bo also encountered a huge conflict near the beginning of the novel. Bo states that he had to close the door 10 times quietly when he got in trouble. Bo started to hate his dad because he was always strict on him. Bo finds his way in the novel when starts to find out why Lucas was so hard on him as a child. Bo states that “I’ve always loved how you never told be the answer, or took the tools away and did it yourself when I screwed up. You have patience when it comes to letting me learn things” (Crutcher 74). This quote states that when Bo screwed up his dad didn’t help him because he wanted him to learn on his own. Lucas let Bo find his own way. As Bo encounters these comforts and conflicts most of them relate to a social
Pat Summitt has been diagnosed with Dementia, early-onset Alzheimer’s type. Even though she no longer makes the play calls or runs the practices, she can still be found on the court yelling at players until her face turns blue. Summitt is very much still a large part of the Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team, and considers herself the “big gun”; her official title is Head Coach Emeritus. Her constant rock is her son, Ross “Tyler” Summitt, her pride, joy and greatest accomplishment; although Summitt did not want her son to follow in her footsteps, he is currently the head coach at Louisiana Tech and has succeeded expectations. Many of Summitt’s former players were inspired by her, and many have become outstanding coaches at every level of the game. From many famous college coaches like Sylvia Hatchell, Geno Auriemma, and Kim Mulkey, the game of women’s basketball is headed towards a bright
Although many youngsters fail in the NBA, there are a few high school players who have had, or do have a successful career in the NBA. Some of these are, Moses Malone, Kobe Bryant, Tracey McGrady, and this year’s most valu...
Robinson, Mark D. Ph. D. “Every Black Kid Should Strive to Be a Professional Athlete”.
One of the main topics discussed in lesson one is the fact that heroes over time and overseas all heroes have something in common; which is true in the case of King Arthur and Beowulf. It is obvious that they are similar in the fact that they are both heroes, but what makes them an idol of their time and in their culture are poles apart. There are many things that are different about Beowulf and King Arthur, but the ones that stand out the most are what kind of hero they are and what actions they did to make them heroic. Both heroes possess qualities that others do not have, but it is what they do with those abilities that prompts someone to write a story about them and idolize them in time.
The history of sports goes back since ancient times. It has been a useful way for people to explore nature and their environment. Sports include different activities and games such as football, soccer, basketball, and etc. to express their skills and talents. Also, sports are a way to relax and have fun; but are sports all our African Americans rely on? The dream to become future sports stars. The reason why Gates begins his essay with an anecdote is to show and compare how many african-american athletes were at work today and how little the chances of African-Americans becoming athletes are compared to being a lawyer, dentist, or even a doctor. African-Americans assume that they are born athletes and it’s because the school system doesn’t teach them reality and educate them to undertake more realistic goals for careers.
Many NCAA basketball players who make the decision to enter the NBA are not mentally prepared to deal with the responsibilities of life in the NBA. Young players depend on others who influence them or help make bad life decisions. What the young players visualize as the reward for playing in the NBA is the big money and with that big money make many mistakes financially. In th...
... person committing everyday acts of bravery and selflessness without the aid of superhuman abilities. Our society has been so corrupted by stories of great people doing great things that the average member of our community no longer believes that they can be a catalyst for change. If we begin to each improve ourselves and agree to together help fix our society then modern day versions of Lancelot will not have to exist to ride in and fix everyone’s problems. The key to our future is relying on our community as much as our community relies on us and if this had been the case in King Arthur’s court then the fall of Camelot would have been avoided.
To illustrate “In the Kitchen” Henry Louis Gates shapes an identity of a young person growing up in a lower class black community and also the community as a whole in Piedmont, America in the fifties and sixties when the Black Civil Right Movement was taking place. The identity is based on his life and upbringing with his “mama” and the ways they used the kitchen for straightening their kinky hair to make them fit in with the wider community. Gates has developed the identity of an African American community who are frowned upon in the wider community due to having kinky hair instead of straight and also the struggles they went through in their everyday lives through many techniques used within the development such as textual form, figurative
The poem begins in Camelot where all the mighty and brave knights are celebrating their Christmas time in the court room with King Arthur. All the knights are known as the strongest and bravest in the entire Christendom as portrayed by the poem, “With all the wonder in the world they gathered there as one: / the most chivalrous and courteous knights known to Christendom” (50-51). Above all the warriors stands King Arthur who is depicted as the strongest and mightiest of them all. The court room is filled with saporous meat, fresh food and deluxe drinks. While everyone is occupied with the celebration, King Arthur refuses to eat anything until he hears an astounding yet true story. Suddenly a huge figure enters the court room mounted on a beautiful
I have read an account called " 'What's in a Name? " ", which is composed by Henry Louis Gates. This account demonstrates to us a youth experience of the creator that happened amid the mid-1950s. In the article, Gates alludes to an occurrence when a white man, Mr. Wilson, who was well disposed with his dad, called his dad "George", a name which was a prominent method for alluding to African Americans in those circumstances. In any case, Gates' dad needed to acknowledge this separation and couldn't make a move around then. By utilizing sentiment to bring out individuals' enthusiastic reaction, and utilizing suggestion, Gates effectively communicates his claim that name shapes individuals' discernments
Bill Gates is renowned for being one of the richest entrepreneurs in the world; he is the cofounder of the most recognized brands in the computer industry called Microsoft. Gates was born October 28, 1955 in Seattle, Washington. He grew up in a wealthy family and had two sisters. William H. Gates, Sr., who was their father, was a successful lawyer and their mother dedicated her time to staying home and raising the children. The Gates family maintained a warm and close environment and encouraged the mentality to strive for excellence. Bill took this to heart in everything he was involved with.