I've been thinking a lot about this recently. In all honesty I don't know all the details... This would probably be a cross between "Sister Act 2", "Moneyball", "The Air Up There" and maybe "The Pistol"... but based on true events. Honestly I don't know enough about the "true events" to script it myself... and you can make some Hollywood tweaks for dramatic effect, but here's the gist:
You center the movie on a young assistant coach for a down-in-the-dumps College basketball team. The last 3 years the team has won 12, 12, and 13 games. In over 70 years it's never even made the NCAA tourney. This assistant coach dreams big, though. And he believes with the right stroke of luck he could help turn this team into a winner.
That "right stroke of luck", he believes, is a troubled smalltown kid from a poor, struggling family who lives a couple hours away. This immensely shy, introverted young man has already dropped out of College a year earlier. The teen's hard-working, war veteran, alcoholic father has recently committed suicide. Having been taught these hard-working values from his father, the teen is currently working for the street department driving garbage trucks, paving roads, etc. But this teen, the young assistant college coach believes, has a gift... a gift of basketball.
When the assistant coach first approaches the teen's broken down family house, he is greeted by the mother. The mother wants no part in this basketball nonsense. She wants no part in these empty hopes and these delusions of grandeur for her son. She tells the coach that her son wants to be left alone. She DEMANDS that her son be left alone... and in fact, slams the door in the face of the coach.
Back at the campus, the head coach of the program expresses his skepticism about the kid. He has legitimate concerns about the teen. The kid doesn't look like the typical ballplayer. He's unathletic, lanky and probably will not even survive on the College level. The head coach believes the boy is simply a "tall stiff" and tells the assistant coach to stop wasting his time chasing fool's gold.
But this assistant coach will not give up. He's persistent and has nothing to lose. He wants to convince this kid that his future is brighter than simply driving garbage trucks. He could reach greatness. Glory could await him. Having finally met face-to-face, the teen initially rejects the offer. He needs to work. He needs to help support his family... he needs to take care of his widowed mother. He has already tried College and wants no part in it. School just aint his thing. His first try at it, he didn't even last a month. However, the boy clearly still has a love for the game... and we eventually discover that he plays for an amateur youth league in his free time. In one scene, the assistant coach catches one of these youth league games... and it is evident how gifted this boy is... he has, the coach believes, the potential to be one of the greatest basketball players to ever live. There is something very special about his game. We play classical music and slow-mo effects during this scene to highlight how genius and jaw-dropping his game is.
Eventually, through persistence and persuasion (and a few tear-jerking highly dramatic scenes between the assistant coach and the teen), the teen finally decides to join the College.
2 years later...
The head coach of the program has suffered a stroke. This sudden development means that the young assistant coach has been promoted to the head of the program. The teen is now heading into his senior season. Together, they complete the unthinkable... taking this no-name ho-hum school through a magical season. A perfect 33-0 record... reaching all the way to the National Title game. Unfortunately they are playing against a vastly more talented, highly recruited and dominant program. Our underdog heroes give it their all... but like in "Rocky", they ultimately fall short in the end. Despite these tears, we know that everything will be ok. The teen has won pretty much every accolade there is. The young coach has won several "Coach of the year" awards. In the locker room, the two of them share an emotional tear-filled hug... and as the film fades to black we know everything is gonna be alright.
As the credits roll we find out that the teen ended up having a wildly successful career on the NBA level, winning multiple MVP awards and championships. With the money earned from playing basketball, he was able to buy his mother a massive house in their home town.
Probably call the movie "Larry Bird" or something...
Topic: Random: Would this be a good basketball movie? (Read 3070 times)