Hoop Dreams

[dajudge]

On TCM right now
Ch 60 Spectrum Milwaukee

[mugrad_89]

On TCM right now
Ch 60 Spectrum Milwaukee

An incredible documentary.  It was heartbreaking to see what Arther Agee had to deal with.

[Herman Cain]

An incredible documentary.  It was heartbreaking to see what Arther Agee had to deal with.

Tuss

[MU82]

My favorite sports movie ever.

[BLWarrior91]

KO’s staff discovered Amal McCaskill while recruiting William Gates.

McCaskill barely played in high school and wound up getting some time in the NBA.

[Shooter McGavin]

52.  One year of Dukiet and three with O’Neill.  Stormed the court in 89 when we beat ND.  MUs program had sunk to a new low but it was fun and we were drunk so why not?

[Amal Sh00k Up]

KO’s staff discovered Amal McCaskill while recruiting William Gates.

McCaskill barely played in high school and wound up getting some time in the NBA.

Long live Amal, good ‘ol #00.   An amazing find by KO and staff.

[Norm]

52.  One year of Dukiet and three with O’Neill.  Stormed the court in 89 when we beat ND.  MUs program had sunk to a new low but it was fun and we were drunk so why not?

I stormed the court that day as well. Those were dark days for MU basketball. The class of 1991 has the worst record of any class at Marquette since World War II.

[Dr. Blackheart]

I funded Hoop Dreams

[Herman Cain]

I funded Hoop Dreams

Dr B:

Excellent Judgement on your part

[Dr. Blackheart]

Dr B:

Excellent Judgement on your part

Scoopers may doubt it but it is a true story.

[Herman Cain]

Scoopers may doubt it but it is a true story.

Dr B:
You were in the right place at the right time and made the right call.

Very impressive

[pbiflyer]

I funded Hoop Dreams

That’s pretty damn cool!

[BLWarrior91]

I stormed the court that day as well. Those were dark days for MU basketball. The class of 1991 has the worst record of any class at Marquette since World War II.

Class of 91 here, too.  Since Al’s first winning season in 1966, Marquette has had four losing seasons.  Three of them occurred in my four years.  The other one was Wojo’s last season. 

Yet we knew the history and saw the promise when KO came in. 

[JWags85]

KO’s staff discovered Amal McCaskill while recruiting William Gates.

McCaskill barely played in high school and wound up getting some time in the NBA.

Played 6 games bus junior year of HS.  And never scored more than 13 points his senior year.  People thought he should go to JUCO and wasn’t a D1 player even after signing with MU.

He didn’t just get a cup of coffee, he was drafted and played 4 seasons total.  Plus played for FC Barcelona and another Spanish club that won Liga ACB.  Then came back to the NBA for awhile, then played for a EuroLeague runner up in Italy, and finished his career as one of the early stars in the South Korean league’s push for relevance in Asia.

An, at the time, head scratching signing ended up playing 4 seasons in the NBA, 8 at the highest of levels in Europe, and nearly a 20 year professional career.  Incredible story that’s second only to Wade, in terms of diamonds in the rough, IMO.

[Ellenson Guerrero]

Incredible story that’s second only to Wade, in terms of diamonds in the rough, IMO.

Amal was before my time, but JFB has to be higher on the list than him. Jimmy cam to MU second fiddle to Joe Fulce, and now his a 6x NBA All-Star.

Amal does get bonus points for surving Gene Pingatore. What an ass…

[MuggsyB]

Amal was before my time, but JFB has to be higher on the list than him. Jimmy cam to MU second fiddle to Joe Fulce, and now his a 6x NBA All-Star.

Amal does get bonus points for surving Gene Pingatore. What an ass…

Pingatore was such a colossal prick.  It's a terrific film and has stood the test of time.   

[MU82]

Pingatore was such a colossal prick.  It's a terrific film and has stood the test of time.

Pingatore was exposed as the poster child for the "we care only about the kids" lie that coaches at elite private schools (and, of course, just about all colleges) have spewed for decades.

And yes, truly a terrific film. Gene Siskel's reaction to it not even being nominated for the best doc Oscar in 1994 was to say it should have won best film that year.

The 30th anniversary coming up next year, so there probably will be a few nice looks back, "where are they now" pieces, etc.

EDIT: Even though Hoop Dreams came out in 1994, it actually wasn't eligible for the Oscars until 1995. Inexplicably, it was nominated only in the Film Editing category, where it lost out to Forrest Gump. It won numerous other awards, including best film from the Chicago Film Critics Association and best documentary at Sundance. Not sure what the Academy's problem was with Hoop Dreams, but not even nominating it for best doc was malpractice.

[Goose]

Dr. B

That is awesome. How did you get involved?

[MU82]

Dr. B

That is awesome. How did you get involved?

Agreed. I'd like to hear, too!

[Newsdreams]

Dr. B

That is awesome. How did you get involved?

Ron

[Dr. Blackheart]

Dr. B

That is awesome. How did you get involved?

Kartemquin Films is a well known societal documentary production house based in Chicago. McDonald's hired them to do an industrial film on their supply chain and I was assigned to  manage the project which lasted a few years, parallel to "Hoop Dreams". The film's intent was to get as many of the long time suppliers of Ray Kroc on film to show how they worked together to build McDonald's up. McDonald's still uses that footage today I am told.

Kartemquin used the McDonald's corporate funding to pay for the production costs for "Hoop Dreams".  Later on they also received some PBS funding and a grant from the Timberwolves, iirc. But pretty much my project funded the production.

For me, the exciting thing was to see the editing process of "Hoop Dreams" a couple of years before it hit theaters. I pretty much knew it was going to be a hit. But more so, they had done a behind the scenes short documentary of Al where they shared with me the finished and raw footage.  I have posted a link to that in the past and MU uses that footage to this day as well.

Fun to be a fly on the wall.

[Goose]

Dr. B

That is very cool. The behind the scenes had to be very interesting to be part of. The film definitely was a hit and still remains a great film. I am glad that you helped make it happen.

[MU82]

Thanks for sharing that, Dr. B, and thanks for your role in one of the best and most impactful films I've ever seen.

[NickelDimer]

I funded Hoop Dreams

That’s amazing. Good work!

[DoctorV]

I guess I have to watch Hoop Dreams now

[Newsdreams]

I guess I have to watch Hoop Dreams now

Seriously never watched?

[Dr. Blackheart]

Reposting the Al McGuire short.  It starts at 35:55

https://mediaburn.org/video/image-union-episode-11/

[Goose]

Dr. B

That was frickin awesome. I went to that game at Loyola and brought back great memories. Al was a master and cooler than cool. Plus, vety nice to see a scoop family member sitting next to Hank. Definitely the best seat in the house for a four year run.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Reposting the Al McGuire short.  It starts at 35:55

https://mediaburn.org/video/image-union-episode-11/

Nice. I must have missed this last time you posted.  What a great idea for a show format.

[GoFastAndWin]

Reposting the Al McGuire short.  It starts at 35:55

https://mediaburn.org/video/image-union-episode-11/

This was mesmerizing! Thanks for posting. I think those of us who weren’t fortunate enough to witness the Al era often hear all of his  interviews and the wispy reflections …but this shows the nitty gritty of his coaching and how he got through to his players, while doing a good job hiding his nerves, which were clearly there. It shows Al’s everyday genius, which we already knew existed; this just reveals the nuts and bolts. I read today in Al McGuire’s Wit n Wisdom FB post about how Al lamented in his final (soon to be championship) season…how it’s a foregone conclusion that all the Breweries and big companies and their executives will have a reserved seat at his retirement fete. He noted how important it was to him to make room for the janitor and the team bus driver. That quote was prominent in my head while watching this. Just how human and ordinary he was. All while being the definition of extraordinary, one-of-a-kind.

[Goose]

GoFast

My favorite part of that video was Al telling Pat that Jim Chones was going to be gone soon and he would borrow money from him. Followed by him telling the guys at practice they all are taken care of, especially if they win. He was ahead of the times by an extremely wide margin.

On a side note, he married a saint. A beautiful, smart and kind saint. He lived a blessed life for 70+ years.

[Judge Smails]

Thanks for posting Dr. B, that was really cool.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

The fact that there hasn't been a 30 for 30 on Al is an indictment of ESPN.

[Dr. Blackheart]

GoFast

My favorite part of that video was Al telling Pat that Jim Chones was going to be gone soon and he would borrow money from him. Followed by him telling the guys at practice they all are taken care of, especially if they win. He was ahead of the times by an extremely wide margin.

On a side note, he married a saint. A beautiful, smart and kind saint. He lived a blessed life for 70+ years.

My favorite part was the outro when he says "the guy from Waukesha" (Gary Grzesk). 

[Pepe Sylvia]

Hoop dreams rules and I'm glad Marquette looks good in it. If any one here hasn't seen it you absolutely must.

[GoFastAndWin]

Hoop dreams rules and I'm glad Marquette looks good in it. If any one here hasn't seen it you absolutely must.

I lived near the Wisconsin Illinois border,  Waukegan area. So it was a bit of a hike to one of the two Chicago area theaters where it debuted. It was Thanksgiving break at MU, and I was so fortunate to have my Dad be almost excited as I was to see it. Dad and I drove to the downtown Wilmette theater to catch an early evening screening. Hoop Dreams did not disappoint! It cemented my Dad’s Marquette fandom, and we ended up going together to at least 3 MU home per year after that.

[Herman Cain]

The fact that there hasn't been a 30 for 30 on Al is an indictment of ESPN.

ZFB:
You might enjoy this in the meantime.

This 30 for 30 was put out a while back on the Uniforms:

http://www.espn.com/30for30/film/_/page/untucked