Starring E! movie dude Ben Lyons

March Movie Madness: Hot Hoops Flicks

Mon., Mar. 19, 2007 1:40 PM PDT by Ben Lyons

As the Persian messenger says in 300, "This is madness!" Well, March Madness, anyway. So, with everyone's brackets slowly falling apart and my attention on the court, let's take a look at some of the all-time great basketball movies:

Touchtone Pictures

He Got Game: Loosely based on the story of Knicks guard Stephon Marbury's days at Lincoln High School in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, this is Spike Lee's ode to everything hoops. Rosario Dawson is Lala Bonilla, the street-smart knockout girlfriend of Jesus Shuttlesworth, played by real NBA baller Ray Allen. Jesus' father, played by Denzel Washington, is in prison and must convince his son to attend the university that his warden went to.

A little bonus fact: In the one-on-one game between Denzel and Ray, Washington improvised and played as hard as he could at the start. Then Allen wisened up and had to put the smack down. This was a big one for me growing up. Shout-out to "the assistant coaches." If you've seen it, you'll know what I mean.

Blue Chips: The ultimate big-time college basketball flick. From Nick Nolte trying to out-Bobby Knight Bobby Knight to Shaq's character failing his SATs, the film captures the wonderfully corrupt and criminal spirit of collegiate athletics at the highest level. One kid's family gets a tractor and the other a house for his mother to help persuade them to attend the fictitious university. This movie is so bad, it's good.

Orion Pictures

Hoosiers: The gold standard for hoops films, and all sports movies. Gene Hackman's locker room speeches are the stuff of legend, and Dennis Hopper delivers one of the great performances of his career. If you don't laugh, cry and think about your glory days from high school while watching this, something's wrong with you.

Sunset Park: What? This movie sucks! What's he thinking? Easy folks. You got to understand, that when you're 15 and a high school basketball movie about kids in the 'hood drops, starring Fredro from Onyx, it's going to forever hold a special place in your heart. Not only is Rhea Pearlman great as the coach, but the team's song is just brilliant. "Sunset Park / What time is it? / It's time to get live! / It's time to represent!" So dope.

Glory Road: The true story of the Texas Western basketball coach who changed the face of college basketball by starting five black players, a groundbreaking move at the time. Not only was the team successful, but they beat the legendary coach Adolph Rupp in the championship game, a man who refused to have black guys play on his time. Sure, it's very Hollywood at times, but Josh Lucas is a good movie coach, and the themes shine through.

Hoop Dreams: The film follows two kids from Chicago's tough inner-city, starting at a young age, on their quest for basketball glory. We see their ups and downs, their triumphs and failures. We meet their families, friends, coaches and teammates. It's way ahead of its time, and shows just how hard it is to reach the NBA. Neither of the kids do, but each goes on to play in college, and each becomes a better person as a result of their journey. Of all the films mentioned above, if you only have time for one, this is it. Nice cameo, too, from current Knicks coach Isiah Thomas.

Paramount Pictures

And shout-out to Sam Jackson aka Coach Carter, Whoopi Goldberg aka Eddie (if it wasn't about the Knicks, I'd hate it) and, of course, some love to Dr. J, aka The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh. Can you believe they are doing a remake of that? Hollywood is nuts.