A Duke-UNC Chaser

This film does a terrific job in presenting the action-oriented drama associated with the grit and sweat of street-basketball (also as it relates to the accessibility of modern youthful 'hoop dreams' for college glory).

Leon is perfect as a pensive but troubled African-American man named Thomas who returns to his hometown to visit the grave of his mother and try to re-integrate himself into society (working as a security-guard) after leaving the world after a terrible tragedy which cut short what would have otherwise been a potentially phenomenal professional basketball career. He has to deal with his unscrupulous and dangerous brother who is now a notorious drug-dealer running a profit-gauged street-basketball tournament scheme which otherwise would bring lots of spiritual cheer to the struggling community.

Leon works to understand how he can somehow be a surprising hero and bring needed cheer to the troubled neighborhood.

The street-basketball tournament at the end is very well done and really encourages basketball fans (and sports fans in general) to consider how competitive athletics creates ironic human drama.

That's why when I watch this film (it's one of my favorites and makes an unusual but nice Blu-ray disc Christmas 2016 gift for your son), I think of provocative Duke-UNC college basketball games.

Duke University and the University of North Carolina (UNC) are arguably the two premier college basketball programs in the nation, and the rivalry these two teams have fostered (since the schools themselves are both located in the U.S. state of North Carolina) have made televised collegiate sports very engaging.

While many college basketball critics cite the 1992 NCAA Regional Final tournament game between Duke and Kentucky (an over-time buzzer-beater classic) as the greatest college basketball game of all time, the Duke-UNC rivalry is the most pronounced sports rivalry in all of college sports.

Duke and UNC recruit talents as well as talent with academic aspirations, which makes televised games between these two something many youngsters follow as they catalogue their own 'hoop dreams.'

So Leon has inspired me to construct a Duke-UNC 'dream-team rivalry game' in honor of Above the Rim.





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DUKE
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Center: Elton Brand
Center: Christian Laettner
PG: Bobby Hurley
SG: Trajan Langdon
F: Michael Dunleavy
Sixth Man - Grant Hill


UNC
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Center: Eric Montross
Center: Rasheed Wallace
PG: Bobby Frasor
SG: Rashad McCants
F: Jerry Stackhouse
Sixth Man - Brendan Haywood


The game starts out going back-and-forth (not unlike the 1992 Duke-Kentucky game) before Duke really starts pulling away thanks to the leadership and 3-point shooting of Duke guard Bobby Hurley. The score is 45-33 at Halftime. In the second half, Rasheed Wallace becomes the unlikely stand-out, scoring 25 points (all in the second half) and helping UNC jump out to a 89-80 lead with only 2:00 left to play. It looks like UNC's defense, toughened up by the gritty play of Haywood, McCants, and Montross, will not allow Duke (even Laettner and Brand) to make a necessary contribution, however, Duke's forward Michael Dunleavy starts drowning three-pointers including a monster-shot with only 0:13 left to play, giving Duke a 92-90 lead. As UNC tries to make one last heroic run, Grant Hill makes a key steal, taking the ball away from Stackhouse and holding it until time runs out. Duke wins the Dream-Team Game!

The fans go crazy, and the hoop dreams youngsters watching on TV realize that the Duke-UNC rivalry really is an 'American Achievement.'

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Duke-UNC Rivalry:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina%E2%80%93Duke_rivalry