Don’t let the title fool you – Black Men Can’t Shoot is not a book debating whether black or white players are the best shooters. Rather, it is a very entertaining, in depth look at the high school basketball scene in the Philadelphia area. While overshadowed by New York City’s basketball legacy, Philly has produced more than their share of top notch ballers – perhaps you’ve heard of Wilt Chamberlain, Earl Monroe or Rasheed Wallace?
The premise of the book isn’t overly original – the author (Scott Brooks), at the time a sociology grad student, goes and coaches inner city basketball players and documents their trials and tribulations. But just because the topic has been covered before doesn’t stop this book from shedding more light on the role that basketball plays in the inner city. The story centers around Brooks’ dealings with two players – Jermaine and Ray (not their real names, but if you’re a good detective like me you will be able to figure out who they really are) that he coaches for numerous years in a Philly rec league. Growing up in housing projects that don’t offer much hope for the future, Jermaine and Ray use basketball to help themselves escape the ghetto. Once again, not an unique idea, but the book does a tremendous job documenting how these boys not only improve their game on the court, but, perhaps more importantly, how they learn to navigate the system to get themselves known and in a position to get a college scholarship. Perhaps the most important message the book conveys is that it isn’t a situation of “NBA or bust” in regards to hoops in the inner city. It isn’t even “college scholarship or bust”. Rather, basketball allows these kids to dream – it allows them to consider that they might have a future other than hanging out on the street corner. Consider it documentation of the transformative effects of hoops.
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