Lucinda Albers

Maybe it’s because we love the fast pace, maybe it’s the high scores, or the gravity-defying leaps. For whatever reason some of us love basketball.

Even more of us love basketball movies. In honor of the release of Coach Carter, I’ve compiled a list of my favorite b-ball flicks.

5. Hoop Dreams:

Directed by Steve James II, this film is an independent documentary on two basketball players’ dreams of acceptance and finding a way out of poverty.

It was also the winner of the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.

4. The Air up There

A hilarious 1993 release where Kevin Bacon goes to Africa to find the next NBA superstar and ends up making a connection between cultures through basketball.

3. Finding Forrester

The inspiring film based on a college student with an unrealized talent for writing. He is led by a novelist, Sean Connery, into developing his unborn talent.

I love Connery and the connection made between playing basketball and writing.

2. “O”

A movie based on William Shakespeare’s “Othello”, set to present day time at a private school.

Although a little off of the play, the movie still captures the story’s essence. The movie includes Mekhi Phifer, Julia Stiles and Josh Hartnett.

1. Love and Basketball

Who can resist a romance built around basketball? This movie had me pulling for Monica (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy (Omar Epps) the whole time.