Love & Basketball, Sharing Two Loves

The year 2000 was the year that the world was suppose to end, computers were expected to crash, and armageddon was suppose to finish us off. While we waited throughout the year for the worst, we still found time to enjoy life. Director Gina Prince-Bythewood and New lIne Home Entertainment released a great movie for the basketball fan and the lover at heart, Love & Basketball, starring Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan.

How many times have we sacrificed what we loved the most for someone we loved? Most days sacrifices like that do not happen, but Love & Basketball shows how the love of a sport can share time with love of an individual, although tiresome. Epps' character, Quincy, meets Lathan's character, Monica, thinking Monica is a boy when they are kids on the basketball court. Before the first hoop is made, Monica reveals that she in fact is a girl and she plans to be the first woman in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The way the movie is parted is brilliant, just like four quarters in a basketball game. The two, Quincy and Monica, are inseparable beings, growing up together through high school, and eventually knowing each other better in college. As the two have adversely different roles on their basketball teams initially, the roles change as life events start to take precedence over their focus and execution in the game of basketball. The life events become overwhelming for both, but as one takes a back seat for the career of the other, decisions have to be made on what is important, the love of the sport or the love of the person. Love & Basketball is a movie that can be viewed more than once because the more one watches the movie, the better understanding of the different themes that are represented can be attained and appreciated. I highly recommend this movie to any basketball fan and lover of the drama genre.