The fact-based "Coach Carter tells the story of a man who wanted his players to look higher than a scoreboard for success.
Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) is the most successful graduate of Richmond High School in California when he is asked to coach the basketball team as a sideline for $1,500.
The Richmond Oilers are a lackluster bunch of boys whose social lives are more important to them than anything else. Carter surprises them when he asks each student-athlete to sign a contract before playing for the team. The agreement requires the players to attend class regularly, sit on the front row, keep a 2.3 grade-point average and wear a shirt and tie on game days.
He puts the team through grueling training sessions, teaching them plays named after his numerous sisters. The players improve but not without bumps. Kenyon Stone (Rob Brown) is a standout, but his college chances will hinge on his pregnant girlfriend Kyra (singer Ashanti in her movie debut).
Timo Cruz (Rick Gonzalez) is torn between loyalty to his team and to his friends and family, who have gang ties.
The coach is stunned when his son Damien (Richard Ri'chard) quits his private school to play for him. While the father voices his objections, they make a deal. Damien signs the same contract as any player, but his grade-point average must stay above 3.7.
The rules and work pay off when Carter's junior varsity and varsity teams begin to win and stay undefeated.
The entire town backs the boys; it's only the teachers who seem slow with their student progress reports.
When Carter sees the students' grades, he knows it's time to make the young men realize that the world is not about basketball and there are futures besides college and professional basketball.
On Jan. 4, the team arrives to find the gym locked and practice moved to the library, where they must study to bring up their grades before they play another game.
The town is shocked when Carter forfeits a game rather than break his contract with the boys.
Jackson is perfect in the role as a stern man who wants a group of poor boys to realize there is more to life than winning and that respect for others and self-respect are as important as scoring points.
Ashanti and Brown are good as a young couple struggling to do what's right.
"Coach Carter is well-worth seeing, especially if you've got fledgling basketball players at home. Bring them, too.
