A passable underdog story, but not much else.

Rating: 6/10 (21 April 2018)

This was on my watch later for almost a year, before I was looking for a sports movie after finishing a sports reality series, I figured why not.
Samuel L. Jackson is Ken Carter, the owner of a successful sporting goods store and a former college basketball player. He is approached by his former high school coach to take the coaching job at inner-city Richmond H.S., where Carter was a 2 time All-American nearly 20 years prior. The team won just 4 games the previous season, but he decides to take on the job regardless, mostly as a favour.
A mostly predictable sports underdog story ensues. The team is run ragged in practice, sign contracts relating to academics and soon enough, the team is on a lengthy undefeated streak. Numerous side plots include Carter's son transferring to Richmond to play for him, a player and girlfriend deciding what to do about a potential baby and a player leaving the team multiple times to sell drugs.
Unexpectedly, Samuel L. Jackson is fantastic and in the end, the only thing keeping this from being rated a fair bit lower. A young Channing Tatum is literally just another player and not particularly memorable and besides Ashanti as a player's girlfriend, I couldn't tell you one other person casted in this movie.
The inevitable middle of the movie conflict erupts, the baby angle is abruptly and clumsily ended and the drug dealing player's supplier is the only person shot to death in two hours.
On the whole, Samuel L. Jackson is fantastic in this movie, more or less playing himself as a basketball coach. But, the whole script is not great, there's no real supporting performances that lead to a good scene and I thought the film ran way too long.
You may shout at the TV when Carter is about to admonish his team "I need winners off the court!", but it's not a total waste of your life either. 6/10.