His parents were expecting him to get a basketball scholarship to a state school like his father, but he is a failure at the sport. His love is art. He is in the midst of applying to the Rhode Island School of Design, but to do so, he must illustrate a love story, and love is something in which he has even less luck than basketball. His parents are disappointed in him, and he has no idea what to do about his admissions assignment. He is faced with a summer full of disapproving glares from his parents and nothing on which to base his love story.
Hoops accepts almost unconditionally.
Cassandra's plans for the summer include helping her grandfather save his house form the grips of the Beckersted family. The Beckersteds are rich snobs who get their money from real estate, and they are determined to turn Cassandra's grandfather's house into a Lobster Hut restaurant. Hoops is entranced by her and promises to help out in any way he can. It is at this point that Hoops gets his first look at Teddy, a teenage aristocratic jerk with a penchant for fast cars and pretty blondes. Hoops is more determined than ever to help Cassandra thwart the Beckersteds.