The Top 40 Basketball Movies - #5. Coach Carter

 The Top 40 Basketball Movies - #5. Coach Carter

The third time I agreed with the internet ranking exactly (also Teen Wolf and Slam Dunk Ernest). Two 7 rankings gives Coach Carter spot #5. Came out 18 years ago so it has been a minute. There is some predictability to the general trajectory of the plot. Even a semi-restrained Samuel Jackson movie brings you a great performance. Directed by Thomas Carter, who I am familiar with for directing Swing Kids and Metro. Cameos I'm most familiar with include Channing Tatum (first movie), Octavia Spencer and Ashanti (first movie). Plot goes like - new coach comes back to his old high-school and immediately demands contracts for his players for things like grades and dress code. When the team starts doing well but starts breaking contracts, Coach Carter starts suspending players and forfeiting games to the great dismay of all the coaches and some faculty. There becomes a community conference where his fate gets voted on. The scene I had watched before, and maybe it's most famous one is where a player wants to get back on the team after quitting initially and coach demands an impossible number of pushups and sprints, but the team helps the player take on the challenge. Based on a real person Ken Carter who served as consultant and pulled for Samuel Jackson to play the part. Quite a bit of basketball here and the actors went through a good amount of training. Highest MTV opening release. It's a little fluffy and safe overall but it does deserve to be in the 6-10 range of basketball movies even if 5 is pushing it. 

Movie	Rotten Tom	Rotten Tom Aud	IMDB	Internet Rank	My Rank
5. Coach Carter	64	85	7.3	7	7
6. Air	92	98	7.7	1	14
7. White Men Can't Jump	77	68	6.8	17	1
8. He Got Game	80	83	6.9	8	11
9. Uncut Gems	91	52	7.4	13	9
10. One on One	88	75	6.5	15	12
11. Above the Rim	52	82	6.6	18	10
12. Champions	59	95	6.7	12	17
13. BASEketball	41	74	6.5	28	2
14. Glory Road	55	81	7.2	14	18
15. Finding Forrester	74	79	7.3	10	22
16. Rebound: The Legend of Earl “The Goat”	50	94	7.6	6	27
17. Inside Moves	50	77	7.0	19	16
18. Hoop Dreams	98	92	8.3	2	35
19. Uncle Drew	61	48	5.7	32	6
20. Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story	50	99	6.9	11	28
21. The Winning Season	50	55	6.6	26	15
22. Fast Break	50	59	6.1	30	13
23. Believe in Me	60	74	7.0	16	29
24. High Flying Bird	91	50	6.2	20	26
25. "O"	64	58	6.1	22	25
26. Forget Paris	48	56	6.5	29	19
27. Sunset Park	13	83	5.9	31	21
28. Game Day	50	82	5.4	25	30
29. Blue Chips	37	51	6.2	33	23
30. Amateur	60	66	5.9	24	32
31. The Air Up There	21	35	5.5	38	20
32. Space Jam	43	63	6.5	27	31
33. Semi-Pro	22	38	5.8	36	24
34. Heaven Is a Playground	50	84	5.8	21	39
35. Hurricane Season	50	69	6.5	23	38
36. Teen Wolf	42	52	6.1	34	34
37. Boogie	42	57	5.2	35	36
38. Rebound	14	38	5.1	40	33
39. Slam Dunk Ernest	50	31	4.5	37	37
40. Eddie	17	36	5.2	39	40