69 pages 2 hours read

Walter Dean Myers

Hoops

Fiction | Book | Middle Grade | Published in 1981

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Symbols & Motifs

The Game

Although Hoops is, on the surface, a novel about basketball, it is also about Black identity and success in a white society. The game becomes a symbol for life on and off the court, for Lonnie and for the other characters like Cal and Paul. Towards the end of the novel, Lonnie reflects on what Cal taught him, marveling that Cal “had enough of his game left, his all-the-time, off-the-court game, to give some of it to me” (182). In this context, “game” becomes something more than skills on the basketball court; Cal’s game was about how he dealt with people, especially nefarious people, and how he was able to come out on top. Having “game” becomes about how, as a young Black man, Lonnie can find success for himself.

The game on the court also parallels Lonnie’s developing understanding of his social context. During the championship, Lonnie reaches a new level of playing, thinking to himself, “I could feel the game. I could feel everything that was going on” (174). Feeling the game, for Lonnie, means being fully in touch with all the dynamics on the court. This is a direct mirror to other mentions of game: Having or feeling the game means being able to understand what is going on around and how to deal with it appropriately.

Related Titles

By Walter Dean Myers

Plot Summary

logo

Autobiography of My Dead Brother

Walter Dean Myers

Autobiography of My Dead Brother

Walter Dean Myers

Plot Summary

logo

Dope Sick

Walter Dean Myers

Dope Sick

Walter Dean Myers

Study Guide

logo

Fallen Angels

Walter Dean Myers

Fallen Angels

Walter Dean Myers

Plot Summary

logo

Lockdown

Walter Dean Myers

Lockdown

Walter Dean Myers

Study Guide

logo

Monster

Walter Dean Myers

Monster

Walter Dean Myers

Study Guide

logo

Scorpions

Walter Dean Myers

Scorpions

Walter Dean Myers

Study Guide

logo

Shooter

Walter Dean Myers

Shooter

Walter Dean Myers

Plot Summary

logo

Somewhere in the Darkness

Walter Dean Myers

Somewhere in the Darkness

Walter Dean Myers

Study Guide

logo

Street Love

Walter Dean Myers

Street Love

Walter Dean Myers

Study Guide

logo

The Glory Field

Walter Dean Myers

The Glory Field

Walter Dean Myers

Study Guide

logo

The Greatest: Muhammad Ali

Walter Dean Myers

The Greatest: Muhammad Ali

Walter Dean Myers

Study Guide

logo

The Young Landlords

Walter Dean Myers

The Young Landlords

Walter Dean Myers