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FirstCuts: ‘Quantum Hoops’ Is A Heady Film

Jul 18, 2008, 5:15 PM UTC

Although the film hit screens last October, I’ve just gotten around to viewing Quantum Hoops, which released on DVD June 24.â†µ

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â†µâ†µThe California Institute of Technology -- or CalTech -- is better known for Nobel Peace Prize winners (31) than NBA All-Stars (0), but despite having not won a conference game for more than two decades, the basketball program carries on. The team, which has more Valedictorians than varsity athletes, is the subject of a truly inspirational documentary directed by Rick Greenwald and narrated by David Duchovny. â†µ

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â†µLooking back on my own college experience, I can't imagine dealing with the workload the students featured in this documentary survive. Classes that are exponentially more difficult than anything I ever faced on top of athletic obligations? Not a chance. Two words: panic attack.â†µ

â†µâ†µThe way the story is told -- starting with the very birth of CalTech and concluding with the final game of the 2005-06 season for the Beavers -- gives you a sense of just how much a single win in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference would actually mean. Favorite detail from the history lessons in the film: CalTech is named the Beavers because they are nature’s engineers.â†µ

â†µâ†µThroughout the film, viewers are treated to small class reunions of sorts as former CalTech cagers recount varying levels of success -- and more often than not -- failure on the court. (Oh, and if your favorite former Beaver isn’t Fred Newman, the man who hit 209 consecutive 3-pointers, then you weren’t paying attention. His set-shot game is so vicious. Do not play this man in horse.)â†µ

â†µâ†µIf you watch the final scenes of the game, when the Beavers are trying to scratch out a win against Whittier and don’t openly cheer, then you’re a robot. It really does feel like an experiment from one of the team’s players, David Liu, finally going right to even see them in a close game, considering it was just a few seasons before when the team averaged a losing margin of roughly 60 points per game.â†µ

â†µâ†µHoop Dreams stands as my end-all, compelling basketball documentary, but Quantum Hoops easily is the most inspiring, uplifting and enjoyable doc I’ve watched since the story of Arthur Agee and William Gates. The DVD is available on the Quantum Hoops Web site and is a must-own for anyone who wants to believe in amateurism and the definition of “student-athletes.”â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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