Today we continue with our all-time favorite movies, and I offer for your consideration,

love and basketball, not just one of my all-time favorite movies, but objectively, one of the

greatest films of all time. I love sports movies, and a lot of sports movies have a love story B plot, rocky, invincible, even the mighty ducks.

Love in Basketball is not one of those movies. Gina Prince Bythwood, the writer and director of the movie, had played college basketball and was

really excited about making a sports movie. But what she wanted to do even more was write

a black when Harry met Sally. The movie is divided, like a basketball game, and like when Harry

met Sally, into four quarters, each one

representing a different period in the lives of the protagonists, Monica played by Sinhal

Lathin and Quincy played by Omar Epps. The first quarter takes place when Monica and Quincy, played by young actors, are 11 years old.

They are new next-door neighbors, and when they meet, Quincy thinks that Monica, who loves to play basketball as much as he and his friends do, is a boy.

She takes off her hat so they can start playing ball and reveals

herself as a girl and informs them that she's so good she's going to be the first girl to play

in the NBA. When Monica beats Quincy at the game, he shoves her to the ground, scarring her face,

and the two wrestle.

They fight, but they also, at age 11, kiss.

You want to be my girl?

What do I have to do?

And then break up, about two minutes after the kiss, because Monica wants to ride her own bike to school and won't jump on the back of Quincy's

like a girlfriend ought to.

Forget you, man, stupid.

You stupid, and your dad plays for the worst team in the NBA.

What?

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