View source for Full-Court Miracle

{{All plot|date=January 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image                = Full-Court Miracle.jpg
| image_size           = 
| image_alt            = 
| caption              = Film poster
| genre                = 
| creator              = 
| based_on             = 
| writer               = Joel Silverman
| screenplay           = 
| story                = 
| director             = [[Stuart Gillard]]
| starring             = [[Alex D. Linz]]<br />[[Richard T. Jones]]
| narrated             = 
| theme_music_composer = Christopher Brady
| country              = 
| language             = English
| num_episodes         = 
| producer             = Jacqueline George
| editor               = Anthony Redman
| cinematography       = [[Thomas Burstyn]]
| runtime              = 90 minutes
| company              = Daniel L. Paulson Productions
| budget               = 
| network              = [[Disney Channel]]
| released             = {{Start date|2003|11|21}}
}}
'''''Full-Court Miracle''''' is a 2003 American [[Hanukkah film|Hanukkah]] [[Sports film|sports]] [[Drama (film and television)|drama film]] released as a [[Disney Channel Original Movie]]. It premiered on November 21, 2003. Inspired by the true story of [[University of Virginia]] [[Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball|Cavaliers]] [[basketball]] star Lamont Carr, the film centers on a group of young [[Jews|Jewish]] basketball players who search for a coach to help them out of a slump during the [[Hanukkah]] season. It was filmed in [[Toronto]].<ref name=Variety/><ref name=JW/>

==Plot==
{{long plot|section|date=December 2022}}
Alex "Schlots" Schlotsky ([[Alex D. Linz]]) is a 14-year-old [[freshman]] at [[Philadelphia]] Hebrew Academy, where he and his friends are on the school's struggling [[basketball]] team, the Lions. The Lions dream of winning the Liberty Tournament and defeating their school's rivals, the Warriors, but the basketball team doesn't have a good coach. Schlots and his friends are determined to find their own [[Judah Macabee]] to coach their team. During one day of practice at a local park, Schlots finds the man he believes is the right coach for the basketball team: Lamont Carr ([[Richard T. Jones]]), a [[college basketball]] star whose knee injury prevented him from getting into the NBA. There are many hurdles Schlots and Lamont must overcome over the course of the movie: Lamont is homeless after leaving his wife and son in [[Virginia]] with the hopes of being signed by the [[Philadelphia 76ers]]; Schlots must convince Lamont that coaching his ragtag group is worth his time, energy, and the meager amount of money the boys can pay him. Schlots also must balance his own desires with those of his mother, who wishes for him to become a doctor and attend a [[job shadowing|medical shadowing]] program. Also, among the challenges they must face is the school's principal, Mrs. Klein, who tries to see if Lamont is safe to be with the players.

During the boys' first days of practice under Lamont's coaching, they become exhausted and frustrated with his coaching style, but intervention by Schlots inspires Lamont to help the team love the game of basketball. One day, Mrs. Klein tries to inconspicuously tail Lamont to follow Lamont when he drives off in his van after practice. Aware of both this and Lamont's homelessness, Schlots tells him to go to a modern apartment complex where his dad is trying to get a tenant for a room he owns.

When Schlots opens the door for Lamont, Mrs. Klein is outside the apartment complex. Lamont and Mr. Schlotsky come to an agreement: Lamont can live in the apartment for free Mr. Schlotsky can find a tenant. Later, when the Lions players are anticipating the big Liberty Tournament, Lamont tells the team that he has received an offer for a 10-day contract from the Philadelphia 76ers and he is going to accept it. This means the Lions must try to win the tournament without their coach. The Lions prove successful, winning every game in the tournament.
 
On the day of the final game, Schlots finally confronts his mother and gets her to appreciate his love for basketball. That night, as the Liberty Tournament takes place, a thunderstorm begins to occur. Schlots' mother decides to support her son, but decides to find Lamont first.

The storm eventually knocks out the power in the school's gymnasium. After the school mobilizes an emergency generator for the remainder of the game, the Lions and the Warriors agree to continue the game with the understanding that whenever the fuel in the generator runs out, the game will end and the team with the most points at that time will win. The Warriors devise a plan to make sure it is them: when they are ahead in the game and it becomes clear that the fuel in the generator is moments away from running out, the Warriors will call a timeout that will last until the remaining fuel in the generator is exhausted. The Lions are outraged and discouraged until Lamont appears in the gym and encourages them to not lose faith. The power then once again goes out in the gym – and the Warriors celebrate what they believe is their victory – until the generator restarts despite being out of gas, and the power comes back on. The final moments of the game consist of the Lions catching up to the Warriors, and with the final seconds on the clock ticking down, Schlots passes the ball instead of trying to take the final shot himself, per his usual self, leading to the Lions scoring the winning basket.

The entire school celebrates, and Lamont's wife and son enter the gym and announce plans to stay with Lamont, who reveals to the Lions that he plans to become their full-time coach. The final scene of Schlots and Lamont's family playing basketball as Rabbi Lewis' story of [[Hanukkah]] and how it relates to the basketball game plays over the scene.

==Cast==
* [[Alex D. Linz]] as Alex "Schlots" Schlotsky
* [[Richard T. Jones]] as Lamont Carr
* [[R. H. Thomson]] as Rabbi Lewis
* [[Sean Marquette]] as Ben "Big Ben" Swartz
* [[Erik Knudsen]] as T. J. Murphy
* David Sazant as "Joker" Levy
* [[Sheila McCarthy]] as Mrs. Klein
* [[Linda Kash]] as Cynthia Schlotsky
* [[Jason Blicker]] as Marshall Schlotsky
* [[Cassie Steele]] as Julie
* Jack Manchester as Tyler
* Ron Gabriel as Coach Simowitz
* Stan Coles as Larry
* Sean Loucks as Bob, The Referee
* Gina Kash as Sarah Lewis
* Dan Willmott as Tow Truck Driver
* Elle Downes as Charmaine
* [[Jerome Williams (basketball)|Jerome Williams]] as Himself

==Reception==
Laura Fries of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' was critical of the film, writing that director [[Stuart Gillard]] "misses a prime opportunity to present a poignant and entertaining multicultural alternative to the usual holiday viewing". She wrote that Gillard "lays the groundwork for a meaningful drama but inconsistently intersperses fantasy elements and slapstick comedy".<ref name=Variety>{{cite web |last=Fries |first=Laura |title=Full-Court Miracle |url=https://variety.com/2003/tv/reviews/full-court-miracle-1200537855/ |website=Variety |access-date=December 24, 2021 |date=November 19, 2003 |archive-date=October 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241009193429/https://variety.com/2003/tv/reviews/full-court-miracle-1200537855/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Joe Eskenazi of ''[[JWeekly]]'' found the adult characters one-dimensional but applauded the younger actors. He called the film "cheesy" but nevertheless "sort of liked it".<ref name=JW>{{cite news |last=Eskenazi |first=Joe |title=Hebrew hoopsters — A Disney spin on yeshiva basketball |url=https://www.jweekly.com/2003/11/06/hebrew-hoopsters-a-disney-spin-on-yeshiva-basketball/ |access-date=December 24, 2021 |work=JWeekly |date=November 6, 2003 |archive-date=December 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224160551/https://www.jweekly.com/2003/11/06/hebrew-hoopsters-a-disney-spin-on-yeshiva-basketball/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of basketball films]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0382142}}

{{Hanukkah}}
{{Disney Channel Original Movies}}
{{Stuart Gillard}}

[[Category:American basketball films]]
[[Category:Disney Channel Original Movie films]]
[[Category:2000s English-language films]]
[[Category:2003 television films]]
[[Category:2003 films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Stuart Gillard]]
[[Category:Hanukkah films]]
[[Category:Films set in Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Films shot in Toronto]]
[[Category:2000s American films]]