The Hoopster

Set in modern-day Los Angeles, American author Alan Lawrence Sitomer’s urban fiction, The Hoopster (2003), centers on Andre Anderson, an African-American teenager who has a passion for writing stories as well as playing basketball. He has a lot going for him: he comes from a good family, has a beautiful girlfriend,  possesses excellent basketball skills, and has earned a summer internship at Affairs magazine. However, when Andre is assigned the task of writing a personal essay on racism for the magazine, his perfect world is upended by a violent gang of white supremacists out to inflict harm on him. The novel touches on themes of racism, prejudice, friendship, acceptance, teamwork, self-expression, and overcoming adversity. The Hoopster is the first novel in a trilogy that includes Hip Hop High School and Homeboyz.

Narrated in the third-person limited perspective, the story begins on a basketball court in contemporary Los Angeles. African-American teenager Andre Anderson has a bright future. He lives with his father, Pops, who is deaf in one ear and spends much of his time watching television, his mother Dawnn Lewis, and his sister, Theresa. Andre possesses stellar basketball skills and loves to play the game with his white best friend, Shawn, and his cousin, Cedric. When he isn’t playing basketball, Andre enjoys writing stories and spending time with his Hispanic girlfriend, Gwen, whom he met through Shawn. However, everything changes when Andre is offered a summer internship with Affairs magazine. Andre’s boss, Mr. Jarvin, asks Andre to write a personal essay on racism for the magazine. Andre is reluctant at first, as racial tensions are high in his city. Also, he feels that he doesn’t have the authority to write about such a serious topic. More importantly, Andre tells Mr. Jarvin, “I don’t really think it affects me personally all that much.” Nevertheless, Andre accepts the assignment.

Andre and Gwen go on a date to the circus carnival after he is given two free tickets by Mr. Jarvin. Andre wins Gwen a giant stuffed panda bear for showing off his impressive free-throw skills. Gwen and Andre kiss. The date goes well until Theresa shows up, smoking weed with her two friends. Andre is infuriated and argues with Theresa, upsetting Gwen in the process. He stops seeing Gwen for a while, during which he focuses on writing his first article for Affairs, which Mr. Jarvin has promised to make the cover page.



When Andre gets stuck writing his article, he goes to the Cuckoo Clock nightclub to watch Cedric perform a standup comedy routine at a local talent competition. During the routine, Cedric makes a number of racist jokes and stereotypical comments, much to Andre’s surprise. The following day, Andre confronts Cedric on the basketball court about how disturbed he was by the standup material. Tempers flare and Andre gets into a fight with Cedric, which Shawn helps break up. Andre tells Pops about the fight. Pops responds by telling Andre that he lost his hearing in one ear due to violent racists many years ago, which forced him to drop out of college. Between Pops’s story and Cedric’s insensitive standup routine, Andre is equipped with enough material and confidence to write his cover story.

When Andre finishes his article, in which he calls himself a “racist and a bigot,” he earns overwhelming public praise and positive support. His friends and family throw him a surprise party to celebrate. Andre reconciles his relationships with both Cedric and Gwen. After the party, Gwen calls Andre, asking him to meet her at a coffee shop so they can talk. Upon leaving work to meet her at the cafe, Andre is approached by a van in a parking lot and suddenly accosted by five white supremacists. The white men, who belong to a local hate group called People for a Pure America (PPA), beating Andre badly and slamming his hand in a sliding van door several times until he sustains twenty-three broken bones. The white supremacists speed off in their van, leaving Andre to bleed out in the street. Andre is taken to the hospital, where the doctor tells him he has no hope of ever writing or playing basketball again.

Devastated, Andre lies in his hospital in great despair. He falls into a depression. He is conflicted as to whether he should give up his hopes and dreams or continue to fight for what he loves doing. He considers mounting revenge on the white supremacists. Cedric is willing to help start a riot to avenge the white supremacists but ends up harming nobody when Pops explains that peace is the proper response to violence. Andre’s family and friends try to cheer him up, but nothing works. However, when Shawn visits Andre in the hospital and surprises him with the gift of a symbolic hand sculpture, Andre burst into tears, finally beginning his healing process.
Determined to do what he loves most, Andre declares, “I will type with my goddamned nose if I have to.”



Months later, Andre’s attackers remain at large. Andre is invited to speak before five hundred people at a prestigious writer’s banquet. Andre confesses his story and struggle with racism and violent white supremacists, crediting Pops’s college story with helping him to get through such difficult times. Following the banquet, Andre admits his anger with the white supremacists, expressing how important it is to fight back with words rather than violence.

At the end of the novel, Andre returns to the basketball court, where he is met with hugs and high-fives from all of his friends. Shawn challenges Andre to a game of one-on-one. Andre accepts. While Shawn is guarding him, Andre shoots the ball, making the basket on his first attempt.