Hoops

A core aspect of the plot and central conflict of Hoops is not the performative aspect of participating in sports. For Lonnie, basketball is the one activity where he is fully confident in himself. As a young Black man in the United States, Lonnie’s identity as a good basketball player is intricately woven together with his performance of identity. This critical aspect of the text is introduced early in the opening chapters of the novel.

Lonnie’s performance of his masculinity is especially brought to the fore in the early chapters of Hoops, as he tries to prove himself in multiple scenarios. This is highlighted in his interactions with Cal, an older man whom Lonnie both admires and wants to be better than. In alternating scenes, Lonnie feels humiliated by and then interested in pursuing a relationship with Cal. This tension causes Lonnie to struggle with his identity and his capacity as a man. Myers includes these interactions in part to set readers up for later conflicts in the novel: Lonnie’s confusion about his own identity will directly impact some of his choices.

For Lonnie, masculinity is also deeply tied to his identity as young Black person. When the basketball tournament is first announced, Lonnie reflects on his prior experience performing for a white audience to try to get into a gifted program. When “they took the two lightest kids” (22), Lonnie resolves never to “dance for nobody” (22) again. This resistance to performing in an inauthentic way makes the decision to participate in the tournament fraught with emotion for Lonnie.

One of the other recurring ideas in the early chapters of Hoops involves time and how the days pass. Myers portrays Lonnie and his community as having shared expectations about success and how difficult it can be to achieve as Black people in a society circumscribed by white power structures and rules. The first page of the novel describes a key interaction where Lonnie hears his father’s perspective on time passing—the days “piling up on [him]” (1). This idea, that time passes over a person’s dreams and goals, persists throughout the novel and is a key issue for Lonnie as he navigates becoming an adult.

The thematic idea of the days passing by is also built through the chronological, fast-paced structure of the novel. Myers intentionally moves through the days of Lonnie’s life quickly without much reference to the actual date, time of year, or time of day. The days pile up on top of each other as the novel progresses, with Lonnie flitting between activities, people, and ideas. This supports the building conflict Lonnie has internally about what his goals are and how to achieve them.