Shoes of the Law A Basketball Story

Jack Lawyer is a gifted athlete. Alan Dionne is not. They are friends because of shoes: Alan thinks they are the best he's ever worn, and Jack because the manufacturer pays him to play. To Alan, athletic competition is a noble endeavor; he believes in the Olympic Creed, and that the most important thing is the trying. To Jack, playing ball is a ticket out of his mill town home, and the path to the riches of a professional career. They meet at a time when manufacturers of sporting equipment are beginning go funnel huge sums of money into amateur and collegiate sports for marketing purposes. This story chronicles both boy's (and later men's) trials through college and beyond.

Is sport a noble endeavor in itself? Or, is it high-dollar entertainment? Can it realistically be both?