Grade: B-

Verdict: Samuel L. Jackson shoots and scores, even as the script fouls out.

By BOB TOWNSEND
Cox News Service

"Coach Carter" is inspired by the true story of Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson), a controversial California high school basketball coach who took a bunch of unruly underachievers and not only made them contenders but taught them how to find the "victory within."

But while the movie's motivational message is patently praiseworthy, the game it runs across the screen, for well over two hours, is so full of familiar moves from the likes of "Stand and Deliver," "Hoosiers" and "Remember the Titans" that it finally induces more fidgeting than cheers.

Thank goodness then for go-to guy Jackson. He takes what could have been a cardboard clichˇ role and puts flesh on it with his flamboyant intelligence, some sharp speeches and, of course, that castigating stare. In fact, when he first confronts the Richmond High Oilers players in the gym, calling them out as "young sirs," there are great glimmers of his "Pulp Fiction" character, Jules Winnfield, reciting Ezekiel's prophecy of wrath against the Philistines.

Also skilled is the young ensemble cast, including Robert, Ri'chard (who plays Carter's son), Rob Brown, Antwon Tanner, and Rick Gonzalez. They come together to portray a group of impoverished student athletes with a combination of sensitivity and street-smart surliness. Their often profane repartee, peppered with racial epithets and shrewd slurs, shines as the truest part of the script. And singer-songwriter Ashanti makes her acting debut with a thoroughly natural performance as the pregnant girlfriend of one of the players.

What doesn't work is the plodding pace director Thomas Carter ("Save the Last Dance") sets. The story line builds to the moment when Carter antagonizes the community by padlocking the doors to the gym and benching the entire undefeated team because some of the players haven't fulfilled their written contract to keep up their grades. And then it goes on and on from there, losing its momentum and dramatic tension in several tired subplots and at least one too many basketball games decided at the buzzer.