Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles
available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Basketball
Diaries is a 1995 American drama film directed by Scott Kalvert and
starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Lorraine Bracco, James Madio and Mark
Wahlberg. It is based on the autobiographical book of the same name by
Jim Carroll. Film adaptation of street tough Jim Carroll's (Leonardo
DiCaprio) epistle about his kaleidoscopic free fall into the harrowing
world of drug addiction. As a member of a seemingly unbeatable high
school basketball squad, Jim's life centers around the basketball court
and the court becomes a metaphor for the world in his mind. A best
friend who is dying of leukemia, a coach ("Swifty") who takes
unacceptable liberties with the boys on his team, teenage sexual angst,
and an appetite for heroin-all of these begin to encroach on young Jim's
dream of becoming a basketball star.
