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The Boys Of Dunbar Essay

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The Boys of Dunbar written by Alejandro Danois is a compelling narrative about an inner-city Baltimore high school basketball team who became a national powerhouse from 1981-1983. This is “A story of love, hope, and basketball”. Throughout this essay, The Boys of Dunbar will be explained, reviewed and critiqued. The two Dunbar teams from 1981-1983 are regarded as some of the best high school basketball teams that were ever assembled and many of the players on these teams are thought of as some of the most talented basketball players to ever come from Baltimore. It is also a tale of how the Dunbar basketball program would open doors for more basketball athletes such as Carmelo Anthony, Rudy Gay, Will Barton and many more. This story follows …show more content…

Throughout this narrative Danois uses the story-telling tool to its utmost potential as he continuously uses the life experience of the people mentioned throughout the novel. His use of storytelling grips the reader from the very beginning of the narrative and has the reader continuously asking “what happened next?” and “Did the team continue their streak?”. One of the many reasons this book continues to keep the reader’s attention is that it utilizes the tool of flashbacks and allows the reader to understand more about certain people and helps them to piece together why certain people act in the manner that they do. In a way, this book catches the reader’s attention like a good TV series would catch a viewer’s attention throughout a series. If there are any criticisms for this book it would stem from the over utilization of the spotlight placed on 5’3 guard Bogues. Bogues who became a Perennial superstar in the NBA, definitely deserved praise, however, Danois may have “ran the well dry” by continuously placing the limelight on Bogues with stories such as “When the fans saw “Mugsy” announced during the starting lineup, snickers and laughter came raining down from the stands” (3:45-3:46) and then Bogues would continue to show the crowd how good he was and he would always earn their respect. That story seemed to repeat itself throughout the narrative and began

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