Coach Carter

Coach Carter: Part of growing up is making your own decisions and living with the consequences.

Jason Lyle: "My name is J. Lyle. They call me wild. It's all right, Kenyon's mom tonight. You might think I'm wrong, but she's got these thongs."

Coach Carter: Everything I knew about basketball, I learned from women. I have a sister. Her name's Diane. She was always on my case about every little thing. Matter of fact, she still is. 'Turn down that radio! You eat the last piece of cake? Did you drink all the Kool-Aid?' She was always in my face. So when I call 'Diane,' we're gonna play straight man-to-man pressure defense.

Coach Carter: Now we have Delilah. She was my childhood sweetheart. She was steaming hot. But she was the devil. That girl was evil. I remember once she tricked me into stealing brownies from Christ the King First Baptist Church bake sale. She smiled and got her way out of it while I had to damn near wear a pillow on my butt for a month before I could sit down. Delilah, gentleman, she's our trap defense.

Jason Lyle: That right. You were in the bleachers while we were on the court handling our business.

Coach Carter: Today's flavor: offense. Now I have a sister. Her name's Linda. Linda is smart, she's political. Well, actually, she's radical. Linda's got a big afro. Linda is our pick-and-roll offense.

Coach Carter: What is your deepest fear, Mr. Cruz? That you're inadequate?

Mr. Gesek: Junior Battle is like a solar eclipse. We rarely see him, but when we do, it's always special.

Worm: If you was any bigger, you'd be my bigger nigger.

Coach Carter: 'Nigger' is a derogatory term used to insult our ancestors. See, if a white man used it, you'd be ready to fight. Your using it teaches him to use it. You're saying ti's cool. Well, it's not cool. When you're around me, I don't want to hear that shit.

LaQuisha? Okay, yeah, the ghetto called and they want they name back. Girl, LaQuisha? Be for real. You mind as well call that baby Food Stamp.

Yeah, dog, boys grow into men, and men ain't worth the trouble.

Principal: You're job is to win basketball games, Mr. Carter. I suggest you start doing your job.
Coach Carter: Your job is to educate these students. I suggest you start doing yours.

Coach Carter: Everything inside of me tells me that if I take you back, I'd be making a mistake and you'll make a fool of me.

Willa Battle: And you'll do every last one of them. Quitting basketball like you pay rent. I don't know who you think you are. The next time you make a decision, you better ask me first.

Coach Carter: I end up taking a road trip to the suburbs where I find my drunk ass point guard on top of Daddy's little princess!
Worm: Actually, I was on the bottom, coach. She was on the top.
Coach Carter: Worm, you want to be on the team? Because you're about six words from getting kicked off and kicked off this goddamn bus!

Coach Carter: Ghetto hoops stars! Signing autographs and humping the honeys! Well, I'm gonna show you what humping is.

Coach Carter: Note that you're not just walking out on me, you're walking out on them.

Coach Carter: I see a system that's designed for you to fail. Now, I know you all like stats, so let me give you some. Richmond High only graduates 50% of its students. And of those that do graduate, only 6% go to college. Which tells me when I walk down the halls and look in your classrooms, maybe only one student is going to go to college. 'Well, damn Coach Carter, if I'm not going to go to college, where am I going to go?' Now that's a great question. And the answer for young African American men in here is this: probably to prison. In this county, 33% of Black men between 18 and 24 get arrested. So look at the guy on your left. Now look to the guy on your right. One of you is going to get arrested. Growing up here in Richmond, you're 80% more like to go to prison than college. Those are the numbers. Those are some stats for your ass. Now, I want you to go home and look at your lives tonight, and look at your parents' lives and ask yourself, 'Do I want better?' If the answer is yes, I'll see you here tomorrow. And I promise you, I will do everything in my power to get your to college and to a better life.

Coach Carter: You really need to consider the message you're sending this boys by ending the lockout. It's the same message that we as a culture send to our professional athletes; and that is that they are above the law. If these boys cannot honor the simple rules of a basketball contract, how long do you think it will be before they're out there breaking the law? I played ball here at Richmond High 30 years ago. It was the same thing then; some of my teammates went to prison, some of them even ended up dead. If you vote to end the lockout, you won't have to terminate me; I'll quit.

Coach Carter: The board sent that message out loud and clear. Winning basketball games was more important than graduating from high school and going to college. I'm sorry, I just can't support that message.

Jason Lyle: Sir, they can cut the chains off the door, but they can't make us play.
Damien Carter: We've decided we're going to finish what you've started, sir.
Worm: Yeah, so leave us be, coach. We've got shit to do, sir.

Timo Cruz: Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Coach Carter: When we step on the floor every second that clock is ticking, we are pedal to the metal, we run the ball, we pressure the ball, and most importantly we control the tempo of the game, we make them play Richmond Oiler ball.

Coach Carter: I came to coach basketball players, and you became students.
Coach Carter: I came to teach boys, and you became men.

Jason Lyle: You said we're a team. One person struggles, we all struggle. One person triumphs, we all triumph.

Worm: Yo dawg we hear you but we can't see you. The glare from your big black ass head is hella shiny man, do you buff it?