‘Rebound’ Relates Grim Story of Hope

He was known simply as the Goat, one of the best basketball players ever to perform on the competitive playgrounds of New York City.

Earl Manigault was renowned for his dazzling dunks and amazing shake ‘n’ bake moves. But unlike Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Connie Hawkins--two of his more esteemed basketball peers from the boroughs of New York--Manigault never established himself as a pro player or even as a major college talent. Instead the Goat found himself serving time as a convicted felon and drug addict.

HBO’s gritty “Rebound: The Legend of Earl ‘The Goat’ Manigault” chronicles the up-and-down life of the ‘60s playground star. This story of unfulfilled promise is particularly striking because Manigault isn’t portrayed as an inherently bad or antisocial kid.

When “Rebound” begins, the Goat (he is tagged with the nickname when someone mishears his last name) is a shy and awkward adolescent. But as he starts to strut his considerable stuff on the court, the wide-eyed youth (played initially by Colin Cheadle and then by Don Cheadle) begins to attract the attention of a number of hard-boiled toughs, who lead him down a wayward path.

Directed by Eriq La Salle, “Rebound” throbs with an intense energy whenever it hits the pavement for a street basketball game or tournament. The trash talking and the whirling bodies of powerful and graceful athletes are packaged in a flurry of quick, propulsive images.

Significantly, the film’s wisest figure isn’t a basketball player or a coach but a playground maintenance man named Holcolm Rucker. Played with characteristic depth by the gifted Forest Whitaker, Rucker is the organizer of an annual basketball tournament in Harlem. He tries valiantly to keep Manigault from throwing away a chance at making something special of his life.

Ultimately, his memories of Rucker help Manigault pull his life together. He doesn’t become a basketball star, but he does become a hero to many in his community.

* “Rebound: The Legend of Earl ‘The Goat’ Manigault” premieres at 8 tonight on HBO.