Ken Reeves, a forward with the Chicago Bulls, is forced to retire after suffering a serious knee injury. His old friend and high school teammate, Jim Willis, who is principal of Carver High near L.A., drops by to offer him a job as basketball coach. Reeves is reluctant, but agrees. Among the challenges he faces with the school and the team include a female vice principal who doesn't like him and a player, James Hayward, who has a lot of potential, but also is fatherless and may have to drop out of school to go to work and take care of his mom and little brother.

Coach Reeves and the team discover liquor in Jackson's locker, and fear he may have a drinking problem.

Reeves is tempted after a beautiful newswoman takes an interest in him and then her boss offers him a high-paying sports commentator job.

After winning the Most Valuable Player trophy, Coolidge is easily seduced by a young woman who says a sports agent is interested in promoting his career.

College scouts are impressed with Reese and believe he has a good shot at a scholarship. However, Reese's plans are put on hold when his girlfriend, a Carver cheerleader, tells him she's pregnant. Coach Reeves and the team discover her attending cheerleader practices and believe she may be lying about the pregnancy to trap Reese into marrying her.

Coach Reeves finds himself involved in burglary, bookies and murder after he helps an amazing young basketball player enroll at Carver High and join the team.

after gomez gets knocked off the carver high basketball team he joins a street gang he onced belonged to

Reeves deals with a new player, Raymond Collins, who was forced to transfer from his old school because of rumors about his being gay.

Reeves tries to fly the team to an out-of-town tournament, and the results aren't what he bargained for.

Reeves takes the team to Las Vegas for a tournament, with disastrous results.

Coach Reeves substitute-teaches a P.E. class, loses his temper, and hits a student, Lucius Robinson, who refuses to participate. Reeves feels guilty about the incident, learns of Lucius' troubles, and offers to help him in any way. Reeves then quickly learns that some students can't be helped when Lucius tries to rape Mrs. Buchanan.

Salami has dreams of becoming a professional boxer, like his father was. However, his dad is dead-set against it. Coach Reeves offers to help Salami train, but gets more than he bargained for when he learns his father is against it and that he and Salami don't talk to each other

A mainstreaming program is put in place at Carver, and as a result, Coach Reeves is forced to take in an autistic kid on the basketball team.

Goldstein's grandmother is hospitalized and his grandfather stays at the hospital with her, so Coach Reeves asks the team to check in on him at home every so often. The other guys aren't too keen on this because Goldstein really doesn't fit in with them, but they agree to check on him and, in the process, take advantage of him and his hospitality. Goldstein threatens to quit the team, and Coach Reeves gives him a lecture on standing up for himself.

The team wants to form a singing group, but elect not to include Thorpe, who begins a dating interest with Karen LeGrand, a white girl with an unsavory reputation around school.