This project explores basketball's impact on the community of Cairo, Illinois, and its youth. A small town known for its long history of athletic success and basketball pride, Cairo faces many obstacles: Rapid population decline, poverty, crime, and little government support make many residents feel abandoned.
However, one of the positive things that citizens can look forward to is basketball. It's a sport that runs through bloodlines in Cairo; on almost every street corner you can find a goal or ball. And at every game, you can bet on a packed crowd.
The sport of basketball has become an outlet for the community's youth—something that kids can lean on, use as a resource to create a better life outside their hometown, and use as a tool to give back to their community.
Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellow Simeon Hardley follows two young players as they prepare for graduation and a coach hoping to turn the team’s season around.
