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Degrassi: The Next Generation

Basketball Diaries

Season 1, Episode 7, Aired Dec 02, 2001

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7.8

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Jimmy is desperate to make the basketball team, but with all the practicing, his schoolwork is suffering. To get an energy boost, he convinces Spinner to skip a Ritalin pill and give it to him with disastrous consequences for both of them.

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Cast & Crew

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GUEST STAR
Jordan Chan

Lily

Lauren Collins

Paige Michalchuk
Melissa McIntyre

Ashley Kerwin
Daniel Clark

Sean Cameron
Cassie Steele

Manny Santos
Miriam McDonald

Emma Nelson
Christina Schmidt

Terri McGreggor

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Fan Episode Reviews (9)

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Jimmy feels pressure to play well on the basketball team.

8.0

"Great"

By Jon_MW_14, Jun 28, 2011

"Basketball Diaries" is a good episode. Jimmy is definitely not my favourite character, so he's not the reason I give this episode a good score. Ilike this episode because it deals with a couple of issues. First it deals with Spinner have ADD or ADHD and that he needs to take Ritalin pills. This episode gives great character background on Spinner and how he got his nickname. Spinner is the main reason I love this episode. I love how he gives his pills to Jimmy to enhance Jimmy's performance in basketball. I love how Spinner goes all crazy. I also love Liberty's plot in this episode. I love how she writes all of Ashley's annoucements yet she gets no credit. I love how Ashley helps her not to be nervous on camera so Liberty can do the annoucements once in awhile I give this episode a 8/10.moreless
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Jimmy & Liberty plots

10

"Perfect"

By Southparkfa, Aug 25, 2010

In this episode, Jimmy wants to make the basketball team, but he's failing his English class and he's worried, because the coach is planning to make cuts to the team soon. So he borrows Spinner's ritalin (blah) to help him get hyper enough to play well. Also, Liberty is sick of Ashley taking credit for everything she writes on the news, and demands to have a moment in the spotlight. Both plots were good, although I liked Jimmy's better, and I also liked how Spinner was acting without his meds. I think Jimmy deserved to get cut for the way he almost broke Sean's leg. An great episode of a show I'm slowly beginning to love: Degrassi. 10/10 A+moreless
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Nice

10

"Perfect"

By futuramarama, Jun 22, 2010

Jimmy wants to make the basketball team ,but his English grade is suffering because he does not have time for both sports and school. He needs an energy boost, and Spinner offers him a Ritalin. He takes it and is energized for the game that will determine if he is on the team. But, he isn't being a good team player so he does not make it, even though he scored a lot.

A good episode, Spinner was pretty good in it, and I liked Jimmy not making the team because I do not think he should've. Overall grade- A+moreless
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Insane, Crazy, Intense, It all ends to be funny!

9.3

"Superb"

By DXJC56, Aug 20, 2008

Great! Great! Great! I love the fact that You get t find out why Spinner has the nickname Spinner! Also, I love how Jimmy thinks he needs a boost. I honestly think Spinner was retarded for giving up his ritalin Pill to Jimmy cause Jimmy asked to. It all ended horribly for both. The fact that Spinner mooned the crowd was icing on the cake to the fact that now he has to be seen taking his pill by Mr. Raditchs assistant. & Jimmy was insane. He was totally beasting in the game because of the ritalin but it ended awful when Sean almost broke his ankle and Jimmy didn't make the team!

Great and hectic Episode!moreless
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A slightly-unrealistic depiction of what happens when Spinner forgets to take his necessary prescription and Jimmy takes an unnecessary one.

5.9

"Mediocre"

By WithoutSound, Feb 27, 2008

Basketball Diaries, but not exactly the Kalvert-directed Dicaprio classic. Jimmy needs to step up his game in basketball and finds himself slipping with both Kwan in English and with Armstrong in basketball. This episode happens before Jimmy is depicted as a huge athletic star, apparently, considering Armstrong needs to make cuts and Jimmy is, like, worried. Sure. So anyway, in order to catch up with english, he stays up late to finish a paper about Lord of the Flies and then the next day he manages to score one of Spinner's Ritalins that he happens to be prescribed to. He believes taking this will help him stay away, and help his game. It does for a minute, then he starts to get super-possessive of the ball, and a little too over-the-top energetic. He manages to knock of Sean and there starts the long-term feud between the two of them that went on to last until the end of season two whence the interaction between them stopped completely. Spinner without his meds means mooning the whole gymnasium of kids that look like they're in the third grade making it that much more perverted. There's a lame sub-plot involving Liberty and Ashley and the morning announcements. You probably remember that thing she did to her face when she didn't think that she was live to the whole school. That's most memorable. Oh and Terri being a biatch talking smack about Liberty. But anyway, in the end this episode wasn't terrible for a season one episode the only real problem I ran into was the consistency factor. Jimmy *would* not have taken anything to "change his mental state" in any other season. His character just isn't like that but hey the writers were experimenting.moreless
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (0)
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QUOTES (7)
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- Mr. Raditch: (after Spinner's incident) What were you thinking?! Spinner: I don't know...It was funny!
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- Spinner: They doubled my Ritalin.
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- Spinner: My Ritalin, it's like speed. Jimmy: I thought it calmed you down. Spinner: Yeah, for me. Its got something to do with the configuration of my brain, or something. Jimmy: You have a brain? Spinner: Ha ha.
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- Armstrong: Everyone! Pumped for the game? Jimmy: (on Spinner's ritalin) YOU KNOW IT, COACH! YOU KNOW IT!
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- Sean: My social worker says it's beneficial, pesonally I wouldn't give a rat's a- (interrupted by Mr. Simpson) Mr. Simpson: Class! Sorry for the delay.
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- Spinner: It's a catch 42. Jimmy: It's catch 22. Spinner: Like you know, you thought you were Lord of the Flies.
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- Jimmy: The Lord of the Flies. (class snickers) Ms. Kwan: The Lord of the Flies is a severed pig's head resting on a stake.
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NOTES (3)
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- The first episode that deals with drug use.
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- The audience learns that Spinner got his nickname because he suffers from hyperactivity, and when unmedicated will "spin" out of control.
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- For the Degrassi Crash Course, Basketball Diaries ranked 78 for Gross and 67 for Fights.
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ALLUSIONS (2)
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- Episode Title: Basketball Diaries The titles comes from the movie of the same name about a young boy (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) and his struggle with illegal drugs. The episode also shares its name with a book by author Jim Carroll about growing up in a tough neighborhood.
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- Spinner: It's Catch 42 Spinner is probably referring to "Catch 22", which is a common phrase to descripe a no-win or lose-lose situation.
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