White gym teacher Phyllis Saroka (Rhea Perlman) takes over the coaching of an inner-city high-school basketball team. She begins the enterprise with the simple goal of earning money to open her dream restaurant, after her lover leaves her. Learning about basketball and coaching as she goes, she transforms both herself and her team -- including Shorty (Fredro Starr), who is always in trouble with the law, and talented but perpetually stoned Butter (James Harris) -- from losers to winners.