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Sam Rockwell has flashed his talent on-screen. Now he wants to prove he has skills on the hardwood as well in a new film. The star of the upcoming Choke told MTV Movies Blog that he has signed on with James C. Strouse, director of Grace Is Gone, for an untitled basketball film. “I’m researching a basketball movie. I play a basketball coach,” Rockwell said. “It’s a dramatic film about an alcoholic basketball coach and this girl’s high school basketball team.”

When asked what the overall tone of the film would be, Rockwell stated “It’s kind of like Bad News Bears meets Half Nelson meets Hoosiers. [But at the center is this] great character. [In preparation] I’m learning about basketball and Bobby Knight.”

If the Bobby Knight reference is any indication, then Rockwell will play a smarmy jackass who hasn’t led his team to large success since the 1980s. While he could watch Brian Dennehy explode in A Season on the Brink, where he sat the record for most times the word pussy is yelled at a player since Harlem Nights, I would recommend Sam check out The Basketball Diaries, a far more serious and superb story about drugs and basketball.

What’s your favorite Sam Rockwell movie? Are there any basketball films that really get you in the mood to hoop?