Donnell Mays (Hill Harper) is the star player for his inner-city high school basketball team, the Hoop Burners. When the Burners take on the Tornadoes, a team from the affluent suburbs, tensions run high, Donnell goes up against the belligerent Tornadoes star Jason Roberts (Charlie Neal), and trash- talking leads to a brawl that erupts into a riot that must be broken up by the police. The judge sentences the two boys to live and work in each other's community for 30 days. In the 'burbs, landscaper Maura (Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn) takes Donell under her wing. Her stories of discrimination against Irish immigrants teach him that prejudice comes in many forms. Wealthy Jason, on the other hand, is sent to the city, where he must live in a tiny one-room apartment and work at a local restaurant, serving the people he once sneered at. Through his experiences, Jason learns not to judge others by how they look and where they live. As the two former enemies overcome their hostility, fate brings them back together. Out of respect, Jason attends the funeral for Donell's brother, Jamal Boy (Taye Diggs). When Jason is shot in a freak accident, Donell is the one who helps him to rehabilitate his arm. Due to his dyslexia, Donell's test scores aren't high enough to get into college and he can't afford tutoring. Jason comes up with an unconventional solution: a fundraising grudge match between their two teams. The two are now true friends and even though they're pitted against each other on the basketball court, this time, Donell and Jason choose friendship over winning the game.