To call director Gina Prince-Bythewood's debut feature refreshing would be an understatement. This touching tale of two aspiring professional basketball players, who also happen to be childhood best friends and on-again-off-again lovers, deftly weaves the paths of its dueling stars into a warm and smart love story. In portraying the heartbreaking realities of a love affair threatened by competition and ambition (think A Star Is Born for basketball), Prince-Bythewood focuses more closely on the trajectory of her female lead (Sanaa Latham in a star-making performance), broadening the scope of her love story to include an examination of the role of women in sports. With stand-out performances from both Omar Epps and Latham as the athletic couple, Love & Basketball serves as a somber reminder of how few films exist (much less love stories, much less ones that focus on the female perspective) about multi-dimensional African-American characters outside the ghetto.