What have Ice Cube and Eddie Murphy wrought?

	John P. Johnson, Twentieth Century Fox In "Rebound," Martin Lawrence stars as college basketball Coach Roy McCormick, seen here giving a pep talk to his team, the Smelters. Click photo for larger image. "Rebound" Rating: PG for mild language and thematic elements. Starring: Martin Lawrence. Director: Steve Carr. "Rebound" Web site Post-Gazette Family Film Guide review of "Rebound"

Ice Cube landed atop the box office with "Are We There Yet?" and Murphy morphed into a family film star and advised Martin Lawrence "to try something new like this -- working with kids in a comedy."

He did, and the result is "Rebound," a PG-rated comedy that is like an underinflated basketball. It bounces, but just barely.

It misses the hoop in originality. It milks laughs from barfing, a bloodied nose, a cupcake to the face. Horatio Sanz, Patrick Warburton and Megan Mullally further give it the appearance of a TV movie.

Lawrence plays Roy McCormick, a basketball coach at Ohio Polytechnic University who led his team to three national championships. He is, improbably, a superstar coach who cares more about endorsements and his own press than his players.

When his angry antics finally go too far, he gets one last chance to reform or be banned for life. Just as he's in search of a PR stunt, the Smelters of Mount Vernon Junior High School are in search of a coach -- and their first win in a dozen years.

Roy inherits one group of hapless hoopsters, including a talented athlete named Keith (Oren Williams) who reminds Roy of himself; Ralph (Steven Anthony Lawrence), a pint-size player who vomits when nervous; and "One Love" (Eddy Martin), who spends his energy keeping his sneakers spotless.

"I don't mind you embarrassing yourself, because you're used to it, but now you're embarrassing me," Roy chides. To win a game -- and his old life back -- Roy shows some actual interest, running drills, recruiting a shy 6-footer (Steven Christopher Parker) and a bully named Big Mac (Tara Correa), and even dispensing fatherly advice.

And you can guess what happens from here, with good changes on and off the court.

"Rebound" features an appealing bunch of young actors, an ending in which Roy does the right thing, and Lawrence in a role that doesn't really put his skills to the test. Almost to amuse himself more than the audience, he also does a brief turn as a flamboyant preacher.

But the movie reeks of budget constraints -- or low expectations. The team initially has just five players and then expands to seven. A college sign looks as if it was just printed at a quickie copy shop. In another minus, it fails to sanction Big Mac for talking with her fists.

Watching "Rebound" is like sitting down at a restaurant table with a placemat that has a simple maze puzzle on it, on which a previous patron used a crayon to get from Point A to Point B. You know exactly where it's going, and it wasn't that challenging to start with.