Blue Chips **1/2 (Century 10, UA 6) A squeal of sneakers on a hardwood court. The rip of white athletic tape. A felt pen squiggling passes and picks on a forecourt diagram. The pleasures of "Blue Chips" are the pleasures of the game, as well as the pleasures of Nick Nolte's fanatical, steeped-in-the-game Coach Pete Bell. Bell coaches Western U., a mythical team--which doesn't keep Shaquille O'Neal, Bobby Knight and Larry Bird from putting in appearances--that's lost its edge due to a lack of zeal in the high-stakes game of recruitment. The alums are grumbling, Bell is white-knuckling it and his ex (the winsome Mary McDonnell) won't let him back in her arms. Will Bell's drive to win overpower his emotional availability? Will his love of the game overcome his corruptibility? If the film could have gotten its story straight, it would have been terrific. But it settles for Bell's best take on himself: "The world doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me except on a basketball court." This jazzy, smart movie, too, makes most of its sense right there. Rated PG-13. --Marc Vincenti