More Than a Game

An inspiring tale beyond basketball
The title More Than a Game is more than a little cliché, and the most basic summary of this documentary's premise does little to refute that initial impression: the story of five inner city youths who forge something beyond friendship while pursuing their high school hoop dreams. But the journey of the "Fab Five" who made up the core of the St. Vincent-St. Mary basketball team in Akron, Ohio earlier in the decade is not exactly your average sports saga, filled with extraordinary characters and equally extraordinary circumstances that Hollywood could craft no better in any feature script. Any filmmaker blessed with such serendipitous narrative riches would be content to simply recount the not-so-tall tale, but director Kristopher Belman takes it an added step: bringing the larger-than-life back down to a universally relatable scale.

Figures hardly come more larger-than-life than LeBron James, the Fighting Irish alum who (as the world over has come to know) first...

Amazing Insight Into What Shapes People
Let me start off my review by saying that I have not been an active fan of basketball for several years now. I wound up watching this film because it received excellent reviews and my students are always talking about Lebron James, so I took it as an excellent opportunity to learn more about this young man at the center of all the hype. Having watched the dvd, I am just amazed at not only the skill and athleticism displayed by Mr. James, but the caliber of the character demonstrated by him, his teammates and his coaches. This is more than a basketball documentary , it's a life-lesson documentary that provides the added bonus of amazing footage of someone whose skills as a youngster clearly out-ranked many who play the sport professionally (to say the least, Mr. James is clearly most worthy of the praise heaped upon him). If you have kids, get More than a Game and use it as a sounding board for honest discussions with your kids. If you just love sports, get it because the footage...

Get ready for action ... get ready for learning and building character!
I have to admit, I am not a big fan of basketball. BUT because of my son's love of basketball, I brought this and a few other DVD's which showcases his favorite NBA players. (Note: I am still learning the techniques of basketball.)

The highlight and pivotal point of this film, "More Than A Game," was when the team (St. Vincent-St. Mary) coach gave a serious speech to his young men and devout his faith in prayers (along with them) in a call to the Almighty Saviour. Both messages developed a strength of character to the young men whose lives are expectedly in a vacuum filled with wild excitements (promiscuity, alcohol and more). This to me was a turnaround for the young men. Although it was the coach's last and final year to train them (in their last year of high school), Coach Dru Joyce and the team thought they would win the championship. They didn't! BUT, because of their hardwork, faith, character (thanks to Coach Dru Joyce), friendship and love, these young men...

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