More Than A Game

‘More Than A Game’ tells LeBron’s story

Published in the Star Beacon March 5, 2010

Granted, Cavaliers star LeBron James is a multi-millionaire.

He may be the greatest basketball player ever, but he’s definitely worked for the honors he’s received.

Nothing better illustrates this fact than “More Than A Game,” the documentary about LeBron and his high school buddies who set the sports world afire in the early 2000s.

Thanks to home video and archived local and ESPN TV footage, we see the long, difficult road James and his buddies took to success as the best high school basketball athletes in the country.

James, Dru Joyce, Romeo Travis, Sian Cotton and Willie McGee came from a poor area. But instead of resorting to crime and drugs, they became extremely close friends who found sanctuary in the basketball c\ourt.

The five spend all of their time together. They slept on the floors of each others’ homes. In fact, while James lived in an apartment and the others had houses, they spent more time at his home.

James eloquently describes growing up with a young, unmarried mother, not knowing his father. The two moved often. They had few possessions. But he obviously has great love for his mother, who saw greatness in her son.

Other team members had similar stories. But like James, they had parents who infused in them the idea they would do great things, they could better themselves.

They lived in an area where many didn’t graduate from high school, but some of James’ friends were told they would also go to college, no questions asked.

Joyce wasn’t even five-foot tall but worked extra hard to be a basketball star. His father, a professional man, decided there was more to life than making money. He coached the boys in basketball from a young age, became a teacher and ended up as their high school coach.

Joyce Sr. says in one interview his job wasn’t to teach the boys basketball. It was to teach them how to deal with life.

The boys could have gone to an inner-city school. But they ended up at the private St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. It was mostly white, mostly conservative, with high academic standards and a dress code.

But the five excelled on the basketball court, eclipsing the other players while only freshmen.

As the documentary tells us, other teams took yellow school buses to basketball games. These guys went to the Akron-Canton Airport and flew all over the country to play the top teams.

They often defeated the best in the country from high schools that actively recruited and often won by 20 points or more.

With all of the adulation and publicity, there were those who looked for a crack in the armor.

There was the question of James getting a $25,000 vehicle while in high school. High school students, like those in college, cannot benefit monetary-wise from playing.

It turns out James’ mother took out a loan for the car. But another scandal hit. James may have accepted two shirts. He became ineligible to play in his last handful of high school games.

The first game, his fellow teammates somehow eked out a win, but James, sitting on the sidelines, realizes he needed to find a way to get back in the game.

It takes court action but James finished his high school career.

The story of James and his buddies is a real success story about hard work and determination.

But frankly, the documentary plods at times. It is worthwhile to watch and there was no need to manufacture drama.

But maybe it could have been shortened a bit.

Even if you aren’t a big James or Cavaliers fan, you will find plenty to like about “More Than A Game.”

MORE THAN A GAME

• Directed by Kristopher Belman, written by Belman and Brad Hogan

• Rated PG for brief mild language and incidental smoking. It still has some good life lessons for young people

• Runtime: 105 minutes

• 2 1/2 stars out of 4