King of Lincoln

A DVD Review of Through the Fire

Remember high school? Trying to ace the SATs and kill brain cells all at the same time. Thinking Paul Westerberg was singing about your life, and trying hard not to disappoint him.

Ever wonder what it would’ve been like to be able to dish and motor and blow past defenders on the way to being on the cover of Sports Illustrated? Too late, fatso! (But there will always be another...)

The documentary Through the Fire tells story of Timberwolves’ guard Sebastian Telfair, a Lincoln High School senior in the eye of the storm. We all know the themes of economic freedom and broken dreams that follow the pursuit of NBA basketball stardom. So there are no surprises when we witness the kids hitting the court hard, and the free sneakers start to pile up in Bassy's small family apartment in the projects as the national spotlight begins to shine. But despite the cliché "escape from Coney Island" storyline, Jonathan Hock’s documentary is pretty good. In addition to interviews, there’s a lot of great game footage, plus behind-the-scenes exchanges with coaches, scouts, media and others “who just want to help.” And there are no B.S. shots of Sebastian trying to pay attention in history class. This is all basketball.

Watching this film, it’s hard not to think about Hoop Dreams, Steve James' acclaimed documentary out of Chicago by way of Twin Cities Public Television. You see another kid who lives for basketball – it’s part of his family, and his culture and his entire existence. We witness the ups and downs as he pursues his dream, and the games within games as he tries to move to the next level. We even get a re-dux of the older-brother character (Bassy’s brother, Jamel Thomas of Providence) who never quite made it to the NBA and went to Greece. His disappointment pushes his younger sibling to put in that much more effort to finally make it.

But the story’s trajectory is vastly different, practically making it the anti-Hoop Dreams. There are bumps in the road, but young Bassy blows up faster than a hot balloon in an oven. His Lincoln High School team wins some big games, and he climbs from projected Louisville savior until he finally…(BIG SPOILER ALERT IF YOU LIVE UNDER A ROCK)...declares for the NBA draft and is drafted by the Portland Trailblazers at #13. An NBA star is born....Roll credits. How lucky are you, my West Coast friends?

The irony of it all is that the same media hype that surrounded Telfair in high school and certainly spurred this film into existence has since died, and we can watch it with some perspective. There are still huge ups and downs in life, apparently, and watching Sebastian go from the roaring high school games attended by Spike Lee, Derek Jeter and Jay-Z to the sweater-fest that is currently the Target Center seems like a downer ending to the fairy tale...and have you seen the Wolves lately? Yet, how close did he come to dropping out completely? I thought Telfair would be cut the second he hit Minnesota, yet he has remained and received a renewed contract as a backup point guard. He is still quick, and has been a stabilizing force on a losing squad. So there is still some redemption, and he's still young. But it's getting harder to imaging we'll ever see him become the next, say, Devin Harris.

For me, the best part in this film was the abundance of game footage of Telfair in high school, with the rockin' gyms, all the big matchups and nationally televised games, including one big matchup against young Dwight Howard’s team. And the segments of Jamel Thomas playing in Greece are excellent as well. Long before Josh Childress put Greece on the map, we see Thomas talking shit to guys who probably don't speak English while well-moustached men shake their fists from the rafters. The game footage culminates in Bassy's trip to the McDonalds All-American game in 2004. The game that year featured Howard, Livingston, Rondo, Gay, Aldridge, Afflalo and 2 Smiths (Josh and J.R.), plus Telfair’s current teammates Corey Brewer and Al Jefferson. We even get to see little Telfair talking shit to little Big Al, calling him a country boy as he leaves the team bus. Funny.

As a Wolves fan, Through the Fire will give me a new perspective when watching Telfair play, and it reminded me again of the crazy walk that a young man takes getting to get to the NBA level. Living the dream, all the way up to the sky or down the bench.