Sonics Rising: All Posts by Steve Stearns

The Top 5 Hoops Movie Characters Of All Time

2014-10-09T06:00:02-07:00

SonicsRising writer, musician and film composer Steve Stearns breaks down his top five favorite characters that appeared in basketball movies.

Films centered around the game of basketball are typically different from other sports films. Typically, they do not feature the pageantry or drama of football films such as On Any Given Sunday or Brian’s Song. Hoops flicks don’t feature the gentle nostalgia or poetic lyricism of baseball films like Field Of Dreams (exemplar of the "Chick Flick For Men" movie) or The Natural. Basketball films tend to fall into two categories: hard-hitting inner-city pressure drama like Basketball Diaries, Above The Rim, or He Got Game; or broad comedies such as Space Jam, Semi-Pro, and White Men Can’t Jump. That’s an oversimplification of a wide-reaching genre of sports films, but it mostly holds true.

Picking the top 5 basketball movie characters of all time thus becomes difficult. Will Ferrell is gut-slappingly guffaw-worthy as Jackie Moon in Semi-Pro, but apart from the ABA trappings ably pinched from Terry Pluto’s fantastic tome Loose Balls, it’s really the same performance he’s given dozens of times both on screen and as an SNL cast member. At the same time, Nick Nolte’s actually quite good as the college coach in William Friedkin’s Blue Chips. But that film is more well-known today for featuring the acting debuts of Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway, who each give Kazaam-worthy performances playing… wait for it… blue-chip college athletes, which they still seem to have difficulty with. Shaq is his usual goofy self and manages to essay some warmth and fun into his performance, but Penny is actually more wooden than the puppet Lil’ Penny that appeared with him in several 90s shoe ads, memorably voiced by comedian Chris Rock.

The following five performances are ones I nominated based on their ability to transcend the film they appeared in. Either by giving us some iconic cinematic moment remembered years later or by their ability to lift the story from simple plotting. Maybe most of all because they managed to remind us that sports films, and in particular basketball films, aren’t always just stories about athletes. Sometimes they’re a story about race, about class, about being part of a team, part of something bigger. My top 5 hoops movie characters of all time, in no particular order, are:

Gene Hackman - Hoosiers

Hackman’s Coach Norman Dale is, for my money, one of the finest characterizations of a coach on film ever. He doesn’t exist simply as a mentor for an athlete to achieve his or her potential. He isn’t presented as a one-note stern taskmaster like Samuel L. Jackson’s Coach Carter, or all-knowing sensei like Josh Lucas’ portrayal of Don Haskins in the very-similar-to-Hoosiers but more formulaic sports film Glory Road. When we first meet Dale, he’s a guy almost at the end of his rope. Hired by his old war buddy to coach a high school team in small town 50s Indiana, Dale has been fired from his previous job for striking a student and is on his last chance. Fighting small-town attitudes about his coaching, he leads an undersized but scrappy team into the State tournament. The underdog storyline owes a debt or two to Rocky. But it’s Hackman’s performance at the center of this film that takes a flawed and, at the beginning, unlikeable character to scale the heights of small town stardom with a quiet charm that still stands out today, almost 30 years after its initial release. The film composer side of me also wants to say that Jerry Goldsmith’s score for this is absolutely fantastic, particularly the horn themes, and incorporates some really creative sampling for the time.

Don Cheadle – Rebound

I’m always surprised by how many hoops fans have never seen this movie. It’s really good! And no, I’m not talking about the 2005 film starring Martin Lawrence, which sucks. This Rebound, or more properly, Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault was originally made for HBO in 1996 and stars Don Cheadle as Earl. Manigault was a playground legend of the early 60s. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar once called Manigault the greatest player he had ever seen, and often played with him at Rucker Park before moving onto to dominate college at UCLA and the NBA. Manigault, an all-time legendary streetballer, received offers from all over the country to play ball in college but fell into heavy drug use and was eventually imprisoned. Upon his release from prison he dedicated the rest of his life to the kids of Harlem, helping them overcome the challenges of life in inner-city NYC. He became so revered in the community that one of the courts at Rucker was named after him: Goat Park. Cheadle’s simply great as Manigault, and the supporting cast featuring Forest Whitaker, Eriq La Salle and Kevin Garnett and Kareem are uniformly excellent. Well worth checking out, if you haven’t seen it.

Ray Allen – He Got Game

When this film originally came out in 1998 a lot was written about Ray’s performance. He’s light years better than Shaq, Penny, Barkley or Jordan in Space Jam, although to be fair Ray never had to try and act with cartoon characters on set (unless you consider some of the hammier elements of John Turturro’s performance as Coach Billy Sunday, but we’ll let that fly for now.) Allen invests the character of Jesus Shuttlesworth with enough humanity and maturity that we really could believe in Jesus as a real character. An athlete with almost supernatural abilities, bound to earth by his responsibility to his family and the overbearing influence of his father. The film does suffer from some plot contrivances (why wouldn’t Jesus just turn pro if he was THAT good and broke?) but Allen’s performance, especially his scenes with an at-the-very-top-of-his-game Denzel Washington are superb, and a reminder that Spike Lee at his best was one of America’s most insightful and honest directors of the 80s and 90s. Interestingly, Allen had never acted professionally before appearing in this film. Hip-hop legends Public Enemy did a rather interesting track for the credits of this, sampling the 1960s Buffalo Springfield classic "For What's It's Worth," and the score features several well-known themes by Aaron Copland.

Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson – White Men Can’t Jump

Back in the early 90s when Ron Shelton still made good movies, this little gem about two hustlers on the basketball court came out, and gave us one of the most memorable double acts of the decade until it was overshadowed by Sam Jackson and Travolta a couple years later. It also features several examples of THE best on-the-court trash talking ever committed to film: "Man, you got a big Z in your Afro. What are you, the black Zorro?" "Let’s just gather up all these bricks you shooting and build a shelter for the homeless, so yo momma got a place to live." "Let’s just get off mommas, cuz I just got off yours." And of course the immortal ... "We goin' to Sizzler!" The story of Billy and Sidney is very atypical for a hoops film, in that basketball is really just a way these two grifters make their living. Harrelson and Snipes both acquit themselves credibly as streetball athletes and give the film a kind of 90s post-Do The Right Thing Newman and Redford vibe. They aren’t easy allies at first, more allies of convenience, but by the end the audience has been through a few twists and turns in their ever-changing relationship based largely on one-upmanship and swagger. White Men Can’t Jump also features a hilarious cameo by former Sonic color man Marques Johnson, who memorably takes matters into his own hands when things on the playground go wrong. The soundtrack is comprised of all pop music, and features a memorable exchange between Snipes and Harrelson on Jimi Hendrix.

William Gates, Arthur Agee – Hoop Dreams

I had to think at first about including Hoop Dreams or not. Put simply it’s one of the finest documentaries ever made, and one of the best if not the best sports documentary ever filmed. Hoop Dreams shows the side of the NBA that we never get to see, and honestly, probably don’t want to see. It examines in unflinching detail the poverty and bleak backgrounds that many NBA athletes come from (in an even less Hollywood-ized version served up by He Got Game) and the camera shows the ever-present reality that no matter how talented many of these young men are, the chances of getting to the NBA are slim. I lived on the South Side of Chicago for several years and saw and shot hoops with many young men exactly like the ones portrayed in this film. Just four blocks south of where I lived there were several projects equally as bleak and dangerous, if not as infamous as, Cabrini Green. When I watch this documentary I feel like I’ve met both those boys, even though I never have met either Gates or Agee. You see in their eyes how desperately they want to live the dream and how perilously easy that dream can be, and is, snatched away from them. If you have never seen Hoop Dreams … as a fan of the game you must.

Well, that’s my list. Honorable mentions to Laurence Fishburne in Cornbread, Earl, and Me and probably the entire cast of The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh – both 70s classics. Which performances would be in your top 5?

The Downstroke: Talkin' NBA Expansion With Q It Up Sports' Aaron Levine

2014-07-26T14:04:52-07:00

Downstroke hosts Taylor Bartle and Chris Meirose talk NBA Expansion and other topics with Q It Up Sports anchor Aaron Levine.

In this episode of The Downstroke hosts Taylor Bartle and Chris Meirose are joined by Q It Up Sports anchor Aaron Levine, talking NBA Expansion, Donald Sterling, and more!

If you're a Seattle sports fan interested in hearing more about this week's breaking news of possible NBA expansion, this edition of The Downstroke is required listening!

New Basketball Podcasts with Sonics Rising Radio on BlogTalkRadio

NBA Free Agency 2014: Kings PG Isaiah Thomas Headed To Suns

2014-07-12T09:22:24-07:00

ESPN reports the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns have agreed on a sign-and-trade deal for PG Thomas, who joins a crowded backcourt.

Former Washington Husky point guard Isaiah Thomas has a new NBA home in the Arizona desert. ESPN reports that the dynamic guard has been traded to the Phoenix Suns. The sign-and-trade deal is for 4 years, $28 million and nets the Kings the rights to Suns 2013 second pick Alex Oriakhi as well as a $7 million trade exception.

At first blush, this is a curious acquisition by the Suns, who were already loaded at point guard, with Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe, Ish Smith, Tyler Ennis, and Archie Goodwin all on the roster. Adding Thomas to that mix seems almost guaranteed to push out Smith and seems to indicate that Bledsoe, a restricted free agent, may also be on the move.

The Suns heavily courted Thomas during free agency, hosting him for two days recently. It is doubtful that Thomas will start for them at first, but considering that Thomas has finished each of his three NBA seasons as his team's starting point guard, it is reasonable to expect he may make his case as a starter eventually. It will be interesting to see how Suns coach Jeff Hornacek manages minutes at guard this season.

The Downstroke Episode 14: Steve Perrin From ClipsNation

2014-07-10T19:33:14-07:00

On this episode of The Downstroke, ClipsNation manager Steve Perrin joins Kevin Nesgoda and Chris Meirose to discuss all things "Southern Cali Sonics"

In this week's installment of The Downstroke, ClipsNation manager Steve Perrin joins hosts Kevin Nesgoda and Chris Meirose to discuss all things "Southern Cali Sonics."

For many years the Clippers were lightly regarded in the league. Owner Donald Sterling had no interest in competing, preferring to roll out a low-salary roster and pocket his revenue sharing money. All that is now over, these aren't your father's Clippers any more. With NBA All-Stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin leading the way, the Clippers are now one of the NBA's hottest, high-flying young teams. The Paul/Griffin duo remind many fans of the classic Payton/Kemp Sonics teams of the 90s.

This week's topics include Spencer Hawes, Donald Sterling, Steve Ballmer, Shaun Livingston, Jamal Crawford, and the myriad Northwest connections to one of the NBA's premier young teams. As well as a rather intriguing discussion on breakfast cereal ...

Popular Basketball Internet Radio with Sonics Rising Radio on BlogTalkRadio

NBA Free Agency 2014: Clippers Sign C Spencer Hawes to 4-year, $23M Deal, Still Interested In Pierce

2014-07-05T12:59:27-07:00

The Clippers add another player in free agency as former Husky Spencer Hawes agrees to a 4-year, $23M deal.

Former Washington Husky Spencer Hawes and the LA Clippers have agreed on a 4-year, $23 million deal, reports Adrian Wojnaroski.

Reports indicate the full mid-level exception deal has some interesting provisions: a player option for the fourth year, and a 15% trade kicker. This could allow the Clippers to make the deal a sign and trade from Cleveland, preserving their trade exception, which would allow last year's Pacific Division champion to continue its pursuit of free agent guard Paul Pierce.

Hawes' impressive inside-outside game, somewhat reminiscent of former Sonics center Sam Perkins, would give the Clippers a perfect counterpoint to Blake Griffin's low-post game and add another offensive weapon alongside Griffin and All-Star point guard Chris Paul.

Hawes offered high praise for Clippers president and coach Doc Rivers, saying " The creativity that Doc allows his guys on the offensive end, how he installs things to take advantage of skill sets ... we will be able to do a lot of different things and create a lot of different matchups."

This signing could really pay dividends for the Clippers. Hawes was arguably the best free agent center on the market, and after losing point guard Darren Collison to the Sacramento Kings just a couple of days ago the club is now reportedly in pursuit of Lakers guard Jordan Farmar.

The Clippers are definitely looking to build on the success of last season, and Hawes is a great first step in that direction.

2014 NBA Free Agency: Sacramento Kings Agree To Terms With PG Darren Collison

2014-07-03T09:27:15-07:00

The Sacramento Kings have come to terms on a 3-year, $16 million contract with Clippers point guard Darren Collison, all but assuring Isaiah Thomas' departure.

LA Times Clippers beat writer Brad Turner reports that free agent Darren Collison has left the team to accept a 3-year, $16 million offer from the Sacramento Kings. Collison stated "The Kings were the most aggressive team by far in the [sic] free agency, and I respected that on all levels." Collison went on to state that he felt the Kings made him their first priority in free agency and that swayed his decision to move on.

Collison was originally signed as a backup to Chris Paul but ended up playing a substantial role for the Clippers last year, averaging 11.4 points, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals and logging 35 starts. His loss is a significant one to the Clippers backcourt, considering that guard Jamal Crawford is also rumored to be on the move.

As we reported here on Sonicsrising on Tuesday, Kings point guard Isaiah Thomas has been the focus of substantial free agent interest. Sacramento's signing of Collison all but assures that the former Washington Husky will be playing elsewhere next season. Unlike Collison, Thomas will receive offers of more than the mid-level exception, an indication that the Kings felt that Collison was a more affordable option moving forward.

Along with Crawford, Rajon Rondo's final landing spot now becomes an interesting story to watch, as there are several teams needing depth at point guard, and several options available.

You can read more on this signing from our friends at Sactown Royalty and Greg Wissinger.

2014 NBA Free Agency: Pacers F Stephenson Turns Down 5 Year, $44 Million Offer

2014-07-02T16:24:33-07:00

One of the biggest stories in Day 2 of NBA Free Agency is a deal that didn't happen.

Edited by Joanna Nesgoda

CBS Sports writer and recent Downstroke Podcast guest Matt Moore writes that Indiana Pacers forward Lance Stephenson has turned down a 5 year, $44 million offer from the club. ESPN's Chris Broussard tweeted this morning that the two sides were at an impasse, with Stephenson wanting more than the club was willing to offer.

Stephenson has had disciplinary issues in the past which have to be influencing the Pacers' decision to make him one of their highest-paid players. As such he would be expected to provide locker room leadership, which many would probably question. However, many teams have been making generous offers for second and even third-tier players in this free agent signing period. Given Stephenson's age and breakout performance last season, it's not surprising he would choose to test the market further.

Indiana's cap situation is extremely tight, with reports indicating the Pacers are only about $5 million under the luxury tax threshold of $77 million for this year, barring any further cost-cutting moves. But Stephenson and his agent have to be looking at offers like Gordon Hayward's max contract and wondering if there are greener pastures elsewhere.

Speculation on Twitter names the Bulls, Lakers, and Hornets as teams interested in Stephenson. He will be an Plan B or C for a club with money to spend that doesn't end up landing one of the Heat's current free agents, or Carmelo Anthony. Once the big names make their choices known, many secondary free agents such as Stephenson will find homes quickly.

Isaiah Thomas Drawing Substantial Interest In Free Agency

2014-07-01T14:05:25-07:00

U-Dub's Isaiah Thomas is a hot free agent target this season. Where will he end up?

Edited by Joanna Nesgoda

He may not be a big name like LeBron or Melo, or even a big man like Chris Bosh, but 5'9 guard Isaiah Thomas continues to show he is one of the hotter free agents in the NBA, drawing interest from as many as six teams according to NBA sources.

Reports on Twitter this morning stated the Seattle native was offered a 3-year, $24 million contract from the Detroit Pistons, who desperately need backcourt help. Thomas was also contacted by the Celtics, per BostonHub.com. Boston's interest seems unusual as they have several guards already on their roster, and is fueling rumors that the Celtics may be looking to deal Rajon Rondo.

Thomas played for the Sacramento Kings last season, averaging 20 PPG, 6 APG, 3 RPG and shot 45% from the floor. Given the parameters of Kyrie Irving's deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers --a 5 year, $90 million max contract -- and the relative dearth of quality free agent point guards in this year's free agent class -- nobody could blame IT for holding out for a better offer than Detroit. We'll see if he gets it.