Pleasing the Court in ‘Gunnin’ for That #1 Spot’

Outsize talent in basketball can get a high school senior many things — piles of free sneakers, college scholarships, and now, a Beastie Boys movie. Adam Yauch, aka MCA, took a year off from recording with his bandmates in 2006 to film “Gunnin’ for That #1 Spot,” a documentary as committed to showcasing the world of top-rank amateur basketball players as it is to the music that serves as its backdrop.“Gunnin'” follows the eight best high school basketball players in the country as they travel to New York to play in the first annual “Elite 24” basketball game at Harlem’s Rucker Park basketball court. The film is mostly concerned with the personal lives of these eight boys. They hail from diverse backgrounds, from the projects of New York City to the Oregon suburbs, and though they are united in the shared goal of one day excelling in the NBA, the repercussions of success or failure in this endeavor vary widely. From Donte Greene, an orphan trying to find a way out of Baltimore for himself and his younger brother (he currently plays for Syracuse University), to Kyle Singler, an Oregon teen who could have played at the college level in hockey, football, or soccer (and now plays for Duke), the film presents the bittersweet predicament faced by elite young athletes.Contrary to popular perception, it isn’t an easy life. The multibillion-dollar industry surrounding high school talents is dizzying and disturbing. Before they’ve set foot on a professional basketball court, these young athletes must take on responsibilities and resist temptations that regularly fell older men. With NBA salaries soaring into seven figures and everyone looking for the next LeBron James, all of them harbor limitless dreams but have fleeting opportunities to realize them. With their focus firmly on playing in the NBA, these boys are trying not to let such distractions as celebrity, girls, and, in some cases — horrors — college disrupt them.The all-star game at Rucker Park provides a historic venue for displaying their talents — though, of course, it also comes with plenty of those distractions, such as rock stars showing up with movie cameras and filmmaking aspirations. With competing sneaker companies controlling most teen all-star leagues, there has rarely been an opportunity for all of the nation’s top high school talent to play together until now. The Elite 24 gathered in 2006 at 155th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard for the first time to play on the famous court where such talents as Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Julius Erving played before them.Families, communities, and schools bank on their success, so it’s impossible to overstate the pressure weighing down on the young giants. But watching them play is truly mesmerizing and worth the wait. “Gunnin’ for That #1 Spot” takes its time getting to the game that is its focus, and the anticipatory buildup leaves open the possibility that these teenagers have been oversold. But the players do not disappoint — at least, not from an entertainment standpoint. The alley-oops, reverse dunks, and trick passes that dominate the game make for great highlight reels in this era of SportsCenter and Internet videos. Messrs. Green, Singler, and others defy gravity, physics, and skepticism to accomplish something you might not expect — they live up to their own hype. But one doesn’t need to be a coach to know that the flashy, Globetrotter style of basketball that is the norm in the schoolyard will not fly at any of the college programs that recruit these young talents. There, the me-first dunkathon takes a backseat to a team game in which celebrity is not a consideration.Still, Mr. Yauch is committed to presenting the boys’ skills in the best light. His own trick moves — speeding and slowing the film to accentuate their gracefulness — help demonstrate just how physically impressive these 18-year-olds really are. Fish-eye lenses and aerial photography are borrowed from his work in Beastie Boy videos, and the handheld style that characterized his 2006 documentary “Awesome; I F—ing Shot That!” is also on display.Mr. Yauch’s camera tricks mimic some of the players’ skills, but, like those skills, they don’t always work in a professional manner. The jiggling camera often distracts from the action, as do the frequent visual gimmicks, which rob the players of their naturalism. Mr. Yauch’s style works well for music videos, but in this longer format it is frequently an erratic diversion.Of course, his attention to the musical score pays off in spades. Featuring songs by Jay-Z, MIA, the Game, Kool and the Gang, and Public Enemy, as well as some unreleased Beastie Boys songs, the sound track is a embarrassment of riches that complements the youthful feel to the film.As for the actual subject matter, Mr. Yauch knows how to get people excited about basketball, but it’s not clear what else we’re supposed to take from his film. “Gunnin’ for That #1 Spot” spends so much time digging into the athletes’ backgrounds that there isn’t much left over for the actual game. With nothing at stake there apart from the stroking of reputations, the film’s climax is left to dangle.

Pleasing the Court in ‘Gunnin’ for That #1 Spot’

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