Last night, I peeped the ESPN Original Documentary A Woman Among Boys about Boy & Girls HS (Brooklyn) Coach Ruth Lovelace. It was solid. I was hoping to be blown away, though, like when ESPN went into BK to unearth the unfolding Sebastian Telfair story of his last year at Lincoln HS in ‘05, resulting in the classic Through The Fire . Ruth’s ‘07-’08 ride to the PSAL was just as compelling, but Boys director didn’t really seem to finish the layup even though he was handed a clear lane.
Of course, TV commercials totally mess up the flow, and that is no one’s fault for the debut screening. However there was no amazing cinematography. Remember the final shot from the roof in Fire of little Ethan Telfair working on his jumper at 6am in the morning? That was unforgettable. Boys lacked the camera angles/lighting that could’ve made it more interesting. It also could’ve used a narrator to humanize the story’s continuity. And why were there no highlights of Connie Hawkins, Pearl, and all the other great B&G players? That should’ve been required!
With the title being A Woman Among Boys, I’m wondering if the film company thought there’d be some novelty to the story, however the real truth is that if you can play ball, nobody really cares what’s your background, and the same holds true for coaching. Lovelace, Pat Summit, etc. can hold there own against any gender on the opposing team, or among their own. Well past the halfway point of the movie, we finally got to see Lovelace’s home. Was she the focal point, as the title would suggest, or not? I felt like the film never provided a real sense for her relationship with the players. It just scratched the surface, and it left me wanting more.
The pay off was that thanks to Lovelace, all her seniors were awarded college athletic scholarships. It was a nice ending, which cemented the reality that although she wanted to win the city chip, the real victory was in making sure she sends her players to higher education, particularly for free. And I loved that.
I give A Woman Among Boys a solid “You should peep it” but not a “You’re bugging, how could you have missed that!” I am glad that ESPN showed well-deserved shine to Coach Love, her squad, Brooklyn ballplayers, and particularly Asst. Coach Elmer Anderson. Elmer, a.k.a. “Cinemax” a.k.a. “Yak Yak,” was a backcourt mate of Pearl’s at Boys High in ‘83, went on to St. Bonaventure, then proceeded to destroy cats for years at West 4th, Rucker Park, Nike Pro City, everywhere in Brooklyn, you name it! Bonafide playground legend with freak freak handle and water jumpshot. But the film never let you know that either!
What did you think?
December 22nd, 2008 at 3:36 pm
A. Ford says:
It was a nice film I really enjoyed it. Bobbito u said that the film never showed past talent such as Pearl and Connie Hawkins. Of course they were great players that came from the HighN but they showed the mastermind behind the high success of them all, that was Coach and Principal Mikens. He was the Heartbeat of Boys and Girls Kangaroo teams. He won the last championship for them and turn that school around. The greatest reward what Love accomplish was getting championship to all her seniors. That’s the biggest achievement any coach can get than a city title. There is a lot of coaches out there that is winning and do not do anything for their players after that last buzzer rings.
December 22nd, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Mac says:
Just letting you know that in the frist paragraph that Sebastian last year at Lincoln HS was 2004 not 2005.
December 22nd, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Elliot Rosado says:
Bobbito, I agree with you. But i feel it was a different twist compared to all the basketball Documentaries we usually watch. Ruth was just being herself. Some coaches see that red light come on and take it as an opportunity for them to shine. Although it was called “A woman among boys” She made sure the focus was on the players and what they are going thru. At the end of the show she said it’s a great day for Brooklyn. She really wanted no credit for what she did. They should have let everyone know how nice assistant coach “Radar” Anderson was to.
December 22nd, 2008 at 5:31 pm
ali says:
man, i missed it. gotta catch it when they run it again. you guys have me amped to check it out.
December 22nd, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Casey Lee says:
That documentary was fire! Big ups to the ESPN camera crew on the follow-up in Myrtle Beach!
Also, I remember I saw Coach Lovelace this past summer at West 4th Street with that same “St8 Pippen” shirt, coaching an all-girls team…they dominated like it was a Boys/Girls High game!
December 22nd, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Peter Robert Casey says:
Unfortunately, I missed this last night. I will have to catch it on the rebound. Whether the documentary is a hit or not, I still have to extend props to Coach Lovelace for directing such a historic program. I will make sure to DVR the next run to give more feedback.
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Bobbito Garcia a.k.a. Kool Bob Love says:
elliot-
great point. i never considered that perhaps lovelace was so selfless that she purposely made the camera focus on her players, not her. good insight.
a. ford-
i’ll be honest, i wasn’t even up on coach mikens before the doc, so i was glad to be knowledged. pearl at boys high was bigger than sliced cheese, though. a couple of pac-man highlights wouldn’t have hurt in the beginning to give the viewer a sense of just how dynamic the program has been aside from the chips but from a talent level, which in pearl and the hawk’s case actually changed the way the game, even in the pros, was played. these dudes raised the level of creativity above the rim (hawk) and below the hand (pearl’s handle). that alone deserves some footage to really get a full understanding of boy high. but then again, maybe i’m just being selfish. any opportunity to watch pearl straight boingo defenders, i wanna see! haha
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Candice says:
I enjoyed it, but as a documentary junkie, I agree they kinda left it a little short and the commercials killed the momentum. It’s like it started off slow and then they rushed everything in at the end. But from what I’ve seen and heard based on the reactions of a few non-NY’ers or people who don’t really follow high school basketball, people who didn’t already know the story got a lot more out of it.
I thought the feature that was done on Coach before the men’s NCAA Final Four (either last year or in ‘06…can’t remember) gave a little bit more insight. But overall, the ESPN documentary was good and served its purpose. They did a good job of painting her as a coach as opposed to a female coach, regardless of the title. It’s crazy though how you’d probably never see a documentary about men coaching women since it’s just generally accepted (and in some cases preferred).
December 27th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Dave says:
I thought it was good. It was a great way to show how competitive ball is within the city. I think that “Through the fire” was one of the best however, you can’t say the same for this one. The playoffs were rushed entirely too much and there wasn’t any audio between player and coach too often. Coach Love got her props though because to make it two years in a row and fall up short isn’t something to be mad about. Great coach. I wish all those guys the best of luck.
Oh yeah, and with a school with that much tradition you HAVE to put up clips of great former players. Alot of people now know about Lincoln because of Telfair, why not do the same for B&G,Or any of the other storied schools in our city? Holla.
December 27th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Samantha says:
If you have ESPN On Demand on your cable or satellite, which is similar to pay per view, you should be able to watch this anytime. I have Verizon Fios and it is available for viewing.