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All the intrigue and passion of a prime time drama.  All the heart of your favorite inspirational sports movie.  It just has that extra advantage of being a completely true story.

In 2003, the basketball team from St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School (a private school located in Akron, Ohio) won the Boy’s Basketball - USA Today National Championship.  Kristopher Belman’s documentary, More Than A Game, explores the history of this three time State Championship winning team and examines the lives of Coach Dru Joyce II and four of the key players that led St. Vincent-St. Mary’s to victory.  One of those players just happens to be the guy that many basketball fans would consider to be the second coming of Michael Jordan.  His name… LeBron James. (King James if you’re nasty)

With all of the attention that LeBron James has attracted over the past eight years, you’d think he’s been an NBA star forever.  In truth, he’s only been playing professional ball for about six years.  Drafted straight out of high school for the NBA’s 2003 - 2004 season, LeBron has since earned the title “All NBA” and “All Star” every season, he won a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics and gold in 2008.  As we learn in More Than A Game, LeBron is no stranger to racking up historic wins.  He’s been helping his teams do that since he was playing with his youth athletic organization when he was thirteen years old.

Back in the late 90’s, LeBron played ball with his friends Dru Joyce III, Sian Cotton and Willie McGee.  They called themselves “The Fab Four” and proved to be a force to be reckoned with on the basketball court.  Coached by Dru’s father, Joyce II, the boys experienced quite a bit of success.  When it came time to move on to high school, they made a pact that they would stick together.  Where one went, the rest would follow.  That was a promise that the boys would end up keeping.

Ultimately, it would be Joyce III who would determine their collective basketball fate.  He took a tour of the St. Vincent-St. Mary’s campus and had hit it off with basketball coach Keith Dambrot.  Dru knew he had the best chance of getting time on the court with Dambrot as his coach, so he made the choice.  This is where he wanted to go to school… and the rest of the boy’s followed.

The Fab Four all managed to score starting positions on the team and helped lead St. Vincent-St. Mary’s to the 2000 State Championships.  This is eventually where they would meet Romeo Travis.  The man who turned the Fab Four into a quintet.

Now, don’t read me wrong here.  The wins didn’t always come easy for LeBron and his teammates.  There was plenty of adversity to overcome.  There was Dambrot’s departure to coach at the college level in 2002 leaving Dru Joyce II to pick up the pieces and take on the role of head coach.  There was the media hype that turned 16 year old LeBron into an overnight sensation which would indirectly lead to his temporary expulsion from the team.

All the intrigue and passion of a prime time drama.  All the heart of your favorite inspirational sports movie.  It just has that extra advantage of being a completely true story.  Documented quite skillfully by director Kristopher Belman.

Belman originally planned to shoot with the team for one day back in 2003 for his freshman film project.  Eventually, it became the product of close to seven years of work where he would not only follow the team to it’s National Championship win but also young LeBron on his journey from young basketball wannabe to one of the most impressive talents in the NBA.  More Than A Game is an informative, educational and entertaining documentary that deserves a look by all audiences whether they be sports fans or not.

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