Time for soul-searching
NEW YORK – Sebastian Telfair was at Jay-Z’s Manhattan nightclub with his family, watching TV and waiting for the announcement from the Madison Square Garden podium that would send him across the country and change his life. The Brooklyn point guard with a dazzling mix of smarts and skills was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 13th pick in last year’s NBA draft.
That moment is captured by director Jonathan Hock and cinematographer Alastair Christopher in “Through the Fire.” The documentary made its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival – a mere subway ride from the Coney Island housing project where Telfair grew up – and chronicles the soul-searching of one of the most publicized high school basketball players to come out of New York.
“I’m not a pro basketball scout, but he’s a basketball prodigy,” Hock said. “They’ve been talking about him since the sixth grade.”
Telfair was the fourth high schooler drafted that year, the latest in a growing line of abundantly gifted players ready to tangle in the NBA with no college interruption, a trend the NBA would like to halt with a minimum age of 20.
This was no easy choice and no easy time for Telfair, a 6-foot, 160-pounder who led powerhouse Abraham Lincoln High School to three New York City public league titles and one state championship. NBA scouts tracked his every point and assist during his senior year. A sneaker deal was thrown at him by Adidas. He made it to the cover of Sports Illustrated.
And always present, like a great weight, there was the decision: Go pro or attend Louisville and play for Rick Pitino? His cousin Stephon Marbury of the New York Knicks spent a year at Georgia Tech before he was selected fourth in the NBA draft. His half brother, Providence’s Jamel Thomas, dreamed of NBA stardom but wasn’t chosen.
Hock originally planned a short piece about high school players heading directly to the NBA – like Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and LeBron James – for HBO’s “On the Record With Bob Costas.” What he found was a more compelling story.
“Clearly someone was going to be next, and it was going to be very interesting to watch it happen,” Hock said. “And the person people were talking about was Sebastian. And I’d been out to Coney Island and I’d seen him play and nobody really thought that it would happen for him because he’s small, but everyone was kind of rooting for him.”
Telfair, who turns 20 in June, always believed he was ready to play with the big boys, but admits he still has a lot to learn. He started toward the end of the season after Portland coach Maurice Cheeks was fired, and averaged of 6.8 points and 3.3 assists in nearly 20 minutes a game overall.
“It’s the way they play the game; it’s the NBA game,” Telfair said. “If I’d have played the entire season I’d have been rookie of the year.
“When you get to the NBA, everyone has that same talent you’ve got, that same ability. … It’s a mental game just as much as physical.”
In 1994, when Steve James’ documentary “Hoop Dreams” came out, it was a novel idea to follow high school basketball players with professional aspirations.
“I think basketball is bigger now. They’re starting at a younger age,” Telfair said. “You got kids like my little brother (Ethan, 10) right now on the basketball court every day. In school, they have basketball tournaments. In summer, they have basketball camps. They’re starting at a younger age so guys are developing into better players younger than what they usually were.”
Hock – whose credits include the ESPN series “Streetball” and the IMAX movie “Michael Jordan to the Max” – said more high school kids are entering the NBA draft now “because they can.”
“To go to college for a year doesn’t really do much for them – the scouts are all watching the high school games,” he said.
And Hock’s camera was watching Telfair.
“I kind of got used to it after a while, and that’s why I think it turned into be a great documentary – because I put my guards down,” Telfair said. “I didn’t even know the camera was there half of the time. I was just being myself. Or when I’m playing and I’m into the game, I forget I got a mic on and I say something. They actually have the real me on film.”
The Trail Blazers failed to make the playoffs and their season is over. Telfair plans to catch up with family and friends in Coney Island, where he said, “I must get Chinese food.”
His mother chose to stay in the neighborhood despite her son’s newfound NBA wealth. And that makes it all very familiar for Telfair.
The difference now is that he drives his Bentley to visit her.