Your Silence is So Loud

March Madness brings out a lot of passions about alma maters, busted brackets and office pools. It also revisits controversies such as what both HBO and ESPN did this weekend with two stirring documentaries about two of the most polarizing, but talented programs in college basketball history.

You can find rundowns and reviews of “Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV” and “The Fab Five” everywhere else (though I recommend The Post Game). Depending on your view on college athletics, either you thoroughly enjoyed the interviews and clips of the games of the era or you’re more disgusted at how those teams succeeded brashly in the face of the sports you held in reverence. Either way, both documentaries shared a common thread: the absence of the most significant players of both UNLV and Michigan.

More people are discussing and lamenting the absence of Chris Webber from ESPN’s two-hour retrospective, yet the lack of Larry Johnson also stood out from HBO’s offering.

The void left by both men spoke to a paraphrased saying my father used to say when I was too angry to speak to him; your silence is so loud.

Courtesy of ESPN

If you were in Webber’s shoes, you would probably have declined to speak about the Michigan days. It’s one thing to revisit the lowest point of your collegiate career; the infamous ‘timeout’ call in the waning seconds that gave North Carolina one last shot to win the national championship. Yet, knowing that the much of the footage regarding the game would be centered on that moment – notably your anger at camerapersons taping you walking from the court to the locker room – wasn’t exactly a sterling incentive for you to participate.

To follow that with an even bigger controversy – a relationship with a famed booster – wasn’t enticing, either. Because Webber didn’t appear in the documentary, the only way that his opinion was reflected was by adding at-the-time interviews, ESPN’s coverage of his involvement with Ed Martin and a corresponding press conference.

Some believe there was a chance for Webber to redeem himself from the aftermath of the Martin controversy. Yet, he could have asked himself a simple question; what would a public admission or at least recognition of the scandal have done for anyone now?

On the Johnson front, maybe the questions weren’t as loud, but they were certainly lingering for those who watched HBO’s program. Other than scant media appearances over the years, LJ has faded away since retiring with the Knicks in 2001. His final days were highlighted by chronic back problems, declining production and “forty million dollar slaves”.

Courtesy of SLAM

Ah, yes, four words (and plenty more) that unearthed a torrent of criticism towards him. He spoke on America one of most open secrets; the idea that though no longer shucking cotton and being whipped, black men were not only still being exploited, but unlike the Africans that were shipped over to the States as slaves, modern-day blacks sit under an ever-scrutinizing microscope of the media.

And that might be what we expected him to speak to.

Considering the penalties UNLV took on during and after Johnson’s time as a Runnin’ Rebel, you could only imagine what Johnson could have said about his days as a student-athlete. We saw the defiance of the student-athlete in “The Fab Five”; Webber and the rest of his teammates protested the profits made by interested partners of Michigan after discovering their likeness used as commerce in a trip to Europe. Johnson, on the other hand, could have picked up where some believe he left off in 1999. He could have written the epilogue to the book that bears his quote as a title or picked up the megaphone on behalf of a coach that took a chance on him and his teammates.

However, he may have felt even with the tremendous storytelling abilities of HBO Sports, too many would be looking for more controversial sound bites instead of his complete, honest opinions.

After having watched both programs, the difference between the two voids is pretty clear. At least with HBO, the central figure to the entire story was already there; former head coach Jerry Tarkanian. He was the undisputed leader of the Rebels, even if as we discovered initially, he was reluctant move to Sin City.

It’s understandable that fans of those programs are disappointed that Webber and Johnson were not involved with these stories. Overall, the perspectives from future NBA players in Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon, Jalen Rose and Juwon Howard provided depth from their own roles in the stories while they gave context to what, or rather, who was conspicuously absent.

Yet, sometimes, the best stories leave you hanging a little bit. They don’t believe in absolute endings nor provide simple solutions to the issues posed in the opening scenes. In the case of media offerings that look into a yesteryear of not too long ago, those clean conclusions are harder to come by. This is because the central figures are still around; hoping that new projects or occupations can keep that microscope fixated on something else as they show the world that they have evolved, or at least moved on. Webber’s rebirth as an analyst is arguably the brightest spot for NBA coverage in recent years and his number was deservedly raised to the rafters by the Sacramento Kings. Johnson chose to fade to the background quietly, though he had reconnected with the Knicks, founded his own beverage company and splits time between Dallas (his hometown) and Las Vegas.

There’s no question that what were already strong documentaries could have been even better if both men were involved. Though we shouldn’t hold our breaths, if Webber and Johnson ever choose to speak on their days as the Big Men on Campus, captive audiences eagerly await.

Work

For those of you who have lives, in all likelihood, you missed Kobe Doin’ Work last night. So in taking one for the team – or not having a life – here are some quick thoughts on the Spike Lee project for ESPN.

Before anything else, you should know that if you believe that this is about the person that is Kobe Bryant, you’re not going to find much of that in the film. This is about the profession that defines Kobe Bryant as he explains his thought process from the last pre-game words in locker room to the moment he joins his wife and kids for the ride home after the game. It’s a documentary meant for the true basketball aficionado, although it’s the perfect opportunity for those looking to learn about the game no matter what level of interest.

What makes this film work is that this is one in a native tongue, sort of speak.

Since this movie delves into a critical contest for Western Conference supremacy (it was a blowout win of the then-champion San Antonio Spurs), Bryant is game-mode. As he speaks through each play and sequence, he’s talking in the game’s lingo. If you believed that basketball was as simple as putting a ball through the hoop or flopping to get the referee’s attention, you’ll find that there’s far more.

For example, when Bruce Bowen is on offense, he considers himself a roving defender; akin to a safety in the NFL (he references Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu). Yet, when Michael Finley subs in for Bowen, Bryant talks about the matchup change and discusses a switch to playing cornerback – in the case of the hardwood, he’s now man-to-man against Finley as the former Dallas Mavericks star is a greater offensive threat than Bowen.

As he’s watching the footage from when he’s on the bench during timeouts and when resting, he admits that he had no clue he talked so much. He's talking to his teammates about the plays that could have been, should have been and would have been. He's giving pointers to Jordan Farmar about setting up his own shot, telling Pau Gasol to set up for a play to get the Triangle offense going and imploring Lamar Odom to go back on the low block (near the rim) and get his post game going. He's giving reminders to Derek Fisher, the lone teammate he has that went through the wars during the Lakers' threepeat earlier this decade. He flips between English and Italian with The Machine! as he tries to get him going.

You have a sense that with his constant banter with his teammates that he may not fit the exact mold of the selfish player that everyone from Jay Mariotti to Bill Simmons to your cubicle neighbor believes he is. Maybe with this particular cast of characters, he's shedded some of the impulsive "I need the ball for us to win" characteristics he had in the pot-Shaquille O'Neal era. Yet, he's letting you, the viewer, decide that.

There were two discrepancies that depending on how you like your basketball, you might notice.

For starters, the film score seems a bit unnecessary. Considering that this was an actual game with Bryan adding his commentary over it, you may have been content with hearing the natural sounds of the game. The film provided its own music throughout much of the 90 minutes because you hear sneakers squeaking, players and referees chatting with and over each other, edited trash talk between opponents and whistles. It’s the rare glimpse into the intimate dimensions of the game and you didn’t need much else to get you immersed.

The other issue was another unnecessary sound; Spike Lee, himself. He did not interject much and for the most part, he did ask Bryant some insightful questions. They were inquisitive and smart questions that – to borrow some coach speak – were teaching points about the game, such as when Lee asked why more teams don’t run the famed Triangle offense.

Yet, as mentioned before the start of the movie, Lee reminds us that Bryant provided his voiceover after his 61-point brilliance against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Lee takes off his director hat and immediately puts on his crazed Knicks fan hat. Suddenly, the conversation veers into the game he just finished instead of staying the course. The reason could be that in the filmed game, the Lakers were coasting away from the Spurs and in Lee’s mind, there may have not been much more to talk about. This might work for some, but for others, it might have disrupted the flow.

Despite all of the analysis on highlight shows, pre- and post-game shows, you don’t ever hear from the players about what their craft when they are actually practicing it in front of our very eyes. We have to rely on interviews and speculation from the media on what had and had not happened on the court in order to gain an understanding of what really goes on in a basketball game. The unprecedented access Lee and his team was granted to make Kobe Doin’ Work succeeded in bringing us closer to the physical and mental preparation these players need to perform every other night.

If you’re a hoops head or at least hungry for some knowledge about the intricacies of the game, Kobe Doin’ Work is a treat as you get to see things from the mind of arguably the best player on the planet.
Personally, after watching this and seeing Tyson recently, I hope that we have more sports films like this, where we get to hear from the athletes themselves about their trades, not just from our own assumptions and opinions.

Note: If you’re asking yourself why Kobe Doin’ Work aired on Saturday night as opposed to prior to today’s Game 7 between his Lakers and the Houston Rockets, there are a plethora of reasons that can be assumed (and likely right). The first airing was commercial-free on ESPN from start to finish, with ads placed in the repeat airings on ESPN2. Because Saturday is almost a wasteland for television viewing, there wasn’t much potential ad revenues lost for the commercial-free airing on the Worldwide Leader’s end of things. However, there was little programming last night that could have competed with the film; it was even helped with a rain-delayed Rockies-Pirates game on MLB Network.

Say What?!?!: Maybe it’s just me and having differing musical preferences, but am I the only person who’s tired of seeing the Amazing ads for the NBA Playoffs? On this end, it has nothing to do with the visuals so much as it’s the audio. If going the Kanye West route was desired, I can imagine there’s a better track to use.