Bobby Seale tells the story of the two men and there troubles of there life growing up in Oakland. How both were great athletes and how there choices and the people around them helped with the path they ended up going down.
Demetrius "HOOK" Mitchell was first talked about in the film. He is a local legend around Oakland. He is called by many people as," One of the best basketball players never to make it to the NBA". He was also called the best athlete to ever come out of Oakland by NBA 13-year veteran Greg Foster. Mitchell became a local legend and known around the Bay Area when he started to stunts like dunking a basketball over people and cars. He was known to have incredible athletic abilities and vertical heights well being a small person. Mitchell had been dunking getting above the rim since he was 5'3''.
Leon Powe is a former NBA star and NBA Championship winner. He graduated from Oakland Technical High School were he was a First-Team Parade All-American during his senior year. Powe went to the University Of California. He has also played professionally in the NBA for the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and for the Memphis Grizzlies. Powe became a championship winner when he was with the Boston Celtics.
The film goes back in forth between the two stars of the documentary. They compare there lives and how they grow up in single parent homes. Mitchell only have his mother that was also a drug user. Leon just had his mom after his father left the family. Both standing at a crossroads and looking down two paths they can walk down.
Mitchell was raised by his grandmother. In high school started hanging out with the wrong crowd. He had no one to look up too are guide him down the right path. He started using drugs and never finished High school. Mitchell was also put in prison for robbery. Mitchell when not in jail did do a lot for the community by helping kids as a mentor. In 2004 he was given a tryout for his home town team The Golden State Warriors, but was later cut. Mitchell is a up beat man who knows he could have done better, but lives with the hand he was dealt.
Powe was raised by his mother and lived in shelters after his younger brother accidentally burned down there home. He had to skip school sometimes to take care of his brother and sisters while his mother did what she could for her kids. One day he was taken from his mother and put in a foster home. Unlike Mitchell, Powe saw the dangers of drugs and the street life and did not want to live that life. Powe also had people in his life that kept him motivated and on the path to the NBA. Even with the positive people that were in his life, Powe still had to face a lot of diversity. Powe's mother died days before the finales of the state high school championships. He also tore his ACL in college. But he over came and persevered.
This film was really interesting and showed how the streets can over take someone. At the same time show that you can make it out if you have a dream and work for it. They also had a lot of NBA and NFL stars from Oakland in the film, such as Jason Kidd, Brain Shaw, Antonio Davis, Drew Gooden, Greg Foster, Paul Silas, Chris Mullin, Marshawn Lynch, and Josh Johnson. All with stories about growing up around Mitchell and Powe.
I really enjoyed watching this film. I loved watching as they showed all the sport stars from the Bay Area. You see documentary's about people or places all the time, but it was great watching one about a place and people that is 10 mins away from were I live. If you have not seen this film yet, I would suggest checking it out to anyone who loves sports or about the choices people make and the results of those choices.
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