TELESIDE, U.S.A.: TELFAIR DOCUMENTARY TELLS STORY WELL, IF INCOMPLETELY

By Al Mattei
Founder, TopOfTheCircle.com

The ESPN documentary "Through The Fire" got exactly one on-air appearance in March 2006 before hitting the world of DVD sales.

The exposure pattern runs oddly counter to some of the ESPN Originals of the past, such as "3" and "The Junction Boys." But that's because there is probably a lot in the tale of Sebastian Telfair that the network probably does not want to show, given the network's role in his development.

Sebastian Telfair has been billed as a New York City basketball prodigy since fifth grade, when some of the dubious recruiting services started lauding him as a figure who could very well take over the world of basketball in the post-Michael Jordan era.

An award-winning article in "Men's Journal" exposed people to Telfair the first time as a high-school freshman.

"Through The Fire," however, joins the Telfair saga his senior year. Some of the information in the "Men's Journal" article, however, would have been much more illustrative to the documentary -- as well as background of what happened between his freshman and senior years.

Take, for example, the relationships between family members and their patriarch, Otis. In "Men's Journal," he is front and center, a Vietnam veteran who develops into a troublesome presence for his high school coach and for his half-brother, Dan.

Thanks to Otis' negotiating, Telfair, by ninth grade, was doing commercials for the AND-1 athletic wear company, a division of Nike, Inc. He was also starring in Nike camps of elite basketball athletes much older and larger than he. His middle-school recreational team and coach are firmly into the AND-1 camp.

But by Telfair's senior year, when "Through The Fire" begins, Otis is out of the picture. His older brother Daniel is almost acting as his guardian as well as something of a personal trainer. Lincoln High School team is all decked out in Adidas wear, and Telfair committed to Louisville University, an Adidas school. He talks on the cell phone to youth basketball impresario Sonny Vaccaro, an Adidas representative and an associate of ESPN personality Dick Vitale.

Of course, if you know anything about the NBA, you already know that Telfair skipped out on Louisville, declared for the NBA draft, and was picked 13th by the Portland Trail Blazers where he was averaging a shade under nine points per game by his second season.

But how he got there is a story which "Through The Fire" tells through lavish imagery of Coney Island and well-conceived shooting of game action throughout the season ... with liberal splicing of ESPN branding. There are ESPN television clips of one of his high-school games, the NBA Draft preview which raises questions about whether he is ready for the NBA, and the announcement of his draft status -- shot at the New York ESPN Zone.

Aside from missing several pieces of Telfair's developmental puzzle between his ninth and 12th-grade years, however, the documentary shows some universal truths about recruiting that have permeated many an NCAA sport, everything from swimming to soccer.

Thanks mainly to Vaccaro, Pitino can dangle Telfair as an early recruit to try to entice both players and fans to pay attention to the Louisville program. He hosts Lincoln High School -- the entire team -- for a high-school game against a Kentucky school.

As we see, Vaccaro does his job of hype all too well. Telfair appears on a "Sports Illustrated" cover -- fully three years after the "Men's Journal" story. Telfair makes the McDonald's All-American Game, which was shown on -- where else? -- ESPN. Throughout, the young point guard is surrounded by coaches, scouts, and various hangers-on who reinforce how good he is.

Telfair starts driving around in an expensive car. He insists on being introduced at a news conference as a "New York City basketball legend." He is shuttled around to remote interviews.

You might wonder if the whole situation is a grant setup for failure. Telfair, however, has an example in his family if he needs to be reminded what can happen if he becomes an NBA bust. Jamel Thomas, another older brother, was passed over in the draft and signed with the Boston Celtics as a free agent out of Providence College. But after his 12-game cup of NBA coffee, spread out over three years, Thomas is playing pro ball in Greece.

Thomas is lionized there, but shows his brother the kind of fanatical physical work ethic it takes to make it as a pro. By the time NBA Draft Day arrives, Telfair and his brother are running sprints in damp sand to strengthen their legs and improve their endurance.

One can hope that this is the enduring lesson of "Through The Fire" -- that hype, money, and cars cannot substitute for talent, hard work, and a little luck.