Keith Dambrot, the movie star

[Dr Z]

I just finished watching the movie and felt compelled to share. I bet a lot of the readers here have seen the movie 'More Than a Game' I’m not afraid to say that if you read ZipsNation basketball forum, you will enjoy “More Than a Game.’ First off, being an Akron basketball fan you get to see Dru, Romeo and KD being interviewed and shown extensively, but the movie itself is a great story of friendship and success. I was skeptical going into the movie, I thought maybe somebody was just trying to cash in on Lebron’s name with some video that they shot during high school. If that was the case, it turned out to be much much more. I learned so much. I wish I could have seen this movie before Dru and Romeo had come to play for the Zips, I would have even been a bigger fan than I already was, I gained a lot of respect for both, especially Dru. I gained even more respect for his Dad who was thrust into a head coaching job when KD left the team. An example of the honesty in the movie; as KD is leaving the team, Lebron is quoted as saying he was mad and never wanted to speak to KD again. I like the honesty of Dru Sr when he stated that he really didn’t know much about basketball, but since Dru wanted to play he decided to educate himself by reading plenty of books and watching lots of videos. The story made me realize how Lebron, Dru, Sian and Willy are true friends. It makes you understand how Romeo felt like he was the outside looking in. My point of this long winded example of how I’m a terrible writer is that if you haven’t seen this movie, I urge you to do so. You will be a better basketball fan after you have seen it. I have to thank GP1 for urging me to read the ‘Blind Side’, maybe you’ll thank me for urging you to watch ‘More Than a Game’ if you already haven't. I always thought that Lebron missed out on the college experience, I was wrong, he had the college experience in high school.The Lebron James story was told very well. The whole story was edited unbelievable. After watching the Oscar’s last night, I can’t believe this movie didn’t win more awards. A great story about friendship that all of us on this board can relate to. See it. Kristopher Belman is the writer, producer, director and cinematographer, he does each well. I hope I'm not building your expectations up so that you can't enjoy it, but I think you will. After the tough loss on Friday, it was a good basketball pick me up tonight. I'm ready for Thursday now.Article on Kris not making the movie "the Lebron movie"

[Let'sGoZips94]

I saw it in theaters with my family. GREAT MOVIE! Very inspirational.

[bUAkronG]

my roomie was borrowing the movie from a friend and over the course of two weeks I watched it about three times. Such a great story and so very well made.I, too, was pleased at how well they handled the Lebron storyline. Growing up in NEOhio all I knew about was Lebron during his senior year and the movie does a wonderful job of informing the viewer of the publicity without giving it too much limelight. This truly was a team moreso than it was Lebron James and gang.What awards did the movie earn?

[RootforRoo44]

Just watched it tonight again ...funny seeing this thread.btw, the movie didn't win any awards but was nominated for a Black Reel award and an Independent Spirit Award both for Best Documentary. It lost to "Good Hair" for the first one and "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" for the Spirit award (just last week). I haven't seen "Good Hair" (though it looks stupid) but i can tell you that "Anvil!" is pretty good. It's about a Canadian metal band that never hit it big but influenced many other big time bands. It's too bad "More Than a Game" had to go up against it.

[Blue & Gold]

One of the very best movies I've seen in a very long time. Even if I wasn't a Zips/LeBron/Akron-in-general fan, I would have still found the movie to be excellent.I saw the movie @ the theater and subsequently purchased the movie the day it was released on dvd.

[GP1]

I have to thank GP1 for urging me to read the ‘Blind Side’,

It was my pleasure...don't forget to read Playing for Pizza.

[Z.I.P.]

I have to thank GP1 for urging me to read the ‘Blind Side’,

It was my pleasure...don't forget to read Playing for Pizza.

For history sake...does anybody out there still have any rolls of duct tape the boys sold to finance their AAU travel?And, how many can remember what kine of playah was Roland Bivins? Bonus points to the first to ID that name on the ZNO.

[johnnyzip84]

I have to thank GP1 for urging me to read the ‘Blind Side’,

It was my pleasure...don't forget to read Playing for Pizza.

+1That goes +2 for anyone who grew up in Parma.......Ohio that is.

[UAZip0510]

It was a good movie overall, but there was a lot I didn't like as well. 1) Too much Dru Sr. He certainly should get some credit for helping the boys with fundamentals early on, and for finding a way to move them around the country as an AAU team, but his role in the boys' success is greatly overdone. He was given a gift in getting the team for their junior and senior year. All he had to do was keep them level-headed, and he couldn't even do that. And I don't buy him being a victim of some sort for being thrown into the fire...a guy who admittedly didn't (and still doesn't IMO) know much about basketball was given the #1 high school player and the #1 high school player in the nation. What more could you ask for?2) Not enough credit for KD. He was the one that developed Lebron and took him to the next level. He was the one who took a chance on Dru and developed him. He was the one who kept the kids modest when everyone was telling them they were the greatest things since sliced bread. Heck, if you watched games that Dambrot attended after he left, most times Lebron looked to the crowd at him, not Dru Sr., when things went wrong. KD developed the greatest basketball player in the world, and deserves his due for doing so.3) The negative portrayal of KD. If you didn't know any better, you'd think from the movie that Dambrot was a loud-mouthed, opportunistic prick. The last we hear of him is the players talking about not wanting to every talk to him again. What they don't include is KD grabbing Romeo and Dru (when nobody else wanted them) and molding them into high-quality D1 athletes at UA, or the great relationship Lebron still has today with KD based on their time together. Aside from those things, I thought it was excellent...definitely an interesting look at their 4 years in Akron.