I Hate Christian Laettner

     I've got a little mini basketball hoop in my apartment that hangs just high enough to dunk on and it's been getting a lot of use lately with the culmination of the March Madness tournament. As a kid, growing up playing basketball, I knew two things about college basketball. I hated Duke and I hated Christian Laettner. 

     The guy, center of a new ESPN 30for30 titiled I Hate Christian Laettner, is downright detestable. He stepped on Aminu Timberlake! He was a pretty boy and an asshole.

     Which makes him the perfect feature for a documentary. He's candid, attractive, quick and attention grabbing. Everyone loves a villain and he had a Lex Luthor vibe.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Just look at that smug prick. He's an ideal documentary subject. He's the all-time tournament leader in points, went to four consecutive final fours, and won back to back national championships. He has possibly the greatest shot in Men's College Basketball history. 

     Director and writer, Rory Karpf, does an excellent job breaking the doc down into five distinct reasons we hate the guy: Privilege, White, Bully, Greatness, and Looks. This is all intercut with former opponents and teammates, who will attest that Christian Laettner was an asshole. He constantly picked on teammate Bobby Hurley and gave coach Mike Kryzewski a hard time.

Karpf pulls a neat trick during the interviews to make old Laettner stand out and seemed more villainous. In all the other interviews the camera is stationed at least 45 degrees away from the subject who is looking across the plain of the camera. However, Karpf stations Laetnner dead center and has him look directly into the lens. 

   The doc succeeds because an older Christain Laettner has mellowed out. He has a wife and kids and teaches kid camps. He's changed. But not that much. Unlike most vilanious docs Laettner doesn't apologize. He's true to who he is and we as an audience can respond to that. There's a sense of catharsis without an unbelievable transition. I Hate Christian Laettner does what any doc sets out to do; tell a story honestly and compellingly. 

    He's still an asshole but, hate might be a strong word.

Unguarded: The Story of Chris Herren

This week I decided to dive into the ESPN Films series "30 for 30." This is a sports documentary series in honor of ESPN's 30th anniversary. One of the films that caught my eye was the Unguarded. This is the story of former Massachusetts hometown star Chris Herren. Being from Massachusetts myself, I thought that this would be an interesting story having known a little background on Chirs Herren. Herren was a public speaker at my Prep School in 2010. I was privileged enough to hear him speak about his addiction with drugs and alcohol and his fight to recover. However nearly 2 years later this film came out. His speech to my school was so moving, I could not wait to see it through film.

The documentary was filmed in a series of interviews with Herren, his brother, wife, and former coaches and friends that had an impact on his life. These interviews were paired with footage of Herren speaking to various schools, military personnel, and others battling addiction. Director and filmaker Jonathan Hock did a marvelous job of tying in the personal interviews and the footage of Herren speaking into a 120 minute documentary.

Herren's story is one of the most raw stories I have ever heard. Herren the hometown hero of Fall River Mass, was a McDonald's All American. After refusing scholarships to Duke, Maryland, and others he attended hometown Boston College. However, at BC he was kicked out of school for failing three drug tests. Boston College was the start of his 10 year long addiction to drugs. From BC he transferred to Fresno State where he was a college star. However, his addiction continued. Herren told a story about being out all night partying, never sleeping, and arriving to his game that morning with the last beverage to touch his lips was a beer. In that same game he had over 40 points and his team upset a highly ranked team. Herren went on to the NBA after college and played for the Denver Nuggets. After a great rookie season that Herren calls his most clean year since high school he was traded to his hometown team, the Boston Celtics. This is where Herren's life fell apart.

Herren's story is not all bad though. He is now3 years sober after suffering 3 overdoses after being kicked out of the NBA. He has 3 children and is now a picture of hope for all suffering addicts. Jonathan Hock did a remarkable job of displaying this hope in the closing of the film. One of the final scenes shows Herren hugging many of the people he touched with his story and comforting them. Perhaps this was his life path: going through all the pain of addiction to help others with their pain. This documentary was moving, tear jerking, and very real. I recommend everyone to watch it, even if your not a sports fan.