DITC: Jesus Saved
Basketball is like poetry in motion. Cross the guy to the left, take him back to the right, he’s fallin’ back, then just J right in his face.
by Russ Bengtson
Another piece of ancient SLAM history. When we were putting together the first-ever issue of KICKS, I flew out to Chicago to interview the first group of Jordan Brand guys for the “Jumpmen” In Your Face section—Michael Finley, Eddie Jones, Vin Baker, Derek Anderson and Ray Allen. Allen was still with the Bucks then, and had recently finished filming He Got Game, his cinematic debut. We talked about it (and NYC basketball in general) a little bit.
SLAM: Now that you did the movie you’re sort of following in MJ’s footsteps a little bit…
RA: We played the Bulls yesterday and I told him. He said ‘How is the movie coming along?’ and I told him things were going pretty well. I just told him I was trying to follow in his footsteps.
SLAM: What did he say to that?
RA: He said ‘I think your movie is going to be a little bit better than mine.’ I said ‘Well, who directed Space Jam?’ and he looked at me and sort of smiled and said ‘Huh.’
SLAM:. This was on the court?
RA: Yeah, for the captain meeting in center court.
SLAM: He did his movie and had that court on the Warner Brothers set. Did you get to play a lot while you were filming?
RA: Nah, I didn’t get to play a lot. Jordan had such a great budget on that film. They had basically what he needed on that set. I didn’t really have that. I had sites available for me to work out, but I didn’t have a court. You know Spike doesn’t get a lot of money to make his movies, so that limited us a lot.
SLAM: Did you actually play pick-up games for the film, or just film scenes?
RA: Yeah we played.
SLAM: John Wallace was out there along with some of other NBA guys. Who else played?
RA: That was like the funnest part of shooting. You know we would shoot the basketball scenes and we would just play. It would be us five against whoever he put out there. These are guys that can really play. We’re NBA players hooping it up with guys that wanted to make the NBA, but couldn’t. Didn’t have enough skill. So they’re playing their hardest in the middle of the projects. So everybody that was in that part of NY was out there—at three or four in the morning—just watching us play. As you see in the film, people are on the side cheering, but they are really cheering. It wasn’t like ‘OK everybody scream real loud, everybody jump up and down and start clapping.’ They were really oohing and ahhing the whole time
SLAM: Have you ever played like that before? Did you play in NY?
RA: No.
SLAM: Would you play out there like Rucker or something like that?
RA: I played in Rucker last summer.
SLAM: Oh OK, so you have played. Are you going to keep playing you think?
RA: Nah I just did it cause them people out there at Rucker, they’re tough and you have to really—I won’t say I’ll never go back. I’ll probably would go back and play one day, but those people at Rucker… I think everybody should just go out there and just sit there and see what it’s about because that’s where there’s a lot of high school kids, a lot of college kids, people who have been in college, a few celebrities here and there. I mean, that’s real basketball. NY is the mecca of basketball and to have it on that court and playground, that’s what most guys haven’t experienced. The thing about it is, the NBA doesn’t mean nothing [at Rucker]. You just going out there and you’re going to be a target and everybody goes at you. You really have to step up your game.
28 Responses to “DITC: Jesus Saved”
Sep.20 at 4:30 pm
white hot eboy says:
Are we to assume from Ray’s comments that the Rucker gave him an unassuming ass-whipping?
Sep.20 at 4:37 pm
white hot eboy says:
Russ, how many more of these do you have? They really are entertaining.
Sep.20 at 4:45 pm
Matt Caputo says:
Russ Bengtson, you I like.
Sep.20 at 4:45 pm
Tarzan Cooper says:
sounds like jesus wasnt really ready.
Sep.20 at 4:46 pm
Myles Brown says:
Im still waiting for part II Spike…
Sep.20 at 4:52 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
I have so many interviews, forgive me. And I believe tomorrow is looking like a Starbury ‘99 kind of day.
Sep.20 at 4:58 pm
Myles Brown says:
Tiger style! Or crazy style…
Sep.20 at 5:00 pm
Hoop Dreamz says:
My favourite section/column/thingy… keep’em coming. And Ray’s a better interview than I would’ve thought, I always thought he was kinda boring, but he can talk a bit
Sep.20 at 5:09 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
Ray’s actually really good. What i really need to find are my old interviews with Kobe for KICKS. I know those were SUPER-long. (Not as long as the 13,000-word Iverson interview that’ll go up someday, but still.) What else? KG in ‘99 and ‘01 (and at least one from later as well), JO as a 19-year-old Blazer, lots of random All-Star stuff. I should be able to keep this going for a while–although it might be more of a once-a-week thing once the season starts. A weekly Sunday conversation, perhaps.
Sep.20 at 6:48 pm
Gumdrop says:
Don’t forget your 12,000-word piece on Mengke Bateer. That dude had some stories.
Sep.20 at 6:49 pm
Gumdrop says:
I need to orangify my name to legitimize myself here.
Sep.20 at 8:28 pm
Sam Rubenstein says:
I like the interview. I love reference in the title of the post. YOU THINK YOU’LL SEE THE PEARLY GATES WHEN DEATH TAKES YOU AWAAAAAAAAAAAAY
Sep.20 at 8:43 pm
Nadav says:
MJ was in “he got game”
so was SLAM
Sep.20 at 8:54 pm
Devontae Palmer AKA THE WONDER BOY says:
I smell a little putty cat in Ray Allen from those statements. Oh well, you know what they say. He got game was the best basketball movie ever besides love and basketball. Who knew Omar Epps could hoop like that? play wit it.
Sep.20 at 9:37 pm
Holiday says:
coach carter wasn’t too bad! and what about glory road, I think that’s it! (I haven’t seen it) but seriously And1 ballin is a joke!!!!
Sep.20 at 9:40 pm
Devontae Palmer AKA THE WONDER BOY says:
c’mon Holiday, you know And 1 is some funky fresh stuff mane. I know you wait for the new episode to come out every summer on espn2. play wit it.
Sep.21 at 2:24 am
Sesa says:
I don’t think Rucker Park likes Ray-ray types of game.
It’s all hard banging and dunking in the Rucker Park.
Where’s Chukaz?
Sep.21 at 3:07 am
JustMe says:
Makes me wistful for NYC streetball. I like Ray and think he has a sweet game. But his comments imply respect for the ferocity with which fellas play in the hood, playing all out in a way that you rarely see in the NBA. I stumbled upon a match (with refs) in BedStuy on a hot Sunday, on a tired, lumpy asphalt court. Everyone from the hood was out, with their folding chairs, beers, hooting while the announcer called the game (ran his mouth hilariously), mike plugged into a boom box. To ride up to some court on my bike and see a fast break, 3 on 1, where the lead guy casually flips it back over his shoulder to his teammate, who throws it off the backboard for his trailer to do an alleyoop dunk–that was a peak bball experience for me. These guys, who knows what else they have got in their life, but they can ball.
Sep.21 at 10:43 am
white hot eboy says:
Hoosiers is the best basketball movie ever.
Sep.21 at 10:53 am
H to the izzo says:
Okay,Eboy,you’re wrong,but OK
Sep.21 at 11:21 am
Allenp says:
Man, drop the Iverson interview soon.
Sep.21 at 11:23 am
Allenp says:
Omar Epps was so garbage in Love and Basketball. Sanaa Lathan was more believable than him. He couldn’t go left, and his go to move was a behind the back wrap that you could see coming from a mile away.
Sep.21 at 1:14 pm
SA says:
The hat Reggie Miller was wearing during that part of the movie was worth the price of admission alone. Note to skinny kids everywhere: don’t wear large, odd fitting kangols…
Sep.22 at 1:19 am
Fundamental says:
can we get a Ron Mercer flashback interview? I know there were TONS of those…PS, 1)Hoop Dreams, 2)Above the Rim, 3)Hoosiers
Sep.26 at 12:32 pm
Jared says:
how about 1) white men can’t jump 2)basketball diaries and 3) Rebound (noo not the Martin Lawrence one)
Sep.26 at 12:32 pm
Jared says:
those are of course…all ranked after he got game
Oct.15 at 11:08 pm
mcnugget says:
Ray is the best, Ray KG and Pierce, amazing!
Oct.15 at 11:12 pm
mcnugget says:
Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett= Championship. Triplethreat core of a very special team for the next 4 years. Believe that.