He was not drafted and ended up playing for lesser known leagues around the world. Bulls star joakim noah joins film about fallen basketball. Lenny cooke was the numberone ranked high school basketball player in america, but his inevitable fall from grace will forever be remembered. Lenny cooke official trailer 1 20 documentary hd professional sports is known as a true meritocracy, a field in which the cream really does rise to the top, as theres simply too much money. A title card at the beginning of the film indicates that cooke, despite his huge highschool hype. Lennys draftability if lenny cooke opts for the nba, hes got a good chance of sneaking into the first round of the draft based on his potential alone. Lenny cooke, a documentary from directors benny and joshua safdie and an official selection at both the 20 tribeca and venice film festivals, unearths plenty about the. Lenny cooke official trailer 1 20 documentary hd youtube. Lenny cooke interview tribeca film festival youtube. A clip from lenny cooke by josh and benny safdie youtube. Filmmaker adam shopkorn chronicled cookes rise in over 100 hours of footage. Lenny cooke movie documentary full movie its easy to be responsible if you responsible all the time, its difficult when you pick and choose the times you want to be responsible. The new yorkbased directors follow the basketball hopeful lenny cooke as he battles to become top dog alongside future nba stars carmelo.
A cocky kids dream crumbles in sobering lenny cooke. After a screening in toronto, several raptors said there was much to be learned from cookes story. When cooke enters the draft and isnt chosen at all, much less in the first round, we see a long line of names being announced but get no shot of lennys reaction. We highly encourage readers to give the documentary a watch as it shows cookes life through the summer prior to his senior year as well as his life following his decision to. Lenny cooke is grateful to debbie bortner, a white lady, the mother of a high school teammate, who took him into her home when he was a kid, who encouraged him to work hard and believe in himself. The scene is one of many poignant moments in josh and ben safdies documentary lenny cooke. Check out this behind the scenes look at bad boys for life read more. Lenny cooke has yet to discover what or who he is supposed to be since it became obvious years ago that he would not fulfill his once presumed destiny and become an n. In 2001, a young new yorker named lenny cooke was the countrys topranked high school basketball player. Sadly, cooke, the titular subject of josh and benny safdies new documentary, would internalize that myopic advice and opt for the pros over a college education. In 2001, lenny cooke was the number one ranked high school basketball player in the country, ranked above future greats lebron james, amare stoudemire and carmelo.
A once topranked highschool basketball star learns a tough lesson when he decides to skip college. He transferred to nvot in 2001 and it turned into the most interesting and exciting year of basketball in my life and. Slam brings you an exhaustive list of every basketball movie and documentary we can think of to help you through this crazy time. In 2001, lenny cooke was the most hyped high school basketball player in the country, ranked above future greats lebron james, amare stoudemire, and carmelo anthony. Cooke speaks on his new documentary titled the lenny cooke film, debuting it at the tribeca film festival, being once ranked higher than. Lenny however had been advised by his legal guardian for awhile but said screw you to her. The documentary style filmmaking makes it very easy to follow and gives a unique perspective.
Lenny cooke and the problem with best documentaries. Lenny cooke, from startobe to one who never was the. In 2001, cooke was the numberone ranked high school basketball player in america, with future nba greats lebron james and carmelo anthony listed beneath him. Cooke is the subject of the 20 documentary lenny cooke which documents his athletic rise, fall, and subsequent life after basketball. Shopkorn turned down a request to follow lebron james, though james did pass shopkorns viewfinder on more than one occasion. By frank ombres on december 6, 20 get that money, baby, an offcamera pal hollers to a young lenny cooke during a pit stop on a lengthy road trip. He transferred to nvot in 2001 and it turned into the most.
Based on consultation with several nba scouts, heres the skinny on his game. Lenny cooke, a once topranked highschool basketball player, learns a heartbreaking lesson in 2002 when he decides to skip college and place all his hopes on the nba draft. A quintessential sports story about big dreams and unfulfilled destiny. It shares with their fiction work a ragged visual sensibility, a bittersweet worldview, and a lowkey, momenttomoment approach to drama. Lenny cookes one glaring hole is the narrative gap between its subjects promising younger years and current reality. But instead, this onetime topranked pro basketball prospect ended up benched in the game of life, the victim of his own naivete and the predatory. Lenny cooke cast and crew cast photos and info fandango. The name lenny cooke has become part myth, part bogeyman and part warning to anyone that thinks talent, and talent alone, gets you to the. Joakim noah is teaming up with lenny cooke once again, albeit in very different circumstances. Lenny cooke documentary follows basketball hopefuls. Hes in a similar position to deshawn stevenson, who was drafted by the utah jazz late in the first round of 2000. The one player better than lebron james in high school.
The question of why cookes career never materialized hangs over the movie, but is never answered. The bulls allstar center has boarded the documentary about the former basketball phenom as a. However, lenny cooke is less of an outlier than it initially seems. The story of lenny cooke has been told on many occasions and on many outlets including in documentary form which was released years back and can still be seen today. The movie lenny cooke follows the number one high school basketball player who was destined to go to the nba. Lenny cooke official trailer 1 20 documentary hd professional sports is known as a true meritocracy, a field in which the cream really. Professional sports are known as a true meritocracy, a field in which the cream really does rise to the top, as theres simply too much money at stake to operate in any other fashion. Yet after declaring himself eligible for the 2002 nba draft, cooke, shockingly, ended up going undrafted, and became a journeyman playing in littleknown. Find out where lenny cooke is streaming, if lenny cooke is on netflix, and get news and updates, on decider. In 2001, lenny cooke was the most hyped high school basketball player in the country, ranked above future greats lebron james, amare stoudemire and carmelo anthony. Lenny cooke was once more hyped than lebron james, but never played in the league.
He eventually came into contact with some crummy sports agent who promised him money upfront along with a guarantee that hell be drafted reasonably high if he chose to enter the draft out of high school which by the way is a story in of itself. Lenny cooke was a high school phenom and playground basketball legend. In 2001, lenny cooke was the most hyped high school basketball player in the country, ranked above future greats lebron james, amare stoudemire and carmelo. For basketball fans of a certain age, the trailer for lenny cooke was a jolt. A decade later, lenny has never played a minute in the nba. In this quintessentially american documentary, filmmaking brothers joshua and benny safdie track the unfulfilled destiny of a man for whom superstardom was only just. The film, made by the safdie brothers, was entered in. Home trending history get youtube premium get youtube tv best of youtube music sports gaming movies tv shows news live. The uploader has not made this video available in your country. Aratons visit to cooke and his family in virginia is, in turn, featured in the movie. Lenny cooke, subject of the film lenny cooke poses at the tribeca film festival 20 portrait studio on april 20, 20 in new york city. Hs hoops legend lenny cooke discusses career, mistakes. With lenny cooke, tom konchalski, lebron james, carmelo anthony. In this quintessentially american documentary, filmmaking brothers joshua and benny safdie track the unfulfilled destiny of a man for whom superstardom was.
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