From Juwanna Mann to Basketball Man!

We told you about the tremendous buzz surrounding the new sports documentary feature, Basketball Man. The buzz is only intensifying with word that a top comedian and movie star will star at the premiere party in Las Vegas.

We can tell you that Tommy Davidson will host the film preview September 27th at the House of Blues in the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino.

“Tommy Davidson is the man!” enthuses executive producer Keith Zimmerman of Double Dog Sports & Entertainment. “He’s a dynamite performer. And he knows the game. Basketball Man might be the best sports documentary ever made. Tommy will make it the best premiere Vegas has ever seen!”

You might remember that Davidson leapt to fame-- along with Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx and various Wayanses-- from the cast of TV’s In Living Color (we've always dug his Sammy Davis, Jr. impression). But the Basketball Man websites note a couple of impressive basketball connections. Davidson was the comic who came to the aid of Magic Johnson when the hoops legend was flailing with late night talk show. He was also a star of Juwanna Mann, the outrageous cross-dressing hoopsploitation comedy flick that has to be the Cloud 9 of hoops movies! (And you can quote us!)

Basketball Man is the first documentary to tell the story of the life and legacy of basketball’s inventor, Dr. James Naismith. Much of the story through his grandson, Ian, a tough-talking Texan who carries the original typed rules of the game in a golden attaché case.

The film, with its mix of archival footage, surprising revelations and a dramatic story line centered on Ian Naismith, has already led to Oscar whispers. Especially around here.

The doco features many basketball stars, including Steve Nash, Michael Jordan, Bob Cousy, Oscar Robertson, John Wooden, Red Auerbach and NBA commissioner David Stern.

Many of them will be at the premiere, which is a benefit for the Naismith International Basketball Foundation and other charities.

Basketball Man is a Double Dog Sports & Entertainment presentation of a Frozen Pictures production. It’s headed to a special DVD release after a planned brief theatrical run.