Did Wooden fall to Basketball Man curse?

The death yesterday of inspirational college basketball coach John Wooden at 99 is only the latest tragedy to befall stars of the documentary film Basketball Man, and has increased whispers that the acclaimed documentary film from our pals at Frozen Pictures is cursed.


Wooden's death at 99 follows the untimely demise of Chicago Bulls and broadcasting legend Norm Van Lier, who was found dead in his apartment on February 29, 2009 (fellow Bulls broadcaster and former Bulls head coach Johnny "Red" Kerr died later that same day), at 62.


Legendary Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach died on October 28, 2006, months before the film's DVD release in 2007. He was 89.


In December 2006, Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony was suspended for 15 games for sucker-punching an opponent at Madison Square Garden. He was arrested for drunk driving in April 2008, and is having his upcoming nuptials broadcast on VH1.


A week ago, Steve Nash lost out on his chance to appear in the NBA championships finals when his Phoenix Suns were defeated by the Los Angeles Lakers, two games away from the fulfillment of his dream.

The film about the birth of the game of basketball and the incredible life of its inventor, Dr. James Naismith, was also cursed behind the scenes. A cameraman committed suicide. Star and producer Ian Naismith had a stroke. andReneé DiGiulio, president of the Naismith International Basketball Foundation, Ian Naismith's wife and a prime mover in the development of the film, died of cancer in February 2007, as wrangles among its executive producers led to promotion being ceased before its release and the project left to wither, despite acclaim from the Kansas City Star ("wonderful, great"), CBS Sportsline ("definitive"), Parade ("a slam dunk") and the New York Times ("remarkable").

The film also features Rick Barry, Jerry Colangelo, Bob Cousy, Kirk Hinrich, Michael Jordan, Sam Lacey, Steve Nash, Norm Nixon, Tayshaun Prince, Gator Rivers, Oscar Robertson, Bud Stallworth (who also lost his wife to cancer in 2007), David Stern and Pat Summitt, among others. (If you have information that any of them have been touched by the curse, please contact us here.)


Basketball Man is available in a deluxe, two-DVD set at Amazon.com.

Red Auerbach went to his grave hating Phil Jackson

Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson stands alone with ten NBA championship rings. The late Red Auerbach of the Boston Celtics had reigned for years with nine. Weeks before Red's death in 2006, our pals at Frozen Pictures conducted his last interview for their acclaimed documentary feature, Basketball Man.

Our pals tell us that Red agreed to do the interview on the condition that Jackson not be included in the film.

Melo's arrest keeps Basketball Man in spotlight!

Carmelo Anthony, the rich young man arrested for suspicion of drunk driving on Interstate 25 in Colorado in the early hours of the morning, is not only a superstar forward for the Denver Nuggets of the NBA-- he's also a star of Basketball Man, the critically-acclaimed ("Great"-- The Kansas City Star) documentary film from our pals at Frozen Pictures.

Just last week, we mentioned that two other stars of the film had made front page news: Bill Self, who coached the University of Kansas Jayhawks to an NCAA title Monday, and Pat Head Summitt, coach of the women's division champs, the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers, were prime sales tools for a two-DVD set that's slipped under the radar!

And now, with Melo in the tabloids, Basketball Man, a movie about the sport's original ideas of clean living and fair play, is more relevant than ever since its release last Spring.

(See a trailer for Basketball Man at the right of this page!)

NCAA champs make Basketball Man a slam dunk

Thanks to March Madness and the finales to the NCAA basketball championship series, this must be a banner week for Double Dog Productions, the guys who paid our pals at Frozen Pictures to produce Basketball Man, the monumental nonfiction film about the game’s founder Dr. James Naismith, his crusading grandson Ian and the state of the game today.

Both Bill Self, who coached the University of Kansas Jayhawks to an NCAA title Monday, and Pat Head Summitt, coach of the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers, who took the women's title last night, are featured in the documentary.

Along with Michael Jordan, Carmelo Anthony, Steve Nash, Oscar Robinson, Bob Cousy, John Wooden, and in his final interview, Red Aeurbach. Among others.

If they’d pulled up a car at the arena, slapped a sticker on the DVDs and sold them out of the trunk, the Dogs’d be rich today! Let’s hope they did, because after receiving phenomenal reviews upon its release last year, the promotion and the movie dropped from sight(see "What ever happened to Basketball Man?")