"Jump Shot" Shines Light On Pioneer

"Jump Shot" Shines Light On Pioneer

"Jump Shot" Shines Light On Pioneer

Imagine, if you can, a basketball coach telling Warriors superstar Steph Curry that he shouldn’t shoot a 3-pointer. 

That it’s too weird and too funky. 

That it’s not how the game should be played.

Ridiculous, right?

Now, imagine playing college basketball during the 1940s for The University of Wyoming, at a time when the game was grounded and performed at a ponderous pace – a time when everyone looking to score from distance did so with a lame-looking, two-handed set shot.

But, no, you’re Kenny Sailors – a kid from the sticks who has the audacity to go against the grain and toss up the ball one-handed while actually rising into the air.

The first question you might ask is:

 Why didn’t everyone shoot the ball that way (as they do now)?

And your next question would be: Who’s Kenny Sailors?

It tells the forgotten, 

and inspiring, 

story of the humble man who developed, pioneered, and popularized what we now know as the modern-day jump shot – and then went on to live a pretty darn good, well-rounded life.

 Also appearing, among others, are Curry, Kevin Durant, Nancy Lieberman, Lou Carnesecca, Clark Kellogg, and Dirk Nowitzki.

Sailors apparently began developing his unorthodox shot as a kid while playing one-on-one with his big brother. 

He needed some way, after all, to get the ball over his much taller rival. 

When he started scoring with it, he recalls, his brother was

 “spooked.”

He went on to become a fan favorite as he led the Wyoming Cowboys to the 1943 national championship in a stunning upset over Georgetown at Madison Square Garden. 

But after serving his country as a Marine in World War II and playing in an unstable, emerging league now known as the NBA, where his jump shot was often discouraged, Sailors disappeared into the Alaskan wilderness and were forgotten by the sport he helped pioneer.

Now, nearly 60 years later, the many people he touched along the way are celebrating his life in a film lovingly crafted by director Jacob Hamilton.

 Sailors were not only NBA pioneers, but coaches, high school teachers, champions for female athletes, Alaskan homesteaders, a father, husbands, and men of faith.

 He died at the age of 95 in 2016 when some supporters were valiantly trying – and thus far failing – to get him inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

“He stuck the flag in the ground,” 

says Durant, who was interviewed extensively while still a member of the Warriors. 

“I can’t thank him enough for that.”

It seems fitting that Curry, the man considered to be basketball’s greatest shooter, would be drawn to Sailor’s story. 

In promotional material for the film, Curry says, “Ever since I picked up a basketball, the jump shot was second nature to me.  

“He was a selfless, special person that had the right perspective about life. The film not only explores his impact on the game but his calling and all the different places that took him, whether it was serving in the military, or There are so many people like myself that don’t know Kenny Sailors, and I’m proud to help share his story with the world.”

The film originally was to have a theatrical release during the Final Four earlier this month, but the coronavirus pandemic squashed that plan.

 Instead, it’s now having a special digital release April 16-18 at JumpShotMovie.

Com and is available for $7.99, with 10% of the revenue going toward COVID-19 relief efforts.

If you’re missing basketball during the coronavirus lockdown – and even if you’re not – “Jump Shot” makes for an excellent viewing experience.