Elite sport has millions of stories about kids who didn’t quite make it, but the bigger tragedy is the young adult who gets to the big leagues then throws it all away, because they can’t cope with the life that success brings. It is peculiarly upsetting to watch from afar as a rare talent is undone by a personality flaw that has nothing to do with the game itself: this lad can do the difficult bit and get the ball in the net, but he can’t withstand the pressure of the media’s gaze, or the disappointment of sometimes not being picked? Can’t someone please help him?
The reliable US documentary strand Untold has found numerous variations on this sad old story over the years, and it’s turned up a devastating one in Shooting Guards, which tracks the parallel lives of basketball pros Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton. The film starts with Crittenton emerging from a 10-year stint in prison.
