Twenty years after Lebron James, Dru Joyce III, Sian Cotton, and Willie McGee graduated high school from St. Vincent St. Mary, a highly anticipated documentary, “Shooting Stars”, released on Peacock about their high school careers. The movie shows how the “Fab 4” adjusts to their new high school.
Released on June 2, 2023, the new documentary follows these four friends in the inner city of Akron, Ohio, and how they follow their hoop dreams. Not only does it focus on the relationship between the friends but it also focuses on their peers, other friends and their families.
As the movie starts, it shows the four friends playing basketball together at around 10 years old on a team called the “Shooting Stars,” shown is a young Lebron James getting a lot of impressive shots up and his 3 friends getting some points with him.
The movie then skips to the four friends visiting what they think is going to be their new high school called Buchtel, but the coach says that Dru Joyce isn’t big enough to play varsity basketball. Dru then convinces his friends to visit a catholic high school called St. Vincent St. Mary, who just got a new coach who used to coach college basketball. They all go to catholic high school, and none of them get in the first game, that is until the second game Willie McGee gets in first and plays well. In the next game the coach lets all of the new freshmen play together and they play very well all together and get the team a win. Coach then lets them all play together along with the senior captain, and they lead the team to a very good season.
Their sophomore year they got a basketball transfer, and they became friends. The five sophomores led the team to only one loss and they won the state championship. They were ranked the number one high school team in the nation led by the sensation Lebron James. During the season, the team goes to a party where it shows Lebron meet Savannah who cheers for the rival school, but he quickly makes her his girlfriend. After the season it is revealed that their coach has taken a new opportunity to restart his college coaching career, and leaves without telling the players which makes them very mad. They then play the state playoffs without their head coach and have assistant coach Dru Joyce II, Dru Joyce III dad, take over as head coach.
In their junior year, they keep all of the same people, but have to adapt to a new coach. The five juniors end up losing only 1 game again and remain as a top five high school team in the nation. They have a few closer games such as when they play against another top 5 team in the nation, who have the number one recruit, Carmelo Anthony on their team. They end up winning back to back Ohio state basketball championships.
In their fourth and final year they entered the season still ranked in the top five in the country, with the now number one ranked Lebron James. They start the season strong with a lot of games, winning some close and some by much more. They end the season undefeated, including a win against their rival and Lebron’s girlfriend’s school, Buchtel, by a very close margain. It then comes up that a fan gave Lebron a jersey outside of a fast food restaurant, which breaks the rule in Ohio for “bribing” players. Lebron was then suspended for the rest of the season because of this “bribe” and the team was stripped of their win over Buchtel, giving them their first and only loss of the year. The team then makes it all the way to the state championship, and Lebron decides that he should appeal the ruling of the suspension and meets with the athletic board of Ohio. He tells them that he doesn’t care about playing in the state championship, but rather that he wants to play this game with his lifelong friends, and that this is his last opportunity ever to play with them. The board determines that Lebron can play in the final game, and the team cruises to a victory and three-peats the state championship for Ohio.
At the end of the movie it shows the “Fab 4” and the new addition to the group, all walking the stage together to graduate. It then highlights each friend individually and what they went on to do after high school. Most of them went on to play college basketball at Akron University, and then become coaches and do other things in the basketball industry. It then highlights Lebron James and lists all of his accomplishments that he has achieved over the years and mentions that he is the greatest player of all time and still going. The “Fab 4” has stayed close over the years and are still very good friends even 20 years after graduating.
