![]() ![]() In the middle of the summer, the campus is sleepy, and the gym is tucked just beyond the main road. He started the Kingdom Summer League in 2014, running games out of a local rec center, and then East High's gym, and then, when it grew, Ohio Dominican. He was all-state, went on to play at Idaho, and then overseas. Ohio Dominican University is the site of the Kingdom Summer league, kicking off its eighth year, helmed by Tihon Johnson, 40, who started his high school career at Centennial High before transferring to East High, just down the street from Ohio Dominican. It sounds weird, Weaver says in the film. There are other faint undertones: sometimes rubber, sometimes stale butter, heaving a thick cloud from the opening of a largely neglected popcorn machine. The way you can hear the echo of shoes squeaking, ricocheting off the walls, or rattling the metal of some lockers in a hallway, well before you even walk through a gym's doors. I went to witness the magic that takes place on long days in hot gyms, to be in the company of that hope, and to return to a place that felt childlike, almost.ĪT THE START OF THE 2016 DOCUMENTARY " Who is Estaban," there is a moment when Columbus basketball legend Estaban Weaver offers up a rapturous monologue on what propels his love of the game, down to the most granular details. In July and August this year, I went to Seattle for Jamal Crawford's CrawsOver Pro-Am, to the Drew League in Los Angeles, and to the Kingdom Summer League in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Guys who came home in the summer and played in summer leagues and tournaments that captivated young, aspiring players who hoped to one day do the same. People who starred in high school, and maybe played for a college team that you could watch on ESPN from time to time. A city with a rich basketball history propelled by local legends. I AM SOMEONE WHO GREW UP in a city without an NBA team. ![]()
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