More Than A Team | SVSM’s Romeo, Sian, Dru & Willie

words, interview & images_Zac Dubasik

Seven seasons into his NBA career, LeBron James’ name has almost become synonymous with the game of basketball. It seems strange to talk about someone that has accomplished so much so soon in terms of having great potential, but each season he seems to achieve even more acclaim and recognition, especially on an international level. It may very well be that the only one that knows the limits to that potential is LeBron himself, if there are any limits at all.

But the NBA wasn’t the first place many of us heard the name LeBron James. Even before graduating high school, LeBron was getting national recognition for his playing days at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron. The team success he enjoyed there played a major role in his widespread exposure, making him a household name before he had even finished the 12th grade. Along with his friends and teammates Dru Joyce III, Romeo Travis, Sian Cotton and Willie McGee, LeBron helped lead the St. Vincent-St. Mary boy’s team to a national title his senior year. The bond and friendship developed between the five players is one that has lasted far beyond that championship season, though. They all still share a close and personal friendship that has endured all of the life changes they have come across since.

While LeBron’s career might be playing out on a slightly grander stage, he isn’t the only one enjoying post-high school success. There’s no doubt that those lessons learned and experiences shared by the teammates have played an important role in the people they have all become today. If you’ve had the opportunity to see More Than A Game, the documentary that chronicles their basketball journey, it becomes very obvious that the bond these five share is every bit as much a family bond as it is a team bond. I was able to sit down with Dru, Romeo, Sian and Willie inside of the St. Vincent-St. Mary gymnasium to talk about their current careers, filming the movie and what made their experience so special.

Zac Dubasik: Do you remember when they first started filming the footage that ended up being used in the movie?
Willie: I definitely remember it – him coming in and interacting with the team … being on the bus going to States and him filming.

Was it ever uncomfortable with him being around?
Sian: At the time, there were so many cameras around that he was just another camera. We didn’t really even notice him at first. Coach Dru introduced him, but I didn’t even know his name for a couple years. I was still calling him “Camera Man” for years to come. He was just another camera on the sidelines.
Dru: Once he started coming around more and more, we actually made him have to be comfortable with us. On the bus, we didn’t cut him any slack either. If he was going to be around with the camera, we were gonna throw jokes at him. He had to be ready to take them, or he would have to just sit back there and be mad. He meshed with us well, though, and I think that’s why our relationship grew to where it did.

Did you ever think at the time that in 2009 it would be a widespread release, with big trailers, a major ad campaign and a world tour to promote it?
Willie: Me personally, no, I never saw it. When he first brought it to us, I never saw the movie getting to this magnitude. I was probably naive to the fact, but where it is now, I never saw it initially.
Sian: I did. I saw it from the first day he showed it to me. Me and Will saw it together, and I said that to Will. But no one ever believes me, because I’m a dreamer anyway. I always think positive. But that’s how I felt about it.

What did you all think about how you came across in the movie? Do you think it was an accurate portrayal?
Romeo: The movie is overall accurate. I think it has a little bit extra in it in some parts, but mostly it’s 100 percent accurate.
Dru and Sian: [simultaneously] It’s 100 percent accurate.
Sian: It’s real film!
Dru: It’s us!
Romeo: But you can bend the film any kind of way.
Dru: It’s all what we were saying, it’s all our opinions about how you came.
Romeo: Some of it was juice.
Willie: I feel like it was pretty accurate. I could have got a little more face time [laughs all around], but besides that, I enjoyed it.
Dru: When they talk about Willie’s life, it’s not so much Willie describing his own life; you’ve got his brother, his mom, his sister and us telling you who this character is as a person. When it’s Rome, it’s not Rome telling us his own story; it’s us. Who’s going to be more accurate than us as friends and family? We are all going to be accurate. I think it’s 100 percent true.

Willie, you were originally from Chicago and came here when you were younger. Has Akron become home?
Willie: I would definitely say that Akron’s my home. I have embraced it and it’s embraced me. I’ve met lifelong friends here, and if I was to be asked where my family was, I would say it’s Akron now. It was a joy to come here. It gave me a lot of opportunities I didn’t have in Chicago, and it’s a good place for a family.

What do you think about all the special gear and kicks the kids at St. V get to wear now?
Sian: The kids at St. V now are so lucky. I wish we could have played in LeBrons! It’s a privilege to have that. We had to work for it.
Dru: They are expecting it now. When we came in, we were wearing jerseys from five or six years ago. Now, they get new jerseys every year from the seniors down to the freshmen.
Willie: They’re suited and booted.

Most people around Akron already know you guys, but do you think the movie will make you even more recognizable outside of the area?
Sian: I think so. I’m the type that likes to go back to my roots and be in the city.
Willie: I definitely think the movie is going to bring some recognition to all of us – more than we have here. I think it’s going to be very successful. I think people are going to get out to see it, and it’s going to have a positive effect.

Each and every year some team wins a high school national title. How special is it to have yours captured and immortalized on film like this for everyone to see?
Dru: I think it’s really special because the team who usually wins, Oak Hill Academy, those guys aren’t from the same city. They’re almost recruited in. There’re number one players from all across the country who come
and want to be a part of that school. The thing that’s special about us is that we are all from Akron. We are all from right here, and nobody lives outside the city limits. And we did it. That’s special. I don’t think too many teams do that. And to make it even more special, we grew up together from nine or 10 years old. We just carried it along with us.
Sian: We did it for the city.
Willie: It was difficult. There was nothing easy about it. There were a lot of obstacles that year, and we definitely earned it. All of the things we went through senior year, with ’Bron participating in all the games, then not the last two, then coming back. The things we went through as a team and individuals to push
through and win our senior year were real special to us. They can never take that from us.
Dru: It was special to us, so it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.

More Than A Game, directed by Kristopher Belman, is now available nationwide on DVD.

Also, be sure to check out Saint Vincent Saint Mary’s High School’s latest team exclusive from Nike Basketball, which is of course, as no surprise, a custom SVSM Green & Gold version of the Nike Air Max LeBron VII.

LINK: http://solecollector.com/live/all/svsm-nike-air-max-lebron-vii-pe/

Tags: dru joyce III, lebron james, more than a game, more than a team, romeo travis, saint vincent saint mary's, sian cotton, SVSM, willie mcghee

8 Responses to “More Than A Team | SVSM’s Romeo, Sian, Dru & Willie”

1. yungdrseuss says:

   February 16, 2010 at 5:04 am

   that was a great movie and nice story

   Reply
2. Nick Engvall says:

   February 16, 2010 at 5:54 pm

   Great story, I really liked the documentary. It was very well done.

   Reply
3. nickair75 says:

   February 16, 2010 at 7:09 pm

   I need to hunt down the DVD to get a better understanding of htese guys friendship!

   Reply
4. LE23RON says:

   February 16, 2010 at 8:10 pm

   Nice to see em together again,I’m actually still in contact with Willie… k

   Reply
5. sell nike says:

   March 5, 2010 at 11:20 pm

   Nice to see em together again

   Reply
6. jmac says:

   March 6, 2010 at 1:00 pm

   what about the other 7 players on SVSM??

   Reply
7. Uncle AtiT says:

   March 12, 2010 at 4:42 pm

   Only the strong and wealthy survive……………………………*

   Reply
8. Justin Jolly says:

   March 26, 2010 at 8:02 pm

   That was such a great movie!!! I love that movie and I watch it at least once a week. It just never gets old. I still talk to Sian and Willie.

   Reply