MCA’s Guide To The NBA Draft

Longtime Knick fan Adam Yauch has a well-known basketball jones, but what the hell does he know about this year’s NBA Draft? Well, two years ago he spent significant time studying the play of four likely ’08 lottery picks for a documentary he produced and directed called Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot, which hits select theaters this week. Gunnin’ follows eight high school players as they prepare for the first annual Elite 24 All-Star game, a one-of-a-kind match-up featuring 24 of the country’s top high school players, regardless of class, region, or shoe sponsorship. With four of those players—Jerryd Bayless (Arizona), Michael Beasley (Kansas State), Donte Green (Syracuse), Kevin Love (UCLA)—set to be early picks in next Thursday’s draft, Complex got with Yauch for the inside scoop.

Interview By Jack Erwin

Complex: First off, tell us a little about how you came to make Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot.

Adam Yauch: A friend of mine was organizing this all-star game up in Harlem at the Rucker and he was asking me for advice on how to document the game. I started throwing off different ideas about doing profiles on the different players before the game, kind of leading up to it. The more I was throwing out ideas, the more it seemed like it would make a really cool documentary. And then I sort of offered to shoot it and put it together.

C: What was different about that particular game?

Adam Yauch: A few things, I think. One of the main things that interested me about it was that it was up in Harlem, at the Rucker, and it was outdoors at this playground with all this history, whereas McDonald’s [high school all-star] games are held in an arena. And I think it was also interesting that it was all classes. Most of these all-star games are just seniors or just one class, so the fact that it was all high school classes, was cool. And there was no sneaker affiliation tied to it. Because usually kids are divided—like if you’re a Nike kid, then you just play with other Nike kids. So it was a pretty unique game. It was the top high school players regardless of their affiliation and age, playing up at the Rucker.

C: And four of the guys you covered look like they’ll be top 10 picks in this year’s draft.

Adam Yauch: Yeah, Donte Green, Kevin Love, Jerryd Bayless, and Michael Beasley have all made themselves eligible this year.

C: So let’s break down each of their games. Start with Bayless.

Adam Yauch: Jerryd’s an amazing point guard—at least I’m guessing he’s looking to be a point guard. He’s really fast and incredibly powerful. The way he moves the ball—his speed and agility is crazy. He’s definitely an intense player.

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