Manchild: The Schea Cotton Story (2016) - full transcript

[JAZZ SONG PLAYING]

♪ Hello, dark skies

♪ Bonjour, low clouds

♪ I see you
But in a different way

♪ Angels, they disguise and

♪ Sunshine has closed her eyes

♪ Though I know

♪ They still are here

♪ And the truth is

♪ Sunshine never goes away

♪ The truth is
Dark clouds never, ever stay



♪ The truth is

♪ That I see things in
a different way

♪ That is why
he made it that way

♪ That is why
he made it that way

♪ That is why
he made it... ♪

Well, he had the term
"Manchild."

It was devised in order
describe to Schea Cotton.

COMMENTATOR: ...playoffs,
high lob for Schea. Oh!

MAN 1:
Growing up, Schea Cotton

was the ultimate ball player
at our age bracket.

MAN 2: When I first saw him
I was like,

"There's no way this dude"

"is the same age
as everybody else."

MAN 3:
Schea was the first superstar



that I remember watching
when I was young.

COMMENTATOR: Schea's animated.
Cotton's on the drive.

Pounded with a big slam.

MAN 4: Some of those
dunks he had as a 14-year old.

Because kids were
dunking back then,

but he was dunking.

[AUDIENCE CHEERING]

It was unfair.

You know, I felt like, "Oh,
that ain't fair. This ain't fair."

By far, Schea Cotton
is the best high-school athlete

that I've ever, ever seen.

COMMENTATOR: ...been on
all Monarchs so far. High lob.

If there was a high-school
hall of fame,

Schea Cotton would
definitely be in it.

COMMENTATOR: Cotton
punctuates with his signature slam.

All the kids that he was
playing with was around.

We were all trying to be
as big as Schea Cotton.

MAN 5: Schea Cotton
was like LeBron James

before there ever
was a LeBron James.

Google Schea Cotton, you'll see.

NARRATOR:
For a true competitor,

unrealistic expectations
do not exist.

Being great simply means
being the best,

with no litmus test
or comparative scale

by which to judge
your accomplishments.

It's sailing a sea
of uncharted waters,

defying the odds,
cementing your legend,

writing your story.

Where that story ends is not
always the choice of the author.

Where that story begins
isn't, either.

He was very daring,

and he was fearless,

and he kept me busy non-stop.

Schea was so active as a child,

but he was so competitive, too.

NARRATOR: Vernon Scheavalie
Cotton was raised in San Pedro

in the Los Angeles harbor area.

The youngest son of Big James
and Gaynelle Cotton,

Schea's birth marked
a transitional chapter

in the Cotton family's story,

and one that would ultimately
shape them for years to come.

First thing, we placed
James and Schea into baseball.

JAMES: Tee-ball at Peck Park.

Our parents put us in sports

to keep us active,
you know, out of trouble.

SCHEA: Started playing, um, I
think around nine, ten years old,

and I had a talent.

I was really good at it.

I enjoyed it. I was a
right-fielder, had an arm.

A little wild, so they
put me in the outfield.

Then it was time for them
to go to the next level

where it was live pitch,
and live pitch,

I was afraid the ball
was going to hit 'em.

So, that's how we got
introduced to basketball.

- ANNOUNCER: Schea Cotton.
- BOY: Schea Cotton!

NARRATOR: A natural athlete,

young Schea picked up
basketball quickly,

developing a hunger for the game

that transcended his
adolescent attention span.

Yeah, it went good.
He picked up basketball,

and it burned him out, see?
We needed something to...

with all of that energy,
to tame him down, so to speak.

So, basketball, running up and
down the court was really good

because by the time
practice was over,

he was ready to go to sleep.

LAWSON: I used to love when it
was time to go to my cousin's house

and, you know,
just playing there,

and you knew, like,
where you're on, this ain't...

play, like,
these dudes is for real.

He got the shorts on.
I got on this shit,

the things Mom threw on me.

You know what I mean?

They come out,
they had the shorts on,

they're making all the baskets.

Sports to my mother and father
was really important,

to get me
and my brother involved,

'cause they wanted to keep us
out of the streets.

At that time, growing up
in the late '80s, early '90s,

there was a lot
of family members and friends

that were very entrenched in
the city life and the street life,

whether it's gang-banging,
dope dealing,

and whatever methods
of making fast money.

NARRATOR: Schea's obsession
became a relief for Big James and Gaynelle,

who were determined
that the only statistics

that their two sons
would ever be associated with

would be the ones found
in the local sports page,

not the obituaries.

By the time I was eleven,
I started playing

with Slam-N-Jam
with Issy Washington,

which is what the guys
in the LA area were playing.

And I got a chance to see some of
the better talented kids in my age group.

GAYNELL: We played with
Issy, and then, from there,

we went to, uh, Pat Barrett.

He had a team that was...

...called PTI, Performance
Training Institute.

Pat Barrett was the coach.

Schea wasn't initially
on their team.

Schea had, like,
50 points against them.

When I first saw Schea play,

it was playing for Slam-N-Jam,

Issy Washington
in a local league out here,

and I thought he was a couple
of years older than they said.

And then we found out
that he was the right age.

The first thing we had to do
was get him to play with us.

[CHEERING]

NARRATOR: It would be the
first time in Schea Cotton's life

that he would be recruited
for his talent.

It would certainly
not be the last.

So he talked us in.

"Well, you're gonna get
the best coaching,

you're gonna get the best
training", and everything.

Because he had wanted
the better trainers

in the country working with him.

Des Flood from
the shooting course,

We had him over here
in junior high school,

a college coach
teaching us shooting.

AD Firiquido was still around.

I loved him to death. He
coached at Carson High School.

He put us through
footwork drills.

Early on, Marv Marinovich,

he put us through so much tests

and things we would do so early,

people thought we were way older

'cause of the way
we started developing.

Working out with Marv
Marinovich was cutting-edge.

He had a lot of
Eastern European, uh,

methods of training.

He was like a weird scientist
or something like that.

You know, you're coming
into the lab

and you're gonna conjure up

some kind of recipe
for the day, something new.

I analyze the body,
find the weak links,

and then fix them
chronologically.

My system actually enhances
the athlete's play.

All right. Good.

Now, quickly, fire it up.

All the way down.
There you go.

I just wanted to be
the best that I could,

so, when I would train
with Marv,

I just soaked everything up,

and I did exactly
what he told me.

People told him what to eat,
told him when to work out,

what as good for him, what
wasn't at such a young age,

and combine that
with his natural ability,

you created a phenomenon,

especially a guy who loved
basketball as he did.

Something that people
were just in awe to see.

He had it all.

He had the strength
and conditioning coach,

he was lifting weights.
The dude was like, you know,

he was a physical specimen
in the sixth, seventh grade.

At night time, we would do
donkey calf raises.

People say, "How do you
start jumping and all this?"

The secret was,
he'd get on my back,

and I'd do, like,
a hundred calf raises,

and I'd hop on his back,
and he had to lift my weight.

He'd do a hundred calf raises.

And what happens is, your calves
become so strong, you just start flying.

NARRATOR: Already six-foot
and just twelve years old,

Schea Cotton's physical gifts
became the stuff of legend

throughout Los Angeles
schools and gymnasiums.

Tales of a basketball
Frankenstein spread like wildfire.

JASON COLLINS: You hear
stories about, "Man, there's this kid,

his parents have him doing,
like, you know,

like, 500 push-ups,

and, you know,
a thousand sit-ups.

You're gonna be like,

"There's no way
that kid is 12 years old."

JARRON: And this
is at 12 years old.

JASON: This is at 12 years old,
and you're like,

"Man, who brought
the high school kid"

"to the 12-year-old
basketball game?"

DAVIS: When I first saw him,
I was like,

"There's no way that this dude"

"is the same age
as everybody else."

I said the same thing
that every other parent says.

I was like, "There's no way
that this kid is",

"you know, the same age as me."

"I know damn well.
Look how small I am."

He was just so much bigger,

and he just had game.

He had a game,

like, a pro game,
at an early age.

I remember going
to a Slam-N-Jam game

when he played for Slam-N-Jam

and watching him.

He'd go from this
happy-go-lucky kid...

Like, that's what I knew.

I didn't know it'd get
serious at jump ball.

And if you were
to assemble a dream team,

a dream team of the best 14
and under players in the country,

perhaps at the top
of the list would be a kid

by the name of Schea Cotton.

He is a 6'4",

14-year-old seventh grader
out of Los Angeles.

This is Schea in action
last night.

This kid is like
a man among boys.

I just think to myself,
"If these kids only knew"

"what these games were like
when he played."

When he was here,
everyone would leave

whatever game
they were watching,

whatever basket
they were watching,

they'd see Schea Cotton
on the floor

and they'd flock
around his court.

He had that ability
to make you step your game up

when the college coaches came,

I got a chance
to see John Thompson,

Jim Boeheim, Lute Olson.

Coaches all over the country
were drooling and so forth.

You know, "We need
to get Schea Cotton."

So, at that point,
everything got crazy.

So we tried to keep
his head small

and not let it get
blown out of proportion.

GAYNELL: He achieved a
lot of success at 12 years old.

The good thing, he kept
his head on the ground

because of Big James and me.

Well, I look at it like,

it's not one-man team, you know,

it's five people
manning the court.

Have to play as a team.

We just benefited off him.

He was basically a traveling
rock star with a rock band.

When Schea was playing,
it was more word of mouth.

"Have you seen this kid?"

"I heard this kid
at 13-under nationals was..."

"This kid has the chance
to be a NBA."

I mean, that's what
people would say.

I mean, people in the NBA
were hearing about this kid.

And so, when he played,
it was packed,

because the only way
you could watch the kid

was coming to the gyms.

It was probably
one of the first plays

that I knew he was really
the real deal.

It was in a summer league game.

He up screened this kid,

caught the ball,
did a reverse pivot,

jab stepped
and went to the middle,

took one dribble,

went off of one leg
and tomahawked it.

The funnest thing was going to
Vegas for tournaments and stuff.

And, um, the gyms
would be packed.

I mean, 4,000-seat
high school gym, just packed.

COMMENTATOR: Gym filled up
for the defending national champions.

PTI out of Los Angeles,

and eighth-grade to be,
Schea Cotton.

This one, folks, wouldn't
count offensive goaltending,

but he would draw
some "ooh" s from the crowd

shooting from three-point range,

and can the kid play defense?

Look at him read the "D" here
and make the rejection.

And then, look at
the no-look pass here.

The bucket's missed, but
Cotton's there for the follow-up,

and of course, what's
a Schea Cotton highlight

without the alley-oop slam dunk?

27 points on the night.

PTI remains undefeated
with a 96-42 victory

over San Antonio.

From an early age,
I think it was more so

just the explosive
athletic prowess he had.

And I think it created
an aura of excitement

that we have not seen
for a long time.

Growing up, Schea Cotton was

the ultimate ball player
at our age bracket.

You know, 12, 13, 14 years old.

It's like, I wanted
to check birth certificates

'cause he had the strength
of an 18, 19-year-old,

he had the athleticism,
he had jab steps.

He was left-handed,
he could shoot to three.

And he was the ultimate
baller at that age.

CHENOWITH: When I was
a kid, playing with Schea,

just the mention of the word
"Schea Cotton,"

it was like a mystical figure.

He was so much better,

so much dominant
than anybody else.

It wasn't even really fair.

PAUL PIERCE: Probably have
to go back as far as sixth grade.

That is my earliest memory
of Schea Cotton.

I just remember him being
a phenomenal athlete,

a fifth-grader who can dunk.

He was sort of
like my motivation.

It just pushed me,

and ultimately,
he became my rival.

He was pretty much,
at that time for me,

the only pro I had seen.

CHRIS RIVERS: If there was
social media covering Schea Cotton,

I think it could have broke
the internet at one point.

Some of the things he did,

some of those dunks
he had as a 14-year old.

Because kids were
dunking back then,

but he was dunking.

I would always play a division
up when I was coming up.

I was always the best player
in my division,

and so I'd play
a division or two up.

Schea would actually play,
like, four divisions up.

I think my brother played
a huge part in my development.

I'd play against him, and
he was bigger and stronger,

so he would manhandle me
early on,

and then I would grow,
get better and keep working.

And then we would even out
the one-on-one match-ups.

That's when we couldn't
play no more.

Because it got to be,
"I'm not gonna lose to you".

Falling and hitting,
and it turned to fights.

SCHEA: And my mother
wasn't really with that.

So she was like, "If ya'll
can't play without fighting",

"then you're not gonna
play at all."

So it just started
to become like,

"Okay, we're gonna
train together,"

"and we'll beat up
on everybody else."

NARRATOR: While Schea Cotton's
parents worked hard

to keep him from
growing up too fast

on the streets of Los Angeles,

their son's talent made him
grow up just as fast

on the city's basketball courts.

He spent day and night

developing a focus
far beyond his years.

There was no doubt
in Schea's mind

that the hard work
would pay off.

It had to.

Like I said, we were
chewing bubble gum, eating...

and Burger King and all that
before the game.

This guy was stretching
and doing all this stuff

to put on a show for these adults
that was coming to see him play.

So his childhood
was quickly compromised.

From 12 years old on up,

um, I was living in a fish bowl.

I didn't have any
personal life anymore,

or private life of my own.

So we practice all day
at school,

we come home, we eat,
and we'd be at the gym again.

Friday night, we go and shoot,
or do the stair climb

or do weights, something,
and just keep working.

We always would say, like,

while our friends were all
partying at Friday night parties,

we were in the YMCA
working out, getting better.

[WHISTLES]

First guy up. Everybody else
on the base line.

Right now,
what's gonna happen is,

this drill here is for agility,

lateral quickness.

So we're gonna start
at defensive stance.

Get ready. Go.

And when we get here,
it's like hot coals.

How quick do I need
to touch and be out?

Okay? Quickly.

Don't stand there too long.

And do not touch the octagon.
All right, ready?

JAMES: We went from having
LA Gear, the sponsor

to I think Reebok, Converse,

and then, Nike.
When Nike came, it was over.

So eighth grade,
they had a Nike contract.

As an AAU team, they only lost
two games in two years.

They won over 200 games.

MAN:
Nike was very excited.

They were happy.

They had the next Michel
Jordan on their hands, they felt.

And he was the next great one
that they wanted to back

and make a shoe for,

and get him in NBA,

and take care of, so to speak.

DAMANI NKOSHI:
First time I saw Schea play

was in Inglewood High.

He walked in the door,
sweatsuit on.

Nike sweatsuit,
everything tucked in, perfect.

With the shoes, the mess,
every little stripe with...

I don't even know.

I ain't trying to be on him or
nothing like that, I ain't tripping.

But it was a little bit...

We're just coming in
with maybe a hoodie,

you know, whatever.

So he just looked
all the way, you know,

just kept that way,
like he was ready to go.

I was basically a poster child.

I mean, I wore every sneaker
that they made

from all the top ball players

and the top athletes
that they had,

from Andre Agassi
to Michael Jordan.

I wore a brand-new pair
of sneakers every game.

He'd sit off to the side,

gets ready to play.

So he got a spank brand-new
pair of, you know, Nikes.

He's taken off the other
brand-new Nikes

to put on his game Nikes.

So I'm like, "Okay, hold on,
this is just..."

We were in high school,

so not only did we play
in the shoes

that we played in
over the weekend,

but the ones we walked in
were the ones we played in.

Schea had every sweatsuit
that came out.

Every pair of Jordans,

every shoe, every sock,

every... All the gear.

Schea had everything.

I think he had
a direct line to Nike,

and if he wanted some shoe,
he'd call, they'd ship it.

Fast forward,
we get on the court.

And they said,
"You're not jumping ball."

"You got the off-guard."

So, I'm like,
"Okay, this is... All right."

So I'm just peeping
all this out.

Maybe the first or second play of the game,

he'd do this little move,
top of the key.

My homeboy...
I forgot who was on him,

but he dug in, got low...

It looked good.

The way he dug in,

but he just hit him with the
cross. It went through the hole.

All I saw,

it was a swoosh under the shoe.

I've seen this... Yeah, so.

I mean, I ain't got no shame.

That was a long time ago,
so I can say that now.

I wouldn't have told
that story ten years ago.

Now it's cool, like, "All
right, I seen the swoosh."

Joining me now
is Gaynell Cotton,

the mother of this phenom
if you will.

What's it like to be
the mother of a kid

that seems to attract attention
wherever he goes?

Well, he's just an average kid.

We don't treat him any
differently at home, you know?

He still has chores
and everything to do,

but, um, it's great.

We really enjoy him.
Schea's a joy to be around

and it's a joy to be
on this team.

I'm sure.
It starts with the family.

I know you probably have
a lot to do with his success.

You can't help but think
to the future of high school

and college,
and, perhaps, the NBA.

What would that dream mean
to you, Schea and your family,

if he could make it in the show,
so to speak, by the year 2000?

Well, right nowwe're looking
at college tuitionbeing paid for,

and anything beyond that
is a blessing.

He's looking forward to
NBA first round draft pick.

I hope his dream comes true.

NARRATOR: As his
prep school legend

loomed as large
as his physical stature,

Schea took the Cotton family
work ethic with him

to the high school court.

SCHEA: Mater Dei is a
perennial powerhouse, so...

I mean, they're inUSA Today
top 25 every year,

you know, the stakes are
highand if you're not strong enough,

you'll feel the pressure
and it'll get to you.

But for me it was right on time.

You know, around that time
I was just out of high school.

So I remember hearing the name

and people talking about
this kid in high school

that was just ill with,
you know, with hoop.

To be honest with you, before
Schea Cotton came to Mater Dei,

I didn't really know who he was.

There was a little buzz
about this guy coming out

of St. John Bosco,
transferring in.

The first day of practice,
you could see by his size,

he was actually, you know,
bigger than the guys we had.

They were running drills.

I'll never forget it,
the first time down

Miles Simon at the time takes it
down, dribbles down on Schea.

He goes up for a layup, Schea
swats it right into the stands.

Schea comes down one-on-one
on Miles and dunks on him.

NARRATOR: The Mater Dei
Men's Basketball program

has gone on to become one of the
elite basketball programs in the country.

Mater Dei Head Coach
Gary McKnight

would also go on to become

the winningest high school basketball
coach in California state history

with over a thousand wins
to his credit.

It seemed to be the
perfect fit for the rising star.

GARY: He was
a very special player.

One time we were playing
in the state tournament

and we were running
our zone offence,

and Schea played
short corner at times.

And we threw him the ball
and he did a dunk,

where he literally sprung
straight up, no dribble,

and his head was even with
the rim. He just threw it through.

And on film, we're watching it,

and notice the two guys on the
end of the bench of Westchester,

both got up
and gave each other high-fives.

In my fortunate years
of 33 years here,

athletically, there was
nobody better than Schea.

Shared a lot of those dunks for him,
showed him how to do those things.

When I had Clay show 'em the
three and I got the nerf basket out

and I showed him on the door
how to do those things.

COMMENTATOR:
Schea's animated today.

Cotton on the drive.
Plowed it with a big slam!

At least ten boards
for Shawn today.

- Cotton with a great pass.
- COMMENTATOR 2: Great catch.

RANDY: My fondest memory
of Schea

playing on
the basketball court was...

"You know, I was guarding him,

"and I was always taught
with a right hander,

"to take his right hand away
and make him dribble left.

"Well, I didn't pay no
attention to Schea being left,

"so, I played, you know,"

"I took his right away
and made him go left."

Well, there was a guy
by the name of Rashamel Jones

that played for the University
of Connecticut, UConn.

He was on my team at Nike,

and Schea blew by me,
and I said, "Help!"

So Rashamel Jones
comes over to help me.

It was bad defense,
it was just bad,

but Schea alleviated and
dunked on Rashamel Jones,

and I was like, "Oh, man,
that's my man."

I mean, he flushed on it
pretty good.

Schea was like...

Like Charles Barkley

but with, like, guard sense,
you know what I'm saying?

Like early Charles Barkley,
when he was just a bully.

He boosts everybody's level.
You seen Schea,

you're like, "There is no way
that I'm going to the NBA."

That's from me,
probably Lamar, Elton,

Baron, everyone else
who was in his class.

How can you make it to the NBA

when the slot
is already taken up?

You knew Schea was going.

COMMENTATOR: Cotton inside
for the baseline slam! Unbelievable.

[ALL APPLAUDING]

- Everybody good?
- Yeah!

Schea came to the big game. He'd
show up and show out. He'd drop a 40.

Uh, I remember...

the Las Vegas Tournament,
when our team had,

uh, our older team,

I was playing on the
younger team at the time.

[LAUGHS] Baron, he was watching.

He was watching your big bro.

Let him know, you played
the game before. [LAUGHING]

Everybody was telling me, "Oh, Schea's flying
into Vegas, Schea's flying into Vegas."

This fool flew in to Vegas.

Got a call on the phone, my AAU
coach. This is high school now.

I'm in summer school.
"I need you."

My services were needed,
flight, plane ticket...

And they had their team together

with a lot of the top players and
I just remembered he didn't play

in most of the tournament, he just
flew in for the championship game,

and I just remember him
having, like, 30 at the half.

The hype of the game
was Kevin Garnett

and Schea Cotton.

And, man, them two dudes
was going at it,

but it was just one play

where Cotton was on the wing,

and he pump fakes a guy,
went baseline,

and he went like he was
going to dunk it on this side,

and just came all the way
up under the other side.

He first dunked on Garnett,

and just, like, shook the rim
and just swung off.

It was one of those games
where Schea just,

he told me, you know,
"Just give me the ball."

You know, just give me the ball.

I never even knew
he could shoot a three-pointer.

I was coming up court,
he was coming out the pick.

Gave him the ball, he hit, like,
six or seven threes in a row.

I believe it was seven.

Schea went baseline, man,
and that was it.

Once he go baseline, and
you don't cut that baseline off,

you better be prepared
for flight school.

Mr. Garnett proceeded
to try to contest one of

my baskets going to the rim,
and I dunked on him,

not once, not twice,

but three times in the game.

Different plays,
I can remember one.

I came on this side,
made a move,

left wing came down the lane...

And turned around
underneath the basket

and KG went up,

thought he was gonna
block the shot.

And Schea just... Oh!

If anybody could've had that
picture, it would be worth money today.

SCHEA: Kevin's in the middle,
the rim's here.

He thought he was gonna
block it. I showed it to him,

put it on my numbers.

Finished 180.

In traffic, with friction,
the crowd erupted.

Everybody in the front
was on the court.

And me and Baron Davis, we
were sitting right next to each other,

and the whole time we're
just nudging each other just like

this game is crazy, it
was sick, man. It was sick.

And at that point
after about six years,

that was the first time
that I ever

beat him in a championship game

as a youth, uh...

And I started playing
against him in sixth grade

and got my first win
against him in 11th grade.

Oh, man,
we live and direct, man,

doing this photoshoot with Slam
Magazine, shouts out to Slam.

SCOOP JACKSON: We started
Slam Magazine in 1994.

And I came in in issue three.

The first assignment...
The first assignment I got

was to cover
Nike basketball camp.

In Chicago, at Nike camp,

went to Chicago Bulls
training center, and was

again, Kevin Garnett,
but this time they had him

with Ron Mercer.

Same dunk. [CHUCKLES]

MOSS: You know, it was the
championship game of Nike,

so Nike had their whole team,

California had their own
team. It was 12 teams.

The number one seeded team
was, like, the team.

You know, it had Garnett,
Ron Mercer,

you know, it had all the
top guys in the country

on the number one seeded team.

So, they met up,
one and 12 met up.

You know, all the hype. I
was like, "Ooh, I gotta see this."

You know, so, uh...

They played, and when I tell you

and you know, I'm not exaggerating,
I'm not trying to blow smoke,

but Schea Cotton embarrassed
every guy on that team.

SCOOP:
The one cat that stood out

of everybody on that Cal squad

was Schea Cotton.
So I'm writing this story,

and all I'm doing is talking
about this cat, Schea Cotton.

And I'm like,
in my mind I'm like,

"I'm putting this dude
on the map."

Nobody knows about this dude. I
don't give a fuck what anybody says.

I discovered his ass.

I'm not blowing him up but
I'm letting everybody know

that even when it came time
for the dunk contest,

Vince Carter didn't get any

because Schea won the
dunk contest in the lay-up line.

Schea was doing dunks
that they were like...

Vince was like, "I'm not even
getting in the dunk contest

"'cause of what this kid here
is doing in the lay-up drill."

When I finally seen him play,
it was against Kobe Bryant

at the first NBA Top 100 Camp

in Princeton, New Jersey.

That was the place to be.
They went at it.

I'm talking about
Schea was coming,

power, dunking, mid-range,

left-handed, going hard.

Kobe was coming more of
a jump shooter at the time.

It was a war.

That day Schea got
the best of Kobe.

It was close, but I'm
gonna give Schea the nod.

And I'm from Philly
but I'm keeping it 100.

He was such an imposing player.

I mean, he was so massive,
he was so

LeBron-esque, Jordan-esque.

I mean, his body was...

How can this kid just be a kid?

Well, he had...
The term "Man-child"

was devised in order
to describe Schea Cotton.

When he had just finished
his freshman year in high school

he was probably 6'5", 220-225,

and just a powerful athlete.

They used to interview me. Who's my
favorite player? I would say, "My brother."

'Cause the things he did at a
young age, I never seen anybody do.

And I played against Michael
Jordan, my first game out the shoot,

guarded him and everything.

Just as big as they made him,
he lived up to it.

Every game,
where it was sold out,

he played against another
top big player in the country

and there's coaches and
everybody sitting on the floor.

He gonna show up, he gonna
come in there and dunk on ten people.

He gonna take off from the free
throw line near the end of the game,

he gonna do all the stuff
you expect him to do.

And that's the difference
between Schea Cotton

and a lot of the stars now.

He had the total package

and he showed up every night,
he never let you down.

DAIN ERVIN: Back when Schea came
up, and the people that spoke on Schea

were legitimate real people.

This wasn't no facade,

this wasn't no fake,
this wasn't no act.

I always say, along with
LeBron James currently,

there are very few athletes
in any sport

that actually lived up
to the hype that was them.

And Schea would be
one of those guys.

COMMENTATOR:
Cotton gets up in the air.

Just a freshman, Marcus,
all the confidence in the world.

NARRATOR: In a world before
social media hashtags and viral videos,

the buzz surrounding Schea Cotton
meant that his already broad shoulders

would have to get
that much broader.

Schea Cotton was like
LeBron before LeBron.

Schea Cotton, Felipe Lopez,
LeBron James

coming out of high school,

you put them all
in the same category.

Felipe probably should've
left out of high school,

Schea probably should've left after his
sophomore year and went to the NBA.

STEPHEN: He had
the body of a LeBron,

he was left-handed, with the
athleticism of Jordan and Harold Miner.

With the attitude of Metta
World Peace and Steve Jackson.

So, you add all that into one

and imagine what kind
of animal that is.

To me, he was LeBron
before LeBron.

I mean, he did things that,
you know, when you think of,

quite honestly, LeBron James.

Probably before LeBron James
people thought of Schea Cotton.

STEPHEN: Schea was a dog. Schea
seemed like he ate gunpowder before games.

Like we always say
if LeBron had that...

If there was a high school hall of fame,
Schea Cotton would definitely be in it.

You could make
a good argument for that.

He would be in the early
high school hall of fame,

the kids who were the best players
ever as freshmen or sophomores.

If there was a high school hall of
fame, Schea Cotton would be first ballot.

I don't if Schea would be,
you know, first ballot,

first, you know, the inaugural piece
to get in, I don't know about that.

He would definitely be in
the high school hall of fame.

First ballot in my book.

But I do say if we did create
a basketball hall of fame,

which is still something that can
be done, just in theory, you know,

he would, without question,
be in it.

If you see Halle Berry, would
you wanna have sex with her?

It's a no-brainer.

It's a no-brainer.
If not,

he should be first team, MVP
all high school hall of fame.

Because there would never be anybody
bigger than him in high school basketball.

And I say that by knowing it.

You know, from being older
than LeBron to seeing LeBron

and being able to witness
the Schea Cotton era,

it's not even close.
It's not even close.

He would definitely by
first team hall of fame.

From 12 to pretty much
17-years-old,

being one of the most
famous basketball players

in the state of California.

When Sports Illustrated
came in, it was like wow.

I mean, all the cameras,
the lights. I mean,

they had different cameras I'd
never seen before, you know.

Big money comes to the table,
you know it.

At that time, I think there was no-one
else that'd had something like that

as a young ninth-grader.

You know, this was when the rating star
really coming out for high school players.

There was a kid named
Estaban Weaver, too, out of Ohio.

And I remember when Schea
first played Estaban that summer

and he, like, destroyed him,

and Estaban was supposed to
have been the greatest thing ever.

This is the first time
he really started seeing,

playing kids
from different states,

and they get the hype from
back east. He killed him.

I was sitting in Hawaii,
uh, relaxing in Maui,

and I got a Sports Illustrated
and there's Schea.

And there's like
four pages on Schea.

Pretty proud to be sitting there and being
able to read about one of my own players.

Siwas like the national
bar, so to speak.

You knew if you got there,
you arrived.

There wasn't that instant
access to high school players.

So, a guy being in Sports
Illustrated, I mean, a national magazine

that was about
as big as it gets.

But if you open up
aSports Illustrated,

and you see the dude from right
down the street in here in Los Angeles,

dunking on somebody and then
talking about the path that he's on,

There was no ESPN the magazine
back then. Sports Illustratedwas it.

Yeah. So it was actually
very impressive.

Sports Illustrated,
I like that magazine.

The only thing
I dislike about it is

what happens with the exposure.

And because of the exposure

at that time in our life,
in Schea's life

he was too young.

The Sports Illustratedthing,
I think,

to be honest, was a
negative, was bad because

then it was like,
where do you go from there?

You know, there's so many times

guys get over-exposed,
you know, they say,

okay, he can run, he can shoot,
he can pass, he can dribble.

And then, what else
do you need to prove?

So, I think once that point,
you hit the pinnacle

and then people just
started picking at him

and finding
what's negative about him.

After that,
that changed his entire life.

And us, too.

NARRATOR: For the first time
in Schea's life

his legend loomed larger
than his size.

Despite the pressure,
Schea was unmoved,

channeling his focus
on the court even further,

blocking out everything
in life that didn't fit

between the baselines.

Once he got between
the lines on the court,

that was his domain right there.

Whether he was 6'6 " or 5'11"

you just didn't wanna get
into a physical, you know,

match with him.

I mean,
everyone was scared of him.

MAN: Guards were too small,
seven-footers were too weak.

He'd do whatever
he wanted on the court.

He was a man against boys.

Actually, he was... [CHUCKLES]
He wasn't even a man.

He was an immortal
against humans.

He was almost... I mean, you
know, it might sound like a lot

but he was almost God-like for
him to be that young and that good.

NARRATOR: No matter
the size of the stage,

Cotton seemed to rise above it.

MIKE WOLF: Nogales Mater Dei
was a night game,

and Schea I think had 20 points
in the first quarter,

uh, and for the play that

you just never forget was, um,

he caught
an offensive board in traffic

right under the hoop.

Stood, kind of paused
for a moment,

which as a coach
you sort of watch and wonder

what's he gonna do next?

They had a guy
who was seven feet tall.

And he was standing right
there in the middle of the paint

with about three or four
other guys.

And off two feet with, you know,
not a whole lot of effort, it looked like,

Schea jumps up with two hands
and smashes the ball

on everybody, off Verton.

The whole crowd
just sort of stopped, like...

"What did we just see?"

IAN POWERS: First time I heard
about Schea was in...

'94, I believe, it was. I was going
to my junior year of high school.

Long story short,

my sister and I are 11 years
apart. We have different fathers.

Well, her father's son
played with

Schea at Mater Dei.
A guy named Kevin Augustine.

COMMENTATOR: Kevin Augustine into the game,
high lob for Cotton for the slam dunk!

Schea Cotton
off the beautiful pass.

My brother-in-law went over
to go check him out.

He actually called me
on the phone, he said,

"Man, I just saw this dude named
Schea Cotton. You ever heard of him?"

I said, "Yeah,
I've heard of him."

He said, "Man, what you doing
to work on your game?"

'Cause this dude is the truth,
basically is what he was telling me.

His sophomore year, Mater
Dei versus Fremont High School.

It was my first time that
I finally see Schea Cotton.

I've been hearing
a lot about him.

Right there, you know, it seemed like he
was going to be a legend in the making.

POWERS: He, uh, in
the state championship game

uh, Fremont
started out in the zone.

And Coach McKnight had Schea
running the baseline of the zone.

He scored the first nine points of
the game. He had three threes...

to start the game off.

When he came down on a break,

on the left side of the floor,

and crossed the guy over
from left to right,

got to the middle lane,

and finger-rolled with his
left hand, and got an And1.

That pretty much set the
tone for the rest of the night.

NARRATOR: No longer a myth,

Cotton had become the man.

With the ball in his hands,
and the world at his feet,

he seemed to be standing
on stable ground.

That would quickly change.

GAYNELL: Uh, the earthquake.

We had an earthquake
here in Northridge.

And we worked for ourselves.

We were able to move
all these places

because we worked for ourselves.

And so, had not, we wouldn't
have been able to do it.

And we rented.

So wasn't like we had
to sell something, right? So,

we couldn't get any of the work

because we didn't work
in LA County.

So we had to move to LA County.

We thought about post office
boxbut that wasn't gonna work.

So we physically
had to move to LA County

because at that time
you work with a lottery.

And so,
your number go in the hat,

and when your number come
around, then you get work.

So we needed to work.

So we moved back
and he went to Bosco.

SCHEA: For my junior year,

transferred to St. John Bosco
High School where I started.

It was a real good transition.

Um, got back in the LA area.

Just... It was a new Schea.
So I was refreshed,

rejuvenated,
new team, new system.

Wanted to just go in
and really play well

and make a name for ourselves

and put the school on the map
as far as nationally.

Which I did.

We were ranked the USA Today
Top 25.

NARRATOR: Feeling like
he had more to prove,

Schea elevated his focus
on the court once again.

MAN: We in Los Angeles, man.

People do not understand.

They see all the glitz, the
glamor, the Magic Johnson style.

But this is where it all starts.
Right here on the block.

- Yeah.
- Break it down, man.

Most definitely. I mean, most
of your playground players,

and your NBA players come
out to the playgrounds, you know.

You got to start somewhere
like me.

I started playing on the playground
with the big boys, you know.

You learn to take a beating here

and you gonna think back on the
program, you know what I'm saying?

- That's the way it's supposed to be.
- Right there.

MAN: What's your next move
once you get through to high school?

My next move is to just, uh...

I'm trying to take care
of my entrance exam, the SAT,

and just go from there. I mean,
whatever happens happens.

I can't really call it
right now'cause it's tight.

But my main goal is to get
as good as I can while I can.

You know what I'm saying?

Because you only have
the opportunity one time.

Well, the summer
of my junior year,

played in the Long Beach NIT.

National Invitational Tournamentlssy
Washington used to run.

So it was like a big time game.

And I played well.

I believe I had, like, 38 points
at the end of the third quarter.

We had another quarter to go.

I was on my way to 60.

You know,
60-point game for sure.

I felt really good.

I felt like
they had no answer for me.

It was at the Gold Mine,
Long Beach State.

The old gym. Hot box.

And he went up for a rebound.

He was doing good. He was
playing against Lamar Odom's team

and Shabaz and Khalid El Amin.

And me and Karim and Shabaz
got tangled up on a rebound.

I tried to grab the ball
out of his hand with one arm.

And uh...

Somehow my arm
got intertwined with his

and I pulled back
with the basketball

and he pulled forward.

My shoulder snapped
like a drumstick.

I dislocated...

My shoulder had to
have reconstruction.

Had a labral tear.

And that changed the course
of my career, from that point.

NARRATOR: For the first time,

the immortal man-child
was suddenly mortal.

Not only would he sit out injured
for his senior year of high school,

the allegations came,

adding insult to injury.

GAYNELL: They knew that
we didn't do anything wrong

with his car and the tires.

They send you through
all of this enormity for what?

We worked for ourselves.

So we were able to support
our family

and buy things for our kids

because we worked for ourselves.

And they started investigating
everything about this.

The car, which is ridiculous.

The car he was driving,

uh, was a hand-me-down from me.

The stereo from my old car went
into his new Ford Explorer he got.

I bought the Explorer.

I don't need nobody to buy
anything for my kids.

Not then and not ever.

They came to us for information,

NCAA did,

about other people's kids.

My kids don't snitch.

That's one thing that they
learned growing up at a young age.

I don't care what goes on in the
street, you leave it in the street.

And Big James told them.

"If you want to know about
James' shit, this is where you come."

"Anybody else,
there's the door."

The point I really want to talk about
in terms of NCAA rules and findings...

Schea Cotton
was never found guilty

to have taken money

or been
routed to a particular school.

I think Schea...

Schea's family,
in particular Mrs. Cotton,

allowed her son to choose the
school that he wanted to go to

based upon what they believed
the best opportunity was

to be educated
and play at the next level.

TRIGONIS:
They had a tight-knit family.

Mother Gaynell was terrific.

Very unique
and engaging personality.

Father James,
famous for his cowboy hat,

cowboy belt buckle,
no nonsense...

You know...

Videotaping every game.

You know, taking a smoking
breakoutside at half-time.

They were a slice of Americana.

TROUPE: Without a
doubt, genuine people,

salt of the earth,

honest communicators,
look you in the eye...

You know,
Mr. Cotton was a quiet soul,

strong man of few words.

Mrs. Cotton was, you know,
a jovial, outspoken, strong,

African American woman.

Similar to my mother
so I connected with her.

So I remember, you know, like it
was yesterday, meeting Mrs. Cotton,

and she said, "Well, baby,
we don't have anything to hide.

"Come on down
whenever you like."

I like to cook, and people wouldcome
over to the house after games and I'd cook.

And I'd cook and nobody'd
bring nothing but I'd cook

and they'd sit at the table

and Big James
would eat and go to bed,

but I'd stay up and talk.

My mom, you come in the
house, she'd welcome you

like you were a family member.

She never met a stranger.

TROUPE: I mean, we ate red beans
and rice and all those Southern dishes.

And so, over time, even though I
had to ask them tough questions,

they always took it
in the spirit of my job.

They never
attacked me personally,

which is rare.

Most often the families that I dealt
withwere critical of me or the NCAA.

And they just treated me like a
person and a man that had a job to do.

And like I explained to him,
we not taking anything.

And they said to me,
"These boys, they work.

"They're gonna be taught
the value of a work ethic.

"We're not taking handouts.
We don't need handouts."

"We're gonna earn our way
through this life."

[HIP-HOP MUSIC PLAYING]

Being recruited, it probably all
started around seventh, eighth grade.

Started receiving
letters and stuff.

I mean, big schools.
Syracuse, UCLA, USC,

Georgia Tech.
All the bigger name schools.

I used to get excited about that

because I would watch them coach
on the sidelines watching these games,

and then see them sitting
there watching me play.

It was like, "Wow."

Back in the mid '90s,
early '90s,

I was an assistant coach
at the University of Kansas.

We recruited California heavily.

Jacque Vaughn
from Muir High School.

Paul Pierce
from Inglewood High School.

And the next guy we wanted
was Schea Cotton.

SCHEA:
I had an early commitment,

and I chose
to go to Long Beach State

strictly to play
with my brother.

You know, we always
wanted to play together,

never had a chance
in high school.

And the goal was for me
and him to play a year together

and play well enough to
blow the lid off the Pyramid,

and get as much
exposure as we can

and go as far as we can
in the Conference Tournament.

And then on into
the NCAA tournament.

And put our name in the hat,
you know, and both go to the NBA.

JAMES:
I had a really good year.

I started here and toward the end of
the season I might go from 16 to 30.

Mid first round
to late first round.

Work's slow at home, Dad's sick,

so we had a meeting.
I said, "Brother, you know",

"I might have to go."

When he decided to go hardship,

I really thought
about my decision.

It really felt that
I wanted to go elsewhere.

And that's when I wrote a letterand
asked to be released from my commitment.

The school released him.

But one of the coaches
wanted stipulations.

He told it to me.

And I told him
that release is unconditional.

And the stipulation was that
he can go anywhere but UCLA.

Now, I'm telling you this but I
haven't said this to nobody else.

But, I mean,
this is the end of the line.

So...

Because my husband
might not make it, but...

That's what happened.

So Big James said

he can go anywhere he feel like
going, they gonna release him.

So they did.

Overnight the steering
committee released Schea

with no conditions
meaning he can go anywhere.

So he could go anywhere
he wanted to go that next year.

And that's when he went
to summer school at UCLA.

[ROCK SONG PLAYING]

BARON: That was...
That was a crazy summer, man.

'Cause it was like...

When Schea said he was
coming to UCLA, that was like...

That was bigger news
than my news

and I was, you know, Gatorade
Player of the Year and whatnot.

I had finally arrived
to where I was supposed to be.

But when Schea came, it
was like, oh, man, we for sure.

We were ecstatic, man,
because we had such a...

During that time, we had the number
onerecruiting class in the country.

And I think with them, we had
a chance to win a championship.

Also never seen
a guy work so hard.

He was a professional.
You could see

he was gonna be one of the top
players in the NBA in the future.

So he was still,
like, setting the bar.

And every summer,
we'd go to summer class,

and then in the afternoon,
all the pros came to the gym.

Magics, Penny Hardaways,

Hakeem Olajuwon at the time.

Eddie Jones.

Schea was going house
on all of those.

He was out there killing. Game of seven,
he may, you know, he may score four.

Jab. One. Two.

Good. One more. Opposite.
Good work. Good work.

Get your money.
Eat your breakfast.

Jab. One. Two. Your shot.

Yeah. Looking good, baby.
You getting better today.

Go straight up, sell it.

Nice.

You got it.

Yeah.

Uh-huh. I'll take that.

JAMES: I'm flying to Seattle.

I land to start training camp.

My mom calls me and tells
methey invalidated his test score.

He can't go to school
the next day to UCLA.

Couldn't believe it.
The day before school starts.

It was uh...

She told me.
I remember she said,

"I don't know
how I'm going to tell him this"

"but I just got word they
invalidated his test score."

And the headline was,

"NCAA invalidates
Cotton's SAT score."

And it was like
a shot to my heart.

I felt so small.

We had just finished up,

we were waiting to get my
gradesfrom my last class from FSP,

and the bottom fell out.

And I'll never forget
the first day of school.

We look around, it's like,
"Yo, where's Schea?"

"It's time to go to class.
Where's Schea?"

"Where's Schea at?
Where's Schea?"

"Schea's ineligible."
I was like, "What?"

You know, for us,
it wasn't losing that ranking,

and for me it wasn't losing a
teammate, it was also losing a friend.

You know, finally when he felt
like he had a home or some comfort,

some brotherhood with
some dudes he could rock with,

they cut his wings.

JAMES: He tested for testing anxiety.
So if there's a test, he gets nervous,

so they gave him
extra time to take it.

Once that was recognized that
I had a learning curve situation,

it made a lot of sense to me because I
thought I was different for the longest time.

Not knowing that I had issueswith
tests when they were timed.

We can do anything we want
till it comes to a test.

He would just freeze.
I mean, I could go to the DMV,

and I'd know
every question in the book,

but when I get ready to take that
written test, I freeze up, you know.

But you put me behind the wheel
of a diesel,

I'd run you raggedy
from here to New York.

And back again.

ALESIA WESLEY: One of the more
common accommodations

is the amount of time
that a person takes the test.

And providing a person that is experiencing
testing anxiety with additional time,

you would imagine how that decreases
the amount of stress that they experience.

So it allows them
to be more relaxed,

it allows them to process
what they need to process,

and subsequently be more successful
in whatever they are attempting to do.

He took the SAT with bold print
and more time.

And at that time, it was the
ETS testing center and the NCAA.

Well, the testing center agreed
for him to take the test like this.

And he had a counsellor that sat
with him and administered this test.

I'm the onethat proctored him in that test.

And it was a one-on-one.

He had it on a...
It wasn't a timed test.

He was documented to have
a needfrom other sources,

testing services, with the SAT.

The manner in which the test was
taken was okay for Long Beach State.

But it wasn't okay for UCLA.

But when James
didn't go to school there,

when he signed out
to go on the draft,

and Schea said he was going
somewhere else, the problem started.

That's it.

Who did it? I don't know.

Who had more to gain?
Long Beach.

I'm not crazy.

Is it somebody from my school
that did something to start all this?

It just seemed like it to me.

And I love my school, you know.
But it just didn't seem right.

Something didn't
seem right to me.

Yeah, that was hard. I mean,
that was hard for me to deal with.

Because in the back
of my head, it was like,

"Well, if I would have never went
pro, we wouldn't have this problem."

And that's what was challenged.

The manner in which
he took the test.

Well, it wasn't us.

It should have been challenged
with the ETS center.

But the NCAA instead
went after us.

UCLA was ready to fight.

They really were.
I'm telling you.

They had attorneys everywhere
that was ready to fight.

But the NCAA, they would
spend a fortune to hurt one kid.

That's the worst organization
in the world.

And they make
millions off of kids.

For what?
To destroy their lives.

NARRATOR: Devastated by the
news of Schea's invalidated test scores,

the Cotton family was reeling,

struggling to make sense
of the situation.

Where should he go?

What should he do next?

The family
began weighing their options

and searching for the next move to
keep Schea's basketball dreams on track.

What we had to do? We had
to get him out of California.

[HIP-HOP MUSIC PLAYING]

Schea Cotton should be playing
power forward for the UCLA Bruins.

But he's not.

He's back in high school
for another year.

We travel to Connecticut
to find out why.

SCHEA: At that time, I was
just starting to get frustrated.

You know, I didn't understand
why people were picking on me.

All I wanted to do was play.
I didn't do anything wrong.

What is this all about?

And I started
reviewing my options

and realized that if I went to any other
college, that my eligibility would start.

So I did some research
on some prep schools,

and took a trip back east to a
prep school in the tri-state area,

St. Thomas More in Connecticut.

JERE QUINN: I remember when Schea arrived,

with his mom and dad,

and I did the interview
and they were instantly sold.

They seemed to love our school.

SCHEA: It was really
cold in the wintertime.

And it was just
books and basketball.

So there I honed my skills
in my downtime

'cause I was, like, upset.

I felt like I earned the rightto
be playing Division One ball.

You know, the biggest thing
ishe had a hard time understanding

why is this happening to him.

All he wanted to do

was really play basketball with
his brother at Long Beach State.

And his real dream
was probably to play for UCLA.

That's really
where he wanted to go.

I just remember
on one of the laundry breaks,

we put laundry clothes
from the washer to the dryer,

he just really broke down,
ad he just started to cry.

You know, you got to realize,
when kids are going to prep school,

kids are being there because
they put themselves there.

Whether they had bad grades,

whether they had, um...

You know, whether their
behaviorwasn't up to par.

But Schea was there
not because of those reasons.

I wanted to make some noise. In
my head I didn't care where I was at.

I wanted to
make my presence felt

and I wanted people to know
that I could play.

You can bottle me up all you
want but it's gonna come out.

During the prep experience
at St. Thomas More,

and then laterally
into Long Beach City,

when the NC State
opportunity fell through,

I did a lot of soul-searching.
It was tough, man.

I mean, I had days where I
barely wanted to get out of bed.

I had to really challenge myself

and think about where I
wanted to go with my life.

And there were times
I didn't want to be here.

I was empty inside.
I had nobody to relate to.

I had to come back home and
show my face where I made my name.

Where they started calling me
the man-child.

And I felt embarrassed.

I felt so many
different emotions mixed up

and nobody had the answers.

And there came a time when
I wanted to take my life.

You know, I could remember
I was in

my father's pickup truck going somewhere,
I can't remember where at the time

and I called my girlfriend

and told her.
I said, "Now is the time"

"for me to end it. I'm tired,"

"and I'm ready to go."

Of the fighting,
I'm tired of the fight.

And she responded and told me,

"Well, if you're gonna do it, come
pick me up, I wanna go with you."

And when she told me that...

something went off in my head.
I was like, "Wow, that's heavy,"

if I have that kind of impact...

to do something maybe
in a negative way,

I could imagine what I
could do if I put my mind

to doing something powerful,
something positive.

And that stopped me
from putting the trigger.

I had a .357 out cocked,
ready to go.

And I had it up to my head...

and when I thought about that,
it's like my life flashed in front of me,

and I saw my mother,
and I saw my family, and...

people crying, and...

I froze.

NARRATOR: The valley of the
Manchild's life had reached its lowest low,

but as Schea picked himself up yet again,

opportunity came knocking.

And Alabama came into the house,
Gottfried, and Coach Kelsey, and...

and told him he was gonna
be able to play, and

and that he was gonna be
on the wing, and...

and then all that
was a bunch of lies.

I was told that I need to play
the power forward position,

which ultimately really
hurt me in my guard.

My guard skills,

they were what people could see
when I used to showcase my ability.

COMMENTATOR: They tried
to take his game outside, I think,

to show the NBA scouts
what he can do and...

on the drive there
is Schea Cotton...

It changed my game, it changed
the look of me as a player,

and ultimately, it changed
the path of career.

I guess, in fairness to Gottfried,
looking back at the situation now,

I can say this. I'm pretty sure
nobody else is gonna say this, but

all the big guys,
two of them got hurt.

So, there was nobody to play
the forward spot.

My brother, strong, athletic.

You know,
he could play anywhere.

So, what he did was,
he sacrificed Schea,

to try to win games.

So, he put him in the post.

BOB GOTTLIEB: He had a solid
year at Alabama. He had 15 games,

but there were some
coach-player differences.

Christmas he came home, big James
was diagnosed with prostate cancer,

and that was the end of that.
He wasn't going back, but

what we didn't know was that
Gottfried took the scholarship.

NARRATOR: With his
college playing days over,

he only had one option.

So, I decided, then, to draft
for 99-2000

and hired an agent, and

went through a couple of workouts,
not many. Which was surprising.

Everybody else had about 15-20

and I did, I think about
two workout maybe.

Before the draft started, me
and brother went to get some...

some hot wings. Enroute,
I got a call from Orlando Magic

and they were
talking to me briefly

as well as the
Minnesota Timberwolves.

They both were expressing interest
that I'd be a mid/late first round pick.

And that they had picks, and
they were looking, really enquiring...

thinking of picking me up
if I was still available.

But they heard that I was
gonna be taken before them.

So, man, we're going back with the
wings. We're happy, we're like, yeah,

worst case scenario,
we know Minnesota.

So, I was excited. I felt like I'd
be a guaranteed first round lock

and that I would get my
name card at some point.

I remember sitting down in the living
room. It was all of us, and I remember

when 13 was called.

I remember him getting phone calls saying
he would go no later than 11, I think.

And then 13 was called.

I forget who called, but
anyway 13 went and that was it.

So, to sit there and watch the whole
draft, and my name never get called.

That was one of
the lowest points in my life.

You know, not getting drafted
after everything I put into the game.

Words couldn't express
the feeling.

GEOFF HOLLIDAY:
Then draft comes,

he doesn't even get picked up.

So, that was a blow to me,
and I'm not even Schea Cotton.

And...

I was like "wow."

How does a guy not make it
to the NBA after everyone

knows his talent?

GAYNELL: It wasn't meant to be.
He wasn't meant to be drafted.

He just had a talent,

and he can teach kids
what to do, and what not to do.

And hopefully, some of these
yoyo parents will understand

because if you take 'em,
you're pimpin' your kids,

and trust me, their lives will
never be the same. Never!

So, he never really got
drafted, and it's a crime.

It's an absolute crime

that he's not in the NBA.

He's by far the best young player, 6th grade
to 9th grade that I ever saw in my life.

Dick Vitale and a few other
people told him the same thing.

That money is gonna
always be there.

That's the biggest crock
that could have been told.

If the child got a chance to go

and one of them parents or
somebody they can trust can go with 'em,

they need to send 'em.

But otherwise, no.
Let him go to school,

or go to trade school, or do something,
so he can take care of himself.

'Cause this sport,
it destroys a lot of people.

A whole lot of people
is destroyed from basketball.

NARRATOR: With Draft Day
disappointment behind him,

a determined Schea used the experience as
fuel to get back on the basketball court.

The one place he could always
count on to be a sanctuary

and a safe haven
from life's tragedies.

This time however, tragedy
even followed him onto the court.

Playing in the summer leaguein the NBA, I
had an opportunityto play with Orlando Magic,

in the Long Beach Summer League.

It was a big opportunity
and I was excited about it.

I could remember the night
before I met Conrad McRae,

who I watched playing, growing up at
Syracuse... "McNasty" they called him.

We had dinner together
the night before.

Great guy, you know, just
a calm, cool collected guy

and we went through our first
day and it was our second session...

and we got through the
practice and we were almost done

and we were running some 17s, and I
was running right next to Conrad McRae.

I could remember we were on seven
or eight, and we touched the line, and

he stumbled,
and it just sounded like...

a bunch of weighs
just hitting the floor.

I mean, he's like 6'10,
the man's like 270,

probably somewhere in there,
265. I mean, he was solid,

and it was just like,
boom, boom, boom, boom.

And I looked, it was like...

like dead weight.
I mean, he wasn't even moving.

It shook me, I was just like

"Man, what's up with my man.
What's up with Conrad?"

And as they got medical attention
running over to help him because

he was just out,
like unconscious.

And at that point I said
something's wrong.

I mean, he was laying on his face.
They rolled him over on his back

and...

from my understanding,
never revived him.

Even though they didn't
pronounce him dead at the gym,

I knew he was dead
on that floor,

and that moved me
in a different way.

I learned a lot about life
at that point,

and I felt like I had a good
opportunity to make that team, but

it just seemed like, if I wasn't having
bad breaks, I wasn't having any.

NARRATOR: With the NBA
seemingly in doubt again,

Schea was left to weigh his options
and make yet another decision.

SCHEA: At that point,
I turned pro.

I wound up playing
10 years professionally.

I went right into Euro League when I
was undrafted. Played with a team in

Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Formerly
known, which is Serbia now.

Played for Vlade Divac's team, KK Partizan.

[COMMENTATOR SPEAKING
OTHER LANGUAGE]

And it was a great experience
playing in Eastern Europe.

Learnt the culture, the cuisine,

getting to know the people
walking in the center.

Just really engulfing myself
in the culture.

It was one of the better
growth experiences that I had.

Just didn't have the consistency
playing wise that I would have liked.

I mean, I played well, but
sometimes I didn't play for two games.

JAMES: If you don't know too
much about Eastern Europe,

'cause I played there
too after NBA,

the coaches are like old
school. Throwback coaches.

They like, tough, tough,
tough, tough, tough.

Talent, they don't care,
they just want tough.

So, if you're skilled,

they just want you to be
a tough, hard nose...

He was with a East European
Coach that was like a tyrant.

Evidently the coach didn't care
for the Americans, and

I was one of the first
to go into that country

to play under
those circumstances, and

my money was secure,
but my playing time wasn't.

So, it was difficult
from that aspect,

but it was a great experience
as far as worldview.

Other countries I played in
was France, Greece, Italy,

I played in China,

Venezuela, Dominican Republic.
Played all through CBA,

the USBA, NBDR, did all
the minor league circuits

in North America.

Globetrotters...
had all those experience, so

I felt like I've done a lot.
It was a real ride,

but my pro career was more of
a slap in the face than anything.

HOLLIDAY: Why didn't Schea
make it into the NBA?

Oh, man, I've tossed and turned
with this question my...

my whole life.

[SIGHS] Why didn't Scheamake
it? That's a good question,

man, I've actually pondered
that in my own mind

because like I said, when I
saw him play as a sophomore,

I would have bet
any money I would have earned

20 years down the line that
he was gonna be in the league.

He was just not gonna be in the league,
he was gonna be a superstar in the league.

Don't leave Mater Dei.

Stay in one school.

MAN: I don't know if it mattered if he
transferred high school, or didn't matter.

If he went to 12 schools, he was
gonna dominate wherever he went.

His coaches never really

enforced that he had to defend,

just like everybody else, the
line, the wings, the front, the post,

to help them recover... he could just
stand around block shorts, and rebound.

The world has a perception of
where you should be at that point,

and I think when he wasn't
exactly at that point

in their eyes, and he wasn'tjust
averaging 50 points a game.

'Cause that's the pace he was
on. He was on the pace where

his first year in college, he should have
been averaging 40-50 points a game.

MAN: His gap

was so wide as a Sophomore,
against anybody else in his class,

I think that it was only inevitable
that the gap is gonna close some way.

That's a complicated question,

and then, there's not
an easy answer for that.

Maybe his game
didn't translate as

effectively at
the highest level.

I know fo sho

it wasn't 'cause of talent.

If I look at what I know,
all the facts that I have,

and I know the circumstances, the environment
of collegiate professional sports.

I've been working here
for 20 years, so I know it.

I would say that
it was a combination between

outside influences

and Schea not being able to
play the position

that he was suited to play.

He got black balled,

he was ousted by whoever,
Long Beach or UCLA. I mean,

whichever one it is.

JAMES SR: Blame
belongs to one organization.

You know, so...

They know who they are,
we know who they are.

I'd say that...

the system failed him.

I think college ultimately
led to his demise

and not really ever, ever
achieving his dream.

MAN: He should have
went overseas.

There was no reason for Schea Cotton
to be playing high school basketball

when your skill level
is at professional level.

You know, whether you say
it was God's will,

or it was something that
Schea was missing,

the reality is, he's a
better person now for it.

And he's helping more kids,
and to me,

anybody that's about helping
the kids, I'm about them.

SCHEA: Let's do it. [CLAPS]
Game time.

This is gonna help
all your moves in the game.

Good. Eyes up.
There you go. Better.

Good job...

MOSS: I don't know what reason
he didn't make it to the NBA, but

I just wanted to be able to let
him know man, that he influenced

me to be able to choose my path

of not trying to
second guess myself.

If I wanted to go to college
and be a two sport athlete,

he helped that decision.

It was so much shit.

It was damn, how do y'all
pile all this on a kid?

The greatest misfortunes that
can befall any young athlete

is the cancer of early success,

and the recognition
of that success.

But, someone who was as
dominant as he was at an early age,

he would be led to believe

that he was at the peak
of his basketball career

and his basketball journey
would have only been beginning.

I was stripped of my... what I
thought was going to be my future.

A long term career in the NBA.

I came out with Kobe Bryant,
and guys of that nature.

I didn't get the breaks
Kobe got, consequently I'm here

telling my story, but none
the less, I feel like I'm blessed.

I can touch you guys and girls,

day in and day out.

[APPLAUSE]

You can't look at it as failure when
your story becomes more powerful

than it did
if your dream came true.

And I don't wanna get it
twisted. This is not, like I said

I believe this story lends itself
to damn-near everything in life.

So, it's not just basketball.

I want my kid to be able to sit
down and look at this man's story

and be able to learn from it.

Yeah, absolutely.
I think it helps all the kids.

Some of these kids
have real false hopes.

They all think they're division
one players, they're not.

A lot of them are division two. They're
gonna have a great time in college,

get a scholarship,
play division two basketball.

But they'll wanna try
to do so much,

and here's a guy, he did it all.

Oh, it's very important, because
he has a powerful message,

and our younger kids today need
to hear those type of messages.

We all aspire to be successful in
our chosen field if we work hard at it.

But sometimes with fate,
it doesn't happen.

Like, this guy was
the best of the best, so

because he was the best, there
was a process to becoming the best.

And Schea can speak to
that process,

what it really takes
to becomes the best,

and then he can speak to the
valley when you fall off the mountain.

When the bully socks you in the
mouth, what you're supposed to do,

and he's done that.

The bully in this case was
the institution of athletics

that socked him in the mouth...

in the gut and took him down
for a period of time.

I was a great player in high
school, I was good in college,

and a lot of people thought
I would end up playing

a lot of years in the NBA.
It didn't happen,

and again,
why doesn't it happen?

And you can tell a story,
and players will listen to that.

SCOOP: My calling though this game
of basketball wasn't necessarily about me

becoming the next so-and-so.

Me being the first Lebron James.

The fact that I was...

I could back in the day beat
Kobe, but I never became Kobe.

That wasn't my path.

My path was different,
my path was bigger.

HOLLIDAY: Life isn't
all about basketball.

But, you can learn
a lot about life

through basketball.

He almost needs to be a mainstay

to everyone in the country.

I mean, regardless of shoe
brand. I don't care if it's Nike,

I don't care if it's Under Armor,
Adidas. Anybody that does any event

with kids in America,

they need to
have him a part of it.

And the reason why I say this,

and it's not arrogance to him,
it's not bias on my part...

majority of the kids at those events
won't go through what he went through.

They won't be as good as he was.

To be in a position to
take a scholarship from UCLA

NC state, and eventually
still go to Alabama.

Some of 'em won't even do that.

But to keep them humbled
and bring it all back home

is to say, I had all that,
and I didn't make it.

This is now the time to use it.

Back then... I shouldn't even say
used, back then he was exploited.

Now, he's for everyone's use.

I don't wanna say
his story's more important,

than the life he lived
through basketball,

but I do believe that
his place in basketball

right now may be more important
than it would have been had he

fulfilled the dream that
we expected him to fill.

But one day, he'll get his due.

Yeah, one day.

JAMES SR: Someday...

there's gonna be another kid
that's gonna come along.

That's gonna be, not a
Schea Cotton, he'll be himself...

but he'll be equally as good

to come out of California.

And that will play pro-ball.

And I think that Schea will be
one to bring him.

That'll be poetic justice,

for the family and for Schea.

For him to be the guy
that brings the guy...

that goes all the way.

♪ I may fall

♪ But I get up and I
will learn and I will see

♪ Because I know
that I could be a better me

♪ If I get cut and let
it burn, and let it bleed

♪ Because I know definite...

♪ My head stay up,
never catch me looking down

♪ Eyes in the sky,
aimed at the clouds

♪ God staring at me,
he can see my fears

♪ It's getting hot, God,
cry, make it rain... come on!

♪ And let it hit me before
they touch the pavement

♪ Please let the world
understand my every statement

♪ I know they won't lie
expect the hatin'

♪ But they can never overshadow
this is like a perfect payday

♪ I'm Picasso
when I do my thang

♪ Toe the chopper when
I move in vain

♪ Fuck it, that's the
devil talking, I'm off cooking

♪ The man in the mirror
can only hold me back

♪ Let me free,
let me be all I can be

♪ Let me go further
than what I can see

♪ Come on before my
date with the reaper comes

♪ Fuck dreaming,
dreams is for sleepers, bra

♪ I stay up and Adam
you can't keep me down

♪ Forever standing tall,
feet planted in the ground

♪ You hear that?
That's the money callin'

♪ I was born broke,
but I'mma die ballin'

♪ I was born broke,
but I'mma die ballin'

♪ You hear that?
That's the money callin'

♪ I was born broke,
but I'mma die ballin'

♪ You hear that?
That's the money callin'

♪ The block made the nigga
what I is

♪ Concentrate on my good,
and not just on my sins

♪ Not just my losses
Praise my wins... ♪