Coach's story goes to movies

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jan 8, 2004 | by Steve Herendeen, STAFF WRITER

HE BURST onto the scene in a big way in 1999 by locking his undefeated Richmond High boys basketball team out of the gym for failing to achieve the grade-point averages the players had contractually agreed to before the season began.

The compelling story -- about an urban coach who insisted his players strive for more than the bare minimum grades required to compete -- went national and thrust Ken Carter into a spotlight he has yet to relinquish.

Wednesday was the fifth anniversary of that famed lockout of a 13- 0 team. It was also the day the word came down that Paramount Pictures will begin filming "Old School: The Ken Carter Story" on Jan.16.

Actor Samuel L. Jackson will portray Carter in the film, which is due in theaters later this year. Rob Brown, one of the stars in the acclaimed movie "Finding Forrester," will play one of the main athletes in the film, with singer Ashanti playing his girlfriend.

"This is huge ... you kind of have to pinch yourself," said Carter, 44, who will play a minor role in the movie as an opposing coach. Carter's son, Damien -- the captain of that 1999 team -- along with the rest of the

players and the elder Carter's seven sisters, will also be in the movie.

"This is going to be a real positive thing," Carter went on. "It will put a message out there that millions can see."

The script was written by Mark Schwahn and will be produced by MTV Films and Tollin/Robbins Productions. Mike Tollin and Brian Robbins have produced several sports movies, including "Varsity Blues" and "Hardball."

Thomas Carter, a former actor who played Haywood in the 1978-80 television series "White Shadow," will direct. His film credits include "Call to Glory" and "Metro."

Ken Carter met Tollin and Robbins during the filming of "Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream."

"I had received hundreds of calls (regarding a possible movie) and was overwhelmed at first," Carter said. "But of all the people I talked to, those guys made me feel the most comfortable."

And they seemed interested in relating Carter's views on hard work leading to success.

"When I read an article about coach Carter, I thought, 'Wow. What a great story and a great guy,'" Robbins told Hollywood Insider.

"We tracked him down and were amazed with all that he had accomplished. This isn't a movie about sports, it's a movie about people."

A Richmond High graduate who runs two businesses and still lives in the city, Carter has dedicated himself to improving area schools and pushing students to strive for greater success.

A demonstrative sort, Carter once pushed a scooter by foot for three days to the state Capitol in Sacramento to bring the deterioration of California schools to light. He ran through Richmond with the Olympic Torch in 2002.

He stepped down as Richmond High's coach in 2000 and went on to write two self-help books for high school students ("101 Ways to Earn a Higher GPA" and "Positive Self-Image 101"). He also just finished a book/CD package on 500 years of African-American history.

A motivational speaker and a tireless worker with troubled youth in Northern and Southern California, Carter has been honored as the NAACP's Impact Citizen of the Year and earned the California Heroes in Education Award. His efforts have brought him into contact with celebrities ranging from the Rev. Jesse Jackson and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown to singer Gladys Knight and MTV's Downtown Julie Brown.

But the lockout ... that started it all.

None of the 45 players on his varsity, junior varsity and freshman teams was below the district minimum 2.0 GPA at the time of Carter's lockout.

However, all had signed contracts to attain a 2.3 grade-point average that year, and 15 players (spread over the three teams) were below that goal.

When Carter checked grades over the Christmas break and found the laggers, he shut down all basketball-related activities. He canceled practices, rallies and threatened to forfeit the team's league opener if the players didn't immediately get their grades up.

Carter said he got "about4,000 pieces of mail" from across the nation regarding the lockout. Most of it was positive, but not all. The team was off to its best start in school history, and there were those who wanted the ban lifted, but Carter stood firm.

"We raised the bar ... raised the standard," he insisted back then. "Wherever the bar is set, kids will do the minimum to reach it. We've set the bar high and they will accomplish it because they have the ability to do it.

"It's called character."

Carter's determination even drew then-Gov. Gray Davis to Richmond for the team's comeback game following the lockout.

Carter's plan worked to perfection.

His son Damien, a tremendous student anyway, earned an academic scholarship to West Point but will attend Occidental this year. Wayne Oliver, a troubled student, rebounded and went on to Cameron University in Oklahoma. Flashy Chris Dixon is at Humboldt State, Chris Gibson is at the University of New Orleans, Courtney Anderson attends San Jose State, and Marvin Miranda is at Cal.