Furman is a college, and they play basketball. Division One if you can believe it. The university is located in Greenville, South Carolina and goes by the name of the Paladins. So if you have to be told all this, there can’t really be much to see. But the sentiment is a failing of our society. The big time, championship or bust mentality denies that there are many stories to be told, and Richmond Weaver’s Better Together: Furman’s Championship Quest really makes the point.
So like the best sports stories, the 144 minute documentary begins in crushing fashion. In the Southern Conference 2022 finals versus Chattanooga, a ten point halftime lead had the Paladins 20 minutes away from the conference championship and their first NCAA tournament bid since 1980.
Not surprisingly, the top seed came back and five minutes of overtime would decide. As it turned out, the time frame was far shorter. A 40 foot, double teamed heave made the difference, and swish at the buzzer, the Furman drought ran to 42 consecutive years for our tragic heroes.
Of course, the fleeting euphoria gives way and the Paladins heartbreak becomes ours. Multiple beats missed, where do we go from here? Now, the story begins. A team can continue to succumb to the soul eradicating defeat or use the pain to catapult themselves to a level that even victory could not bring.
Overseeing the choice is the Furman Coach Bob Richey and the renewed journey starts with the film’s title. Better Together, the edict lays down the baseline and puts aside the notion that one play determines success or failure.
So before us, the documentary brings us in first through Richey. Leaving the fire and brimstone behind, his calm, confident resolve exudes cohesion, and showing a man who believes what he says, the players can’t help adapting his vision. A long view, the plan demands that mental toughness is built by going to the brink of physical exhaustion.
Stadiums, strong man pulls and suicides, Matt Alfred is the strength coach, and he ain’t playing. The fitness guru pushes and pushes, and while the players almost instinctively pushback, we see Furman’s collective mind and body built from the ground up.
Step one completed, the boys are ready for the season. Ups and downs, we’re along for the ride, and Coach Richey sets the tone. He’s the voice of reason in the pre/post game reflections. But no battle ever goes according to plan, and Richey is the prime mover. Real time bench footage, the tumultuous drama bursts through the screen, and we’re actually better off that the coach wasn’t running the stairs to the heights of staying cool.
Alongside, the Paladins convey the range of emotions too. Jalen Slawson is almost the team spokesman, and recounts like the leader he is. A quiet resolve, the point guard delivers as smoothly he finds the open man or gets to the rack for two.
On the other end, Mike Bothwell’s boisterous heart translates to star power in front of the mic. His smile, enthusiasm and sheer joy should leave him many options once his European playing days end, and we get to witness it here first.
Nonetheless, the story arc takes its natural progression in wins and losses, and the drama is expertly conveyed. The video clips bring us to court level in emotion inducing slow motion and exploding live action, while the voice-over retrospectives are seamlessly edited so we can catch our breath with context.
Rocking out or actually rapping up, we musically groove to the highs, but these men, the school and the community can’t lose. Thus, the whole paradigm reinforces how much better they are together and will always be.
Of course, it’s nice to win just the same, and we get down to the end. Swish, swish, rah, rah, the final game versus Virginia writes another perfect script. Down, out and up, the ending is a microcosm of the total 144. Proving beyond certainty that they are better together, the story of success is the same because size does not matter.
