New documentary shows two NC players’ journeys to achieve their NBA dreams
A new, locally produced documentary anthology series premieres on Monday with a film spotlighting two North Carolina basketball players — one from Durham and the other from Charlotte — as they work to be drafted in the NBA.
The “Hoop Portraits” series, from director Taylor Sharp and his production partner, Holland Randolph Gallagher, both UNC-Chapel Hill graduates, starts with the short film “Two Ways to the League.” It follows Durham’s Josh Hall and Charlotte’s Ty-Shon Alexander during their pre-draft days, living as roommates in Charlotte and training with former UNC and NBA star Jeff McInnis.
The series premieres at 8 p.m. Monday on the NBA and G League Twitch channels, as well as the G-League YouTube and Facebook pages.
Sharp, a Morganton native, and Gallagher, originally from New Orleans, got the idea for the film after meeting Hall a few years ago during pick-up basketball games at the Durham YMCA. Hall was in high school and being recruited by college teams at the time. He committed to NC State and then withdrew his commitment and decided to try to go straight to the NBA instead.
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“When he decommitted to NC State and decided he was going to go straight to the pros, he was going to bet on himself, and that’s when it really clicked with me: that’s a pretty rare journey,” Sharp told The News & Observer.
“He’s the first since (Durham’s) Tracy McGrady (in 1997) to go from a North Carolina high school to the pros, so I think that represents a sort of uncharted path ... and he’s not guaranteed to get picked in the NBA, so there’s this tension until the very end to see if his bet paid off.”
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the NBA draft process, so there was a long period when Hall couldn’t do the normal traveling to audition for scouts.
Leading up to the draft, Hall and Alexander, who played for three years at Creighton University, signed with the same agent and both ended up living and training together.
“We decided to make a film that had two main subjects, because they had two very different paths but the same goal,” said Sharp. “They represent two different routes to the NBA. They were both in some ways fighting for a coveted spot, yet helping each other everyday in training.
“Their stories — the fringe draft player who doesn’t know if their name is going to be called or not and doesn’t know if they’ll be in the NBA, the G League or overseas — I think those stories are less often told, and I thought that would be a compelling watch for sports fans,” Sharp said.
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Other ‘Hoop Portraits’ films to come
Sharp can’t say how many “Hoop Portraits” films are in the future, but he and Gallagher are already working on the second one. All Sharp can tell us right now is that the next film, which he also directs, has a North Carolina subject.
Together, Sharp and Gallagher run Blue Cup Productions, based in Durham. Gallagher has also directed an anthology series called “Rap Portraits,” which documents one meaningful day in an artist’s life.
How to watch ‘Two Ways to the League’
The NBA is hosting Monday’s live premiere, which will have an introduction from an NBA host and will be followed by a Q&A session with the filmmakers and both basketball players.
The film itself runs about 17 minutes, but with the intro and Q&A, the premiere event should last about 45 minutes, Sharp says.
You can catch it at 8 p.m. on the NBA Twitch channel, the NBA G League Twitch channel, the NBA G League YouTube channel and the NBA G League Facebook page. All of these platforms provide free access to the premiere.
If you miss it Monday, you should be able to find it archived on the G League platforms listed above.
