“The Town Game — Two Lives, Two Paths”

Spent some time last night watching The Town Game: Two Lives, Two Paths. The documentary debuts Monday night at 9 p.m., on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.If youre into any kind of hoops its something you probably want to check out. Its a great story about Oakland basketball and it cant be told without two important players.Demetrius Hook Mitchell and Leon Powe are the central figures in the piece, both of whom grew up playing basketball in Oakland. Mitchell has been in an out of prison a few times now and Powe was a member of the 2008 Boston Celtics championship team.RELATED: The story behind "The Town Game"
The backdrop is the Oakland basketball scene with interviews that involve Brian Shaw, Antonio Davis, Jason Kidd, Greg Foster and others.Mitchell was considered one of the greatest basketball talents to ever come out of Oaklandexcept he never ever really got out of Oakland. Over the course of his life he struggled to beat the streetsand is still trying.Powe overcame some overwhelming tragedy, too, somehow managing to maintain the singular focus of making it out of Oakland.That he did is an inspirational story, not just for Powe but for Oakland, too.Producer Matt Abrams talked to a ton of people in and around the Oakland basketball scene, and its a great touch to be able to hear from those who knew Mitchell and Powe personally.Every city has a basketball history, and Oaklands history is richer than mostsome might say more rich than any. The Town Game portrays much of that history, with Mitchell and Powe having very different stories to tell.