A documentary about the greatest basketball player ever to come out of Detroit is now available on DVD.
“Fouled Out: The Story of Curtis Jones” is the fascinating, heartbreaking and inspirational story about the best basketball player ever produced by the Motor City. A star at Detroit Northwestern in the late 1960s who became a playground legend in the 1970s, Curtis Jones’ future was destroyed for one reason: he couldn’t read.
The DVD is available at curtisjonesfilm.com. The cost is $25, which includes shipping.
“Fouled Out: The Story of Curtis Jones” was written and directed by Buddy Moorehouse, an Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker. Moorehouse is also the Vice President of Communications for the Michigan Association of Public School Academies (MAPSA), the state charter school association.
MAPSA produced the Curtis Jones documentary as part of the Curtis Jones Literacy Project, an effort to boost literacy among urban youth in the state.
“Curtis Jones could have been one of the greatest NBA players of all time, but he never even got a chance to play in the league,” Moorehouse said. “That’s because he never learned how to read. This documentary uses basketball as a way of reaching kids with the message that nothing is more important that learning how to read. It really is a fascinating and heartbreaking story.”
Moorehouse was able to interview some of the biggest basketball legends ever to come through Detroit – all of whom played against Curtis Jones, or watched him play at the famed St. Cecelia’s Gym in Detroit.
Among those interviewed in the film are Dave Bing (former Detroit mayor and NBA Hall of Famer with the Detroit Pistons), Spencer Haywood (NBA legend who played against Jones in high school) and Jalen Rose (Michigan Fab Fiver and current ESPN/ABC broadcaster).
For more on the Curtis Jones story and this documentary, see the Detroit News story here. You can also view the trailer below.
