Local filmmaker Jake Fay launched a crowdfunding campaign Wednesday to produce a documentary on the life of former NBA player and current Lynn English basketball coach, Antonio Anderson.
Anderson conceived of the project, which he hopes will inspire others in the community.
“I hope that people, especially Lynn people, can use my story as motivation,” he said.
Anderson grew up in Lynn, played four years of Division 1 basketball at Memphis and had a brief stint in the NBA before his career was cut short by a rare eye condition and hearing loss.
Anderson later returned to Lynn where he now works in the Lynn community, both as the coach of Lynn English and with the No Ceilings program, which aims to help athletes academically.
This documentary is close to home for Fay, a Lynn native who also played Division 1 basketball for the University of Hartford and who, as a kid, looked up to Anderson.
“I knew of him since the fifth grade,” said Fay. “He was my inspiration to play D1.”
The two started working out together during Fay’s college career at University of Hartford, and now want to use this partnership to tell Anderson’s story.
They intend for the film to highlight Lynn and the influence the city had on shaping Anderson’s life.
“I want to make this film about community and learning from those around us,” said Fay.
Anderson discovered his passion for the game by playing ball in Lynn parks with his family and kids from the neighborhood.
“I credit anyone that I played against in the [Lynn] parks,” he said. “That built a lot of mental toughness for me. My career wouldn’t have been nothing if I didn’t go to these parks. I’m really appreciative of the people that helped me grow as an athlete.”
The documentary will feature interviews from big names including former NBA MVP Derrick Rose and Kentucky head coach John Calipari.
Anderson started alongside Rose during their 2008 run to the NCAA championship game, although Memphis had to vacate their victories because Rose was accused of having someone else take the SAT in his place.
Although the scandal won’t be covered in the documentary, Anderson spoke to the accusation, dismissing it as completely false.
“My boy took the test,” he said.
“I know that for a fact. People just looked at us like that because we were a mid-major school beating every blue blood school in the country. People just wanted to have it out for him.”
Since coming on at English, Anderson has led the Bulldogs to back-to-back titles. Earlier this year, they were crowned as co-champions with Springfield Central, because the finals game was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“No disrespect to the other team,” said Anderson. “At the end of the day, we had the better team. We had a great group of kids who were hungry.”
Fay, whose previous film “The Process,” won Best Feature Film at the Massachusetts Film Festival in September, wants to aim high in terms of distribution, and plans to shop the film to major sports networks along with the festival circuit.
He hopes to raise $45,000 to produce the film through the crowdfunding process.
The documentary will start filming in November. The crowdfunding page for the documentary is available on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/antonio-anderson-feature-length-documentary–4#/.
