Inside the basket from 'One Tree Hill' 23 years later

♪ I've been waiting for you ♪

The first sign that this was not a common event

Upon arrival at the International Airport in Wilmington, North Carolina, a car rental company attendant disappeared and asked: "Veio para o grande jogo?". O aviso veio na sequência: quem quisesse um assento decente precisava estar na fila às 7 da manhã. It wasn't an NCAA game, it was an NBA game era it was a commemorative game called Hey 23, which celebrated 23 years since the debut of One Tree Hill, a teen drama series that aired from 2003 to 2012 and was filmed right here in Wilnington.

Whoever landed on that day had practically the same destiny: couples, families and groups of friends of all ages, todos de preto, branco e azul-royal as cores dos Ravens, a fictitious Tree Hill team.

19 de setembro: almost 5.000 people in the Trask Coliseum

The game was played on September 19 at Trask Coliseum, the UNC Wilmington gymnasium, with about 5,000 fans in attendance.

The production transformed the gym into Tree Hill de verdade: foto do time na parede, bandeiras e produtos dos Ravens nas arquibancadas, um cartaz gigante de campanha fictícia "Dan Scott para prefeito", dançando mascot and uma torcida de voluntárias em uniformes oficiais dos Raves. O músico Tyler Hilton, who was played by Chris Keller, sang the North American anthem e quando "I Don't Want To Be" by Gavin DeGraw (2003), this is where our speakers were, o clima chegou ao nível do clássico do Tobacco Road, só que sem a hostilidade.

The game was part of a larger weekend of reunion, organized by the Friends with Benefit charity events: autograph sessions, meet-and-greets with the cast, a Hilton and Greenberg show and a fashion parade.

O elenco que sabia jugar bola de verdad (O list of those who knew how to play the ball of truth)

The series was underestimated as "teenage drama", or basketball within the faith always taken seriously. Paul Johansson, the villain Dan Scott, has no doubts about Lafferty: "James is a very good basketball player. He had an IQ of quadra alto, tipo Steve Nash o outros armadores. Era um líder".

Lafferty was cast in the role as a 17-year-old high school senior, fresh out of Hemet High School, California. The final test was literally a game against a producer at an executive's house. "I was trying to be educated, and he reminded me that it wasn't time for education I was playing for my job", recalled the actor. I'll have a basket for you.

In addition to Dan Scott, Johansson played in the E League (Entertainment League) of Los Angeles with a roster that included names such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Nick Cassavetes and Kevin Connolly. That you want no your time, but hate to face".

Robbie Jones, or Quentin Fields, played at the University of California (Cal) from 1996 to 2000, then in the American Basketball Association and abroad in France, Argentina and Mexico. His most memorable game was against UCLA: "Eu e o time do Russ Westbrook contra o Kobe Bryant. O Russ ainda estava na faculdade, os dois queríamos marcar o Kobe e claro que ele ficou com a marcação".

Ficção e realidade: o basquete como fio condutor (Fiction and reality: the wheelchair as a child driver)

The series always mixed stars and athletes: Tree Hill was home to such names as Rick Fox, Tony Gonzalez, Jerry Rice, Emeka Okafor, Metta Sandiford-Artest (then Ron Artest) and Jeff Burton. Lafferty, an avid fan of the Los Angeles Lakers, adored watching Fox play villain Daunte Jones: "I saw Rick Fox win in that iconic time. Acting with him was a dream come true".

It may seem arbitrary to commemorate 23 years instead of the traditional 20 or 25. For those who have followed Nathan Scott's trajectory - from winning a state championship in high school to being drafted by Duke, passing through scandal-ridden playoffs and national titles at Maryland, leaning into columns on the eve of the NBA Draft and returning to the D-League before becoming head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats - every number makes sense. As volunteer cheerleader Cassie Danforth summed it up:

Where are we ? The Wilmington gathering will conclude a phase of event with a consolidated and growing community 23 23 years after its debut, the series follows unindo basketball, nostalgia e ação social, as a arrecadação directed to causas como o St. Jude.