The greatest Northern Kentucky high school sports story ever told is headed to the big screen.

"Rebound: A Basketball Story," is scheduled to premiere Monday at Newport on the Levee. The documentary, which recounts Simon Kenton's 1981 boys' basketball state title just months after fatal gasoline explosions at the school, was produced by Covington-based Barking Fish Entertainment.

I got my hands on an advance copy of the 87-minute film last week. Without trying to ruin anything - it's not like people don't know how it ends - I'll let you in on some of the best parts.

Very little footage exists from the post-explosion scene at the school and from the state tournament. Terry Lukemire, the director, uses it well, though. There's some pretty dramatic stuff in there.

But the interviews are the backbone and strength of the film. The players have great stories and some pretty strong lines. (Exhibits A and B: Troy McKinley's contention that "the beginning of trash-talking was originated with Greg Ponzer" and coach Larry Miller's memory of a scuffle in the Ninth Region final that finished with Ponzer saying "Don't worry coach; it's not my blood.")

To me though, Dale McMillen steals the show. Instead of using a player's description of the final seconds of the state final win over Mason County, Lukemire superimposes game highlights on the big screen at Rupp Arena, then pipes in the former Northern Kentucky radio announcer's call. If you've never heard it, it's Goosebump City.

In his present-day interview, McMillen tells the audience, "I hope the next championship we do win - and we will win one - I hope their kids are like Simon Kenton's. They deserved it."

Nick Clooney serves as a quasi-narrator. Filmmakers shot him on the floor at Rupp Arena for an opening sequence. At the end, he wraps up the film by talking from the Rupp stands.

"That's quite a story," he says, "isn't it?"

You bet.

Source: http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20090315/COL12/903150408