'Better Together: Furman's Championship Quest' Review - A Compelling Basketball Docuseries

Basketball is one of those mainstream sports that I never managed to master. Well, there are quite a few sports that I couldn’t get into for numerous reasons, but yeah, basketball was something that I really wanted to get into because I really liked the jerseys and shoes. I think there was some kind of a school-wide push to motivate every student to try every kind of sport. And as someone who had grown up watching Space Jam, I was excited to see if I was any good at it, but as soon as I had to dribble, I fumbled the ball, quite literally. That was so embarrassing that I gave up on basketball as a whole. It wasn’t until 2023 that I watched another basketball film, which was Chang Can Dunk, and I really liked it. A year after that, I came across a documentary called The Waiting Game, which actually made me hate the NBA a lot; you will too once you watch it. And now that I have watched Better Together: Furman’s Championship Quest, I have come to the realization that even though the sport has evolved so much, there’s always an underdog story out there that will be relatable to you.

Richmond Weaver’s Better Together: Furman’s Championship Quest tells the story of the Furman Paladins and their quest to win the Southern Conference Tournament Championship under coach Bob Richey. The Southern Conference was established in the 1920s, and the Furman men’s basketball team managed to secure wins in 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1978, and 1980. After that, the team’s dry spell began. They came really close to bringing an end to this drought in 2022, but a last-minute shot shattered that dream. And during one of the team meetings before the start of the next season, Richey said something that was really important: it wasn’t that final shot that cost them the game; it was everything that led up to that final shot. That allows the team to focus on ensuring that the gap in points between them and their opponent is so significant that they don’t have to worry about a swing for the fences at the eleventh hour sealing their fate. Even if you know the final result of the 2023 SoCon tournament, it’s the journey to that summit and the resilience displayed by the team that keeps you glued to your seats.

I’m going to be honest; the first thing that always crosses my mind while watching a documentary about the underdogs is how did the crew behind the project know that they’d win? Those who write fictional movies or shows about sports teams with the worst track record know whether or not they ended up succeeding in their endeavor. Usually, the general public is unaware of the existence of such teams, thereby allowing the writer to fill the screenplay with tons of near-loss or near-win scenarios in order to keep viewers on the edge. But when it comes to documentaries and docuseries, is it a massive gamble based on their previous performance? I mean, did Weaver and his crew greenlight the project thinking that, well, if they came this close to winning this time, they’ll surely get it in the bag next time? I don’t know, and, for me, that’s the most insane part of this whole process. If you told me to follow the Furman Paladins for a whole year in the hopes that they’d win after a dry spell of four goddamn decades, I couldn’t have done it. Maybe Weaver has the ability to sense things that mere mortals like us can’t.

I am sure that basketball fans will watch Better Together: Furman’s Championship Quest regardless of what I say about it, and I am certain that they’ll enjoy it as well. But I also recommend those who aren’t fans of basketball, or haven’t even seen a basketball in their whole life, to give the docuseries a try, because it’s quite engaging. You might have this idea in your head that documentaries and docuseries are boring because they don’t have any drama, conflict, tension, or any of that stuff that you get through scripted forms of entertainment. Let me tell you that you are dead wrong. There’s plenty of drama between the players, the coaches, and the teams playing in this tournament. Their interactions, their pep talks, and the way they strategize are probably better than anything a writer can come up with. Because a writer will always try to make things understandable for the general audience. These guys don’t have the luxury of doing that, and something about that no-nonsense nature makes all that basketball jargon comprehensible after a while. Also, it’ll change the way you perceive sports, period, because the type of injuries that these guys sustain become reminders of how easily we comment on what they do from the comfort of our homes.

I don’t know how many sports fans, let alone basketball fans, are aware of the Sports Awards, but you should be, because I think that the cinematography in these games is a truly underappreciated form of storytelling. There are no retakes. You always have to be on your feet. You have to always be ready for these fleeting moments of magic that’ll help underscore the main message of the film or docuseries. And I think that’s an insanely difficult job. The work done by Brian Fannin and David Stapp is so seamless that you’ll never really wonder about it. But every time you feel transported onto the court or the sidelines or the locker room, just pause for a second and analyze what’s giving you that sensation, and that’s when you’ll begin to understand the nuances of on-the-fly storytelling. I don’t really have a lot of opinions about the players. I am just in awe of how much these guys have achieved at such a young age. As someone who derives motivation from any source possible, I am thankful that the Furman Paladins didn’t give up and won that tournament, because seeing them persevere pushes me to fight the good fight, even though our areas of expertise couldn’t be more different. So, yeah, please watch Better Together: Furman’s Championship Quest wherever and whenever it’s available, and feel free to share your thoughts on it in the comments section below.