Netflix to release ‘Basketball or Nothing’ docuseries Aug. 2

FRUITLAND

For the first time ever, millions of viewers will get a glimpse into the life of Chance Harvey and a group of Chinle High School Wildcats.

Harvey and the 2017-2018 Chinle boy’s basketball team are featured in a six-episode docuseries “Basketball or Nothing,” which will launch August 2 on Netflix.

Each episode is about 35 minutes long and Netflix will release the trailer for the series next week.

Harvey, 19, said it’s been a date he and most of his former teammates have anticipated. He said as the launch date nears, there has been a scramble of emotions.

“It kind of makes me nervous, because during the documentary it was basically how I grew up, it was kind of emotional at times,” Harvey said. “But I’m excited at the same time.”

Harvey, who will enter his sophomore basketball season at SAGU American Indian College in Phoenix this fall, said he’s looked forward to sharing his story and the journey of the Chinle boy’s basketball team.

The series focuses on the team, the players, Chinle head boy’s basketball coach Raul Mendoza, their families, and the social issues they face.

Navajo and Pueblo golfer and golf analyst Notah Begay III, who was a co-executive producer along side professional Navajo golfer Rickie Fowler, said that was the foundation of the series, to share the stories of young student-athletes and their lives on the Navajo reservation.

“It’s necessary to highlight the adversity that these kids face, the domestic situations, the addiction, the challenges within the community, the education hurdles that they have to overcome,” Begay said. “It’s also a celebration of who we are as a community and how we come together around sport, how sports represents so much hope in our community and keeps us together.”

The production company, The Workshop, produced the film with the help of Begay and Fowler, as well as a local production assistant.

Matt Howley, a producer and director for The Workshop, said he came up with the idea of the docuseries in January of 2017 after he read an article about Mendoza and the Wildcats in The New York Times.

“I saw that and thought it was a really compelling story and wondered if there was more that could be done there, a long-form story documentary or series,” Howley said. “I really felt compelled about what these kids had to overcome.”

 

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