One of Wyoming's greatest athletes is the subject of a new documentary film premiering this week at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Tex. "Jump Shot" is the story of Kenny Sailors, the legendary basketball player from the tiny town of Hillsdale who led Wyoming to the 1943 NCAA Championship and is credited with inventing the shot that revolutionized the sport.

Co-produced by Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry, the film mixes archival footage and photos from the 1940s and 1950s, following Sailors from Wyoming to the U.S. Marines in World War II, the first American professional basketball league, and later as a teacher and coach in Alaska. The film features an interview with Sailors, recorded before his death in 2016, along with his son Dan, and several coaches and players who explain his impact on the game and lobby for his induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Another former Wyoming hoops legend, Fennis Dembo, appears in the film, which also includes interviews with Curry, his teammate Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, Jay Bilas, Clark Kellogg, Bob Knight, Lou Carneseca, Kiki Vandeweghe, and Nancy Lieberman. Following its premiere at SXSW this week, "Jump Shot" will be released on DVD, Blue Ray, On Demand, and several digital streaming services later this year.

Sailors was inducted into the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012. He passed away in early 2016 at the age of 95.

 

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