Sixteen years after Spike Lee's "He Got Game" opened in theaters across the country, Jesus Shuttlesworth is back.
Ray Allen, who played Shuttlesworth, a blue chip prospect in the movie, will wear "J. Shuttlesworth" on the back of his jersey Friday when Miami plays the Nets in what some are calling the "nickname game." The NBA has allowed players on both teams to choose a unique moniker for that matchup -- Paul Pierce will be "Truth," LeBron James is "King James" and so on.
Coincidentally, or perhaps not, Allen and Lee are reportedly discussing creating a sequel to "He Got Game," which starred Denzel Washington and Rosario Dawson alongside Allen.
"Sequels to most movies are always fluff and not as good as the first," Allen told the Associated Press on Tuesday. "But it's something we've been talking about for the last couple months. If we get a really good story line and are able to bring everybody back, then it would be something worth doing."
Allen, who was 22 when he filmed the movie, played a top high school prospect from New York City. His father, played by Denzel Washington, is paroled from jail for one week to try to convince his son to attend the governor's alma mater. Allen, who was then on the Milwaukee Bucks, received many positive reviews for his role in the film.
Now 38, Allen is still called "Jesus" by some of his teammates.
"Not one day goes by where I walk in here and guys don't say that they didn't watch it last night or it wasn't on," Allen said. "I don't know who's in charge of delegating what gets on TV, but it seems like that movie's been on a lot the last two or three months."
