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Documentary provides behind-the-scenes look at DICK'S Sporting Goods High School Nationals

Montverde Academy and Ben Simmons won the DiICK'S Sporting Goods High School Nationals (Photo: Andy Marlin, USA TODAY Sports)

Montverde Academy and Ben Simmons won the DiICK’S Sporting Goods High School Nationals (Photo: Andy Marlin, USA TODAY Sports)

Not everyone could see the DICK’S Sporting Goods High School Nationals basketball tournament and even those who did might enjoy The Nationals: Journey to #1, a behind-the-scenes documentary of the event, won this year by the Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) boys and Miami (Fla.) Country Day girls.

The one-hour documentary airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. (ET) on ESPNU and again on ESPNU at 4 p.m. on June 25, 10 p.m. on June 26 and 11:30 p.m. on July 5.

The end-of-season event served as a de facto national championship with the boys final pitting the top two teams in the country in Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) and Montverde. The documentary is at its best when it takes you to scenes you’re not likely to see otherwise: NBA Hall of Famer and Gonzaga Prep girls assistant coach John Stockton holding the door for the team before their first game at Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.); the proud look on Ben Simmons’ father’s face when his son shrugs off an eye injury to go back in the championship game; and the nervous tics of the different head coaches during crucial moments of the games.

The documentary was produced by DICK’S Sporting Goods Films in conjunction with Paragon Marketing.

While the producers did an excellent job of following Gonzaga Prep’s Laura Stockton, Oak Hill’s Terrance Phillips and Montverde’s Ben Simmons in the buildup to the tournament, it missed a bit by focusing solely on Gonzaga Prep on the girls side as the Bullpups were knocked out in the first round.

The action was also a reminder how close some of the games were, with Montverde coming from behind to defeat Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) in overtime and again from behind to top Oak Hill in the final.

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