Delvon Roe to star in a movie about college hoops and recruiting

For nearly four years -- since Dec. 6th of 2007, the middle of his senior year in high school -- Michigan State's Delvon Roe has been battling knee problems, and it finally got to be too much for him.

Last Thursday at a press conference, Roe announced his decision to retire from the game. As Jeff Goodman laid out the following morning, this was a decision that came about because, for Roe, basketball simply wasn't fun anymore. His knees weren't getting any better, and after dealing with an ankle injury this offseason, playing a full season was just too much when Roe wasn't even at 100% heading into October and the start of practice.

But Roe is so much more than just a basketball player. Anyone that saw the outpouring of tweets and well-wishes that Roe received when he made this announcement will agree. As he told Goodman: "A lot of people think it's a sad day. It is to an extent, but at the same time, I think my life is only beginning."


On Sunday, Roe confirmed on twitter something that he wouldn't confirm with Goodman -- that his experiences as a blue-chip recruit will not go to waste. Roe will be starring in a feature film called "Gametime". Here's IMDB's description:

""Gametime" explores the dark side of major college basketball; a world of big money, ego and hypocrisy, revealed through the innocent eyes of the two top recruits in the country, best friends Malik and John. We follow them through a recruiting process full of sex, booze, and money, onto their respective college teams lead by narcissistic coaches, meet their passionate, troubled, and hilarious teammates, and watch them fight their way to the pinnacle of the college game... the Final Four, a multi-billion dollar feeding frenzy for the agents, the media, the NCAA... everyone associated with the game except the players. On the eve of the final game, Malik and John hatch a plan to even the score."

"He Got Game" is one of my favorite movies of all-time -- my mind is still blown that so many coaches blatantly violated NCAA rules by talking about Jesus Shuttlesworth on Sportscenter -- and while there is little doubt that Spike Lee and Denzel Washington had quite a bit to do with that, "Gametime" still looks like the kind of movie that every hoops fan will have to check out.

This won't be Roe's first time on the big screen, either. He has a role in the movie "AWOL", which is supposed to come out at some point next year.

Looks like Roe is right. His life is only just beginning.