Demetrius "Hook" Mitchell is a 5 foot 7 street-ball legend from Oakland, California. Also known as Waliy Abdur Rahim, Hook Mitchell is best known for his incredible leaping ability; performing backboard shattering ally-oops, 12 foot rim dunks, and car jumping 360 dunks. NBA all-stars like Gary Payton and Jason Kidd have been quoted as saying Hook was a better skilled player than they, and that he is the best basketball player to never make the NBA. Hook never made it as a professional because of his problems with drug addiction and crime. He served a 51 month prison sentence ending in April 2004 for armed robbery, and upon his release tried out for the Golden State Warriors at the age of 39. Unfortunately for Hook he was cut after training camp, it was just too late for him to get his start. Hook Mitchell was the focus of a recent independent film entitled "Hooked" which was featured at the Tribe-ca Film Festival and has been the winner of various documentary awards.
Hooked: The Legend of Demetrius "Hook" Mitchell is a documentary that was released in 2003. It traces the life of Demetrius Mitchell, who, at 5-feet-10, built his legendary playground status because of his amazing hops that enabled him to dunk 360 dunks over a late model honda accord car. Milwaukee Bucks forward Drew Gooden credits Demetrius with the feat of a 360 degree dunk over a car. Mitchell says his best dunk ever was a backboard-shattering dunk off an alley oop. The "Hook" says that he has been playing above the rim since he was 5'3", but didn't dunk in organized games until the height of 5'5. He played one season for Merritt College and one season at Contra Costa College intercollegiate squads and two years at California State University, East Bay (Formerly known as California State Hayward University during this time). The playground basketball star's descent into drugs and crime, however, destroyed any chance he had of becoming a professional athlete. Filmmakers Michael Skolnik and William O'Neill (who also made La Esquina Caliente, a documentary about the Baltimore Orioles playing a game in Cuba) interview Demetrius Mitchell, known as Waliy Abdur Rahim since his conversion to Islam, in prison, where he describes his rough upbringing on the streets of Oakland, and his struggle to survive. The filmmakers also interview several NBA stars who also grew up in Oakland, including Gary Payton, Jason Kidd, Antonio Davis, Drew Gooden, and Brian Shaw, all of whom played with Mitchell on the streets, and were astonished by his skills, but were unable to help him avoid his sorry fate. They describe his unstable home life and the longing for community that drove him to the streets. Mitchell himself is shown playing prison league games, and is surprisingly still able to play above the rim. The film's soundtrack was produced by DJ Premier. Hooked had its world premiere at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival.
Hooked was released on DVD by Razor & Tie in October 2004 and was previewed at more than 20 film festivals in the U.S., including the Tribeca Film Festival and garnered awards in 2003 ranging from “Best Documentary” to bronze medal at the Rhode Island Film Festival, San Francisco Black Film Festival, San Francisco World Film Festival and Worldfest Houston.
