Brief

A young Jeff discovers God and his passion for basketball, which then leads to his greatest basketball career keeping faith and being one with Jesus.

What We Liked

The story of Jeff Lisath was one of true faith and spirituality. His passion for basketball and devotion to God intertwined with one another tugs the heartstrings of every true devout Christian. Jeff's story is something that will reach many lives and change the perspective of God in people who don't believe.

Faith based stories have always done well on the big screen. The wide audience and demographic it will reach is proof that Jeff's story would be a hit as a film. Although, with the pandemic still prevalent, this could be seen on networks like OWN, Netflix, and many faith based channels who would love to showcase the story of a young boy who found Jesus and lead his high school team to State Championship victory. With a story so powerful and resonating many young individuals with dreams of basketball championships, this film/series would create waves of inspiration.

Key points: Religious beliefs; Low Budget; Sports themed; Happy ending; True Callings

Synopsis

Jeffrey was very young when he found Jesus Christ. Coming from a family of 12 children, he never understood the importance of faith in his life. Jeff’s mother always encouraged her children to keep faith and do whatever they do in life with dignity and perseverance. Later on, Jeff’s father also turned to Christianity to repent for his sins. As a chain smoker and alcoholic, after getting baptized, Jeff’s father was reborn a new and reformed man. Unfortunately, he met his demise a year after his baptism, but Jeff believed that the Lord would be with his father in “paradise” since he repented for his sins on earth.

Jeff’s mother was instrumental in teaching him the importance of caring for others. He became a part of an organization that helped serve many teenagers in the community. His early basketball life began in Portsmouth, Ohio, where he played on the Bantam League team playing and winning with his childhood friends. Jeff’s first encounter with his faith, and God himself was after his baptism when he dreamt about winning Basketball State Championship trophy. He believed that God gave him a vision to make that vision a reality; Jeff’s confidence rose from speaking things into existence. His coaches were also big influences in his basketball career as they saw his potential and encouraged his vision, especially Coach Shoemaker who had a gift of using biblical stories as pregame speeches or pep talks.

Jeff’s faith in God was simple, to write it (his vision and dream), wait for it, and believe in it, and that’s exactly what he did. His high school basketball journey soared as he made into his varsity team by Sophomore year and gained a lot of notoriety for his sportsmanship by various magazines and sports organizations, like Louisville Courier-Journal and Basketball Magazine at the end of his junior year. However, senior year, during a match against Vinton County, Ohio, he tears his ankle ligament which shakes his faith just a tiny bit. But his mother soon reminded him that God was testing him to make sure he stays faithful to his spirituality. After the sermon at his favorite church, Jeff’s faith in God was restored. He also soon realized that faith and attitude were connected in order to believe in anything.

After his surgery and rehab to get himself back in shape, Jeff played rigorously with his mates, Craig Tubbs, Scot Taylor, Scott Burrows, Jack Bendolph, and Tom Boden. Confidently, he also asked Coach Hopkins to put him back into play so he can make his vision and dreams come true. Coach Hopkins, reluctantly puts him back in the game which leads to the greatest series of victories of his basketball career.

1978 Sectional Finals, Craig and Jeff played the game as if they were “Batman and Robin”. Winning against Wheelsburg with the same score they defeated Portsmouth High, 54-52. District Tournament, The Convocation Center, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, Portsmouth defeats Chesapeake 61-42 with the grace of God. District Finals, Portsmouth wins against Washington Court House 56-54. making history. Regional Semifinals Portsmouth Vs. Columbus Mifflin, in a tough game against Mifflin, win it by scoring 64-49. Regionals Finals vs Bellaire, Bellaire put up a different but still tough fight, but Portsmouth still won 75-73, punching their ticket to the Final Four! State Semifinals Vs. Ottawa Glandorf, Ohio State University, Ottawa Glandorf, a mystery team with no reveal of their game plan was a tough fight, but their win 59-43 was only good enough according to Coach Hopkins.

State Championship Game vs Cleveland Cathedral Latin, as the returning champions try to maintain their title, the game is close. Coach Hopkins insists on playing a slow game but Jeff and Craig know that with every player over six feet, the game must be played skillfully. With a close score of 60-60, Jim Murray gets possession and makes both free-throws, leading them to 62-60. As Scott Burrows was going for a rebound, he was knocked down and a foul was called. Scott makes the first free-throw bringing the score to 63-60, however misses the second shot. Karl Morris, a player on the Cleveland team, gets possession of the ball and goes for an easy lay up, making the score 63-62 with two seconds to go. As the buzzer sounds, and Jeff having the possession of the ball, the court erupts in celebration and praises to God for their victory. Jeff’s vision and dream comes true as they win State championship.

Jeff was then recruited by Miami University with scholarship to play basketball for their college. But, his attention was soon diverted with college parties and temptations and therefore made his connection with God weak. However, his family helped him stay focused and not get distracted by college social life. Then, 1979-1980 Miami Season saw the infamous Batman & Robin return on the court. However, Miami lost to Northern Illinois due to Jeff’s distractions. During his senior year at Miami, he was named the Team Captain; however, after losing majority of the games, Jeff got benched. Although he had dreams to be the next NBA all-star player, he learned one thing throughout his basketball career, to be a good teammate no matter what.

Jeff then found his calling post college, to be the coach of Columbus Technical Institute men’s basketball team. But after a nasty defeat of the team, he quit as their coach and moved back home to Portsmouth, Ohio. And, another vision came along, State championship ‘88. Determined to make that happen, Jeff became the assistant coach to the Portsmouth High team and led them to victory again to make Portsmouth High the State Champions of '88.

About The Author

"In Jesus' Name I Played" is an non-fiction inspirational story about a young boy who grew up in Southern Ohio. He experienced a spiritual dream about his personal life and the game of basketball.