Mike Waters and Scott Trimble speak about “Will to Win” documentary

Mike Waters and Scott Trimble recently spoke to Newhouse students about the upcoming documentary “Will to Win”, which tells the story of the 2003 National Championship men’s basketball team. The documentary will premiere at the Landmark Theatre on Wednesday March 29 at 7 p.m.

Waters, who served as the lead reporter for the film, is a beat reporter with syracuse.com, covering the men’s basketball team. He explained to students that his work as a beat reporter is often done in the short-term, but documentaries posed a unique challenge for him.

He discussed how the project was long-term, the polar opposite of his beat reporting work. Waters compared the difference to a “sweater that makes you itch,” speaking on how there’s often no concrete end in sight while working on things like documentaries.

Trimble began his career as a still photographer, but has recently taken on more video work. He shared stories with students about what it takes to get shots from the best angles. Waters shared an anecdote about how Trimble once had to quite literally get on the floor so he could shoot up at the interviewee. Waters then explained that despite how bizarre Trimble may have looked, his efforts provided a beautiful shot that made the final cut of the film.

The two also gave students insight as to what it took to get all of the interviews seen in the film. Waters detailed the pre-interview process, which he said helped him figure out who to speak to, what to ask them about and who may have what stories.

The interview process was long and stretched across multiple states, according to Waters and Trimble. They traveled to Washington D.C., New York City and even Florida to conduct interviews. Many interviews were conducted in Syracuse in various locations across the city.

A notable interviewee viewers will see in the documentary is none other than Carmelo Anthony. The production team, including Newhouse graduate student Gabe Carr-Johnson (M.S. Broadcast & Digital Journalism ’23), traveled to the Big Apple to interview Anthony in his home. The six-time NBA All-Star was quite late to the interview, and the production team was told they had a certain amount of time to conduct their interview.

However, once Anthony arrived, he spoke to Waters for several hours, telling story after story about his team’s improbable National Championship run. He spoke of life both on and off the court, recounting stories about his teammates, coaches and travel. Waters was thrilled with how the interview went and what the production team was able to get from it.

Another aspect of the documentary is behind-the-scenes, off the court footage of the team, something that not many have. Waters and Trimble explained that while they have access to the syracuse.com and The Post Standard archives and the photos that come with that content, they needed more, photos that people hadn’t seen before.

To get those photos, Waters and Trimble turned to those that witnessed everything firsthand: the players, their parents and in one case, a player’s spouse. The team was able to obtain photos taken by players’ parents, along with never-before-seen video footage from players.

That footage includes clips of the team in the hotel the night before games messing around in the hallways. Other footage shows the locker room after a victory. In that footage, a young, brown-haired boy can be seen standing beside Coach Jim Boeheim.

That boy would eventually play for Syracuse. It was Jimmy Boeheim. Waters expressed how much this footage improved the quality of the film.

Something the team wanted to do was tell stories that had “never been told before”. Waters explained how he would ask subjects to tell stories that people would want to hear about that team, noting that on a few occasions, players would quite literally say, “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever told this story before.”

Waters expressed his pride in being part of such a project, noting that he had watched the final cut several times. He said that it was a step outside his comfort zone, but that it’s another thing he can check off his list.

Those wishing to attend the film’s premiere can purchase tickets on Ticketmaster.