“The Last Amateur,” a feature-length documentary chronicling Silvio De Sousa’s turbulent college basketball career at the University of Kansas and UT Chattanooga, premieres Saturday in L.A.
De Sousa, a 6-foot-9, 245-pound, 26-year-old former KU forward from Luanda, Angola, is now playing pro basketball in Israel . He has been deemed the last amateur — the last NCAA student-athlete punished for receiving money from a shoe company — prior to the implementation of Name, Image and Likeness.
The film debuts at 7 p.m. Central Time during the DOC LA Film Festival at the Regal LA LIVE theater . Billy Raftery, son of Bill Raftery, is the film’s director, writer, cinematographer and producer.
The film is a little over an hour, delving deeply into De Sousa’s time at KU (2017-18 season through 2019-20).
That time included some issues on and off the court:
• De Sousa was suspended 12 games by the Big 12 Conference for his role in a brawl against Kansas State during the 2019-20 campaign.
• He was also suspended by the NCAA for the final two months of the 2018-19 season (KU held him out of competition the start of the season until that point) in response to his guardian receiving payment from an Adidas executive (who later was declared a KU booster). De Sousa eventually won an appeal that led to him playing in 2019-20. However, the infraction ultimately contributed to KU having to relinquish its 2018 Final Four appearance.
• De Sousa was charged with aggravated felony battery after a fight outside a Lawrence bar on Jan. 1, 2020. Ultimately, he was found not guilty of the charge by a jury on Aug. 5, 2021 and wound up completing his college career in 2021-22 at UT Chattanooga in Tennessee .
De Sousa, broadcaster Jay Bilas and former NBA star Kevin Garnett address all of these topics in the documentary, which also include a trip to Angola — where De Sousa’s mom and dad are interviewed by the filmmakers.
The file is slated for general release Nov. 11.
According to a new release describing the project in depth …
“The documentary features NBA superstar Kevin Garnett and college basketball personality Jay Bilas who guide us through Kansas 5-star basketball recruit, and Angola native, Silvio De Sousa’s lived experience as a foreign Black man within the confines of NCAA college basketball and the U.S. justice system.
“De Sousa was the last NCAA student-athlete to be punished for receiving funds from Adidas prior to the implementation of Name, Image and Likeness.
“Following the FBI investigation for a ‘pay for play’ scandal, a nationally televised on-court brawl (against Kansas State) and an aggravated battery charge from a bar fight put his career in jeopardy as he faces prison time and deportation. Vilified by public and social media, De Sousa fights back to clear his name and play the game he loves again.”
The news release adds: “Told through the eyes of De Sousa, the story is of his personal journey and the life-changing professional, psychological and emotional impact caused by his trouble with the NCAA and State of Kansas judicial system.”
The Point Road Productions project features Raftery as the director, writer, cinematographer and producer. One of the executive producers is attorney Scott Tompsett, the key individual in the NCAA relaxing its two-year penalty against De Sousa and also the attorney representing KU coach Bill Self in KU’s NCAA infractions case.
Other executive producers receiving credit on the doc include Garnett, Taylor Materne, John Sloss, Mike Marangu, Todd Stiefel, Josh Foster, Anthony Killough and Reuben Schatz.
“Saving Silvio’s college basketball career is one of the highlights of my career and it’s been an honor working with Billy Raftery and his team to tell Silvio’s story to the world through this film,” Tompsett told The Star. “The premiere this weekend in Los Angeles is exciting and rewarding for the entire production team after all the hard work we put into it,” Tompsett added.
Previously, Point Road Productions produced The Maestro (Fox), Dr. Fandom (ESPN), With a Kiss (CBS, Turner) and Angels in Exile narrated by Charlize Theron (Amazon). The group is currently in production on several documentaries, an animation and a video game.
More details, including where to see the film, will be released sometime after Saturday’s premiere.
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