The first installment of BET's three-part miniseries chronicling the life and times of legendary boy band New Edition aired Tuesday night to critical acclaim .
In one of the opening scenes, founding member Michael Bivins leaves the basketball court in Boston's tough Orchard Park housing projects in the Roxbury section of Boston to take in a talent show at the local recreation center.
It symbolized the beginning of the end of his hoop dreams, which he jettisoned for a future in show business that would one day land the group a star on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame.
As with most great American stories, there are always other tales inspired by the original. That's where North Carolina Central men's basketball coach LeVelle Moton comes in. About a half decade younger, Moton grew up behind four of the group's original five members: Bivins, Bobby Brown, Ricky Bell and Ralph Tresvant. Earlier this week, Moton shared how the international success of his childhood friends on the stage inspired him to achieve his dreams on the hardwood.
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As the miniseries played out Tuesday, the 42-year-old Moton, who led the Eagles to back-to-back Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference titles in 2013-14 and 2014-15, including trips to the NCAA and NIT tournaments, shared some little-known tidbits about his time growing up admiring his hometown heroes who would become the precursor for groups such as New Kids on the Block and later the Backstreet Boys and N'Sync.
Before deciding he loved ball above all, Moton had dreams of picking up the microphone and rocking his shows just like New Edition, practicing day and night to master their signature moves. Eventually, he put together his own quintet.
"We didn't become stars, " tweeted Moton, who went on to become NCCU's third all-time leading scorer during his playing days. "But it saved our lives."
One of his family members was part of one of the earliest iterations of the band, a fact that is mentioned on at least two occasions early in the miniseries as New Edition solidifies its membership.
The Original New Edition consisted of my Big Cuzz Travis Pettus who left the group 2 concentrate on bball. Far Right pic.twitter.com/dJQqxbmRD5
— LeVelle Moton (@LeVelleMoton) January 25, 2017
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The ties run deep.
Moton proposed to his then-fiancee at a New Edition concert and named his daughter after the group's longtime choreographer Brooke Payne. Whenever New Edition performs in North Carolina, it makes sure it leaves Moton tickets.
"It was a project that everyone that was outside of the project wouldn't dare step foot in," Moton said of Orchard Park in a trailer for his book "The Worst Times Are the Best Times." "There was all the drugs. There was the poverty. There was the crime. I'm really fortunate that God gave me a vision beyond my present set of circumstances. He allowed me to see the unseen. He put components in my life that foreshadowed what I could ultimately be and he did that in the form of four guy that was from my neighborhood by the name of New Edition."
Part 2 of "The New Edition Story" airs 9 p.m. ET Wednesday. You can check out Part 1 here if you missed it. Peep the trailer.
Moton's Eagles are 13-6 and in second place in the MEAC at 4-1. They host rival North Carolina A&T (1-18, 0-6) on Saturday.
For more on Moton, check out this full interview on HBCU Gameday's podcast.