In the early 1970s, the United States was much the same as in the radical '60s; Americans dying in Vietnam, anti-war demonstrations on college campuses, conflict between blacks and whites in most major cities.

In predominantly white Dolton, a south suburb of Chicago, busing had recently come to Thornridge High School. Black students from nearby Phoenix now attended school with whites from Dolton and South Holland. They were not warmly received.

Then, the Thornridge basketball team started winning......

Fans in black and white communities came together as Thornridge captured consecutive Illinois championships. Led by the national high school athlete of the year, Quinn Buckner, the Falcons stormed through a perfect season in 1972. No team even came close.

In THORNRIDGE, Hall of Fame coaches Bob Knight and John Wooden discuss their recruitment of Buckner, a high school All-American in basketball and football. Michigan's "Fab Five" coach Steve Fisher recalls facing Thornridge in his first game as a high school head coach. Jerry Tarkanian remembers one of the former Thornridge players as one of the toughest kids he ever coached at UNLV. Legendary Illinois high school coaches, Falcons' opponents, sportswriters, and broadcasters all agree nearly four decades later that Thornridge remains the best team in state history.

Meet the Thornridge player who was nine years old when he watched helplessly as his father was shot to death. Another Thornridge player performed in a band after the basketball games in order to have money to feed his family. The coach could not sleep because he worried about screwing up and causing his team to lose.

These are their stories told in their own words.

A true story, THORNRIDGE is about prejudice and acceptance, adversity and triumph, and a team that changed attitudes while the players were having the time of their lives.