FORT WORTH – Mike Byars put on many a show when he was starring as a two-time All-Southland Conference shooting guard for the Northwestern State basketball team, highlighted by helping the Demons to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001.

Thursday night in his hometown, he's put together quite a show.

Byars is hosting a red carpet style premiere of his documentary film titled "5700 Ramey Ave: The Story of Robert Hughes" at the Fort Worth Modern Art Museum. Among those in the audience will be NSU assistant Dave Simmons, who was on the Demons staff when Byars ignited fans in Prather Coliseum.

5700 Ramey Ave. is the address of Dunbar High School, where Byars and hundreds of other young men played under the guidance of 2017 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Robert Hughes.

The iconic coach, who turns 91 this month, won 1,333 games and lost only 247, first from 1958-73 at all-black I.M. Terrell High School, then at Dunbar from 1973-2005. He is the nation's all-time winningest prep boys basketball coach, leading his teams to five Texas state titles and 35 district crowns.

The event will include a reception at 6:30 and the first public screening of the film at 7:35, followed by a question and answer session with a guest panel, and an after party until midnight. Tickets are available at the door or through 5700rameyave.com/purchase-tickets.

Byars played for Hughes at Dunbar from 1994-97, then signed with the Miami Hurricanes and played two seasons there before transferring closer to home. After helping Mike McConathy's Demons to their historic 2000-01 season and leading NSU in scoring the following year, he played professionally in places including Central America and Iran.

"I had this in my heart to do this film as far back as 2002 or 2003," Byars recently told Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "I played for Coach for four years … it was seeing someone you are in awe of every single day. … He didn't want you to fear anybody but him, and he used that fear as motivation.

"Coach was more than just coach here. He was everybody's hero. Some people viewed him as a dad or an uncle or a grandfather. He meant something to everyone here in east Fort Worth. He is somebody who should be cherished."

Byars' dream came to fruition from scratch, helped with connections and insight gleaned from a global basketball career and roots in Southern California, where he was born and now resides, and where his mother grew up in south central Los Angeles.

"I only had my optimism. I didn't even have a camera," he said Wednesday evening from the set of a Fort Worth TV station, the final stages of an impressive local and national media blitz. "It's a low budget film, but I believe it's done at a high level. I learned a lot about the business from the technical side to the business side. Once I got moving, I reached out and all the legends of Dunbar High School showed up for me. Everybody put their trust and love and support in my direction."

The project required a far-reaching skill set and no shortage of backbone, and help.

"These past two years have been such a range of emotions. I've felt joys of interviewing legends, and at times, I've wanted to give up," he admitted. "Ultimately I just wanted to be sure Coach Hughes' legacy was upheld, so I couldn't give up. There had been 2-3 other attempts to make this film and I didn't want to fall into that category."

Once the film was complete, Byars began a months-long push to give it the most appropriate launch possible, in front of the hometown crowd. Just 24 hours ahead of showtime, he displayed the same cool presence that marked his smooth on-court personality. Nerves were not part of his persona.

"Honestly, I'm treating it like a big game," he said. "The work's done. It's time to put on a show. I'm just going to perform when the lights go on."

After the premiere, Byars hopes to ride momentum and rely on shrewd advice and contacts to showcase it all over.

"We've gotten a lot of national press. My plan is to continue to move it forward, take it to the film festival market, and find a platform," he said. "I've got to do what makes sense to make sure Coach's legacy is upheld in the highest light."