For most of the twentieth century, West Virginia was a college basketball hotbed. Its major programs were a success, but perhaps even more successful was the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, composed of fifteen schools that rarely earned headlines but set many records and became an identifiable part of small town culture and a source of state pride. This ethos exists today in small town Kentucky and Indiana but struggles to survive in West Virginia. Part of the reason is the state's population decline since the 1950s. That, author Bob Kuska argues, along with the rise of cable and satellite TV and the major college basketball empire, stole the thunder--and the crowds--from these small town communities. And yet, these teams play on in obscurity and still find success. Against the backdrop of West Virginia's great small college history, Kuska chronicles the day-to-day struggles and triumphs of one modern school, Alderson-Broaddus College in Philippi, West Virginia. What happened to that team during a rags-to-riches yearlong stretch would've been remarkable at any level, let alone at a school with very low athletic department budgets and low visibility that makes recruiting talented players almost impossible. As he alternates between coaches and players, past and present, Kuska contrasts the fan enthusiasm of the conference's early years with the apathy that plagues the teams of the twenty-first century. If sports fans can get past the media and the madness that has made college basketball increasingly similar to professional basketball in its self-indulgence and sensationalism, they are left with leagues like the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference--scrappy, intelligent, and spirited--and still finding ways to succeed and thrive.

The most popular outdoor basketball court in New York City is half the regulation size, offers no seating, and has sidelines bounded by a chain-link fence. But the summer league on West 4th Street in Greenwich Village has developed its share of stars and has become known throughout the world for another reason: Here the only thing that matters is the game.

"Inside the Cage" follows the West 4th Street's summer league through a single season, chronicling its legendary history along the way. From 1970s playground legend Fly Williams to NBA veteran Anthony Mason and L.A. Lakers guard Smush Parker, three generations of players have mastered their game at West 4th Street. And the Cage itself -- located in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in America and frequented by men from the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Harlem -- proves that talent can flourish even in the most unlikely places.

In February 1948 the brand-new, all-white Minneapolis Lakers were arguably the greatest basketball team in America, favored to win the World Professional Basketball Tournament later that year. Meanwhile the Harlem Globetrotters, at the center of black basketball, were riding their own incredible 103-game winning streak. Best known to white audiences for their clowning and comedy, the Globetrotters were not even thought to be in the same league with the mighty Lakers. So when these two powerhouses met for the first time--on February 19, 1948, before an audience of eighteen thousand in Chicago Stadium--basketball fans everywhere were in for an eye-opening performance."" "Tricksters in the Madhouse" is the story of this pivotal meeting, a game that would encapsulate the growing racial tensions of the era, particularly the struggle of black Americans to gain legitimacy in the segregated world of sports. Play-by-play, John Christgau recreates the heart-stopping game that would shock white basketball fans raised to view black athletes in separate and unequal terms. Through in-depth interviews and extensive research, Christgau brings this critical match-up to life. By looking beyond the drama in the arena to the broader events of the day, he also puts the game in its sociological context, revealing how, even as it enacted the racial inequities of the time, this crucial game represented an important step toward equality.

In THE GAME WITHIN THE GAME, Frazier breaks down the game of basketball and tells in specific terms how teams that share the ball and play defense, utilizing all five players on the court, usually win.& nbsp; Frazier calls many of today??'s players ???athletes??? and not ???all-around basketball players.??? The NBA has tried to promote individual players and high-flying dunks, but Frazier shows that from the Celtic dynasties of the 1960s to the World Champion Detroit Pistons of 2005, the teams that play ???old-school??? team basketball are the teams that win.& nbsp; The others are shown on the highlight reels, but they go home trophy-less. In his folksy, lively language, Frazier will pinpoint the players and teams he likes today, and the ones he feels need to make an attitude and player adjustment if they are ever to play at the championship level.& nbsp; Finally, the book will cover the game??'s evolution in the past 60 years and where it is heading over the next decade.

UConn was a fledging women's basketball program that had been to one Final Four as of 1995. Tennessee was the king of the hill having won 7 National Championships and having produced some of the greatest women's players of all time. Pat Summitt was and is the head coach and is widely considered to be one of the top coaches in women's or men's college basketball history. In fact, she turned down the Tennessee head men's coaching job. She agreed to play Geno Auriemma and UConn in 1995 in an epic battle in Storrs, CT. UConn won that game and won the National Championship that year and off and running was the series. It has produced as much if not more drama than Red Sox-Yankees, Cowboys-Giants and Knicks-Celtics. It has been compared to Carolina-Duke on the men's side. It is certainly produced more National Championships than both of those schools.

"What Duke and North Carolina represent in men's college basketball, UConn and Tennessee represent in women's college basketball, the greatest rivalry in the game. Two teams that when pinned against one another in 1995 for the National Championship changed the sport of women's college basketball forever. The cast of characters from the polarized Hall of Fame coaches to the all-American icons have raised the bar, the talent and the media awareness at the national level. Although the characters change from year to year, the national fever of this matchup continues to grow. It is an ongoing saga that defines women's basketball and encapsulates all that is good and possible about athletic competition. Any young player should read this book and understand that without these teams, these coaches, these players, we would be watching women's basketball exclusively in March at the Final Four." Colleen Healey, former UConn women's basketball player.

"Players and Pretenders" tells the story of the flip side of basketball's "March Madness," where the game is played by average players for love, not for money. At the end of the 1970s at Bard College, where there was no pretense of institutional support, Charley Rosen gathered his hoops hopefuls and put together a basketball season whose impact reached far beyond the court. Writing with a humorous touch, Rosen details the Running Red Devils' season, simultaneously examining the lives of those who made it so memorable and providing a glimpse of how the team members existed off the courts as both players and pretenders. His book playfully depicts the 1979-80 basketball season at Bard College and the "sports for fun" side of the game.

It was love at first sight . . . One day I picked up a basketball, and it never let me go.

For fifty seasons Lute Olson has been teaching young athletes the skills of basketball---and life. Starting as a high school coach, he worked his way to the top of the basketball world---winning more than a thousand games, a national championship and world championship, producing some of the NBA's biggest stars, and eventually being enshrined in the basketball Hall of Fame.

But Lute is far more than a basketball story. His partner for forty-seven years in building championship programs was his high school sweetheart; his story is also a love story of a couple who together built a sports legend. Lute and Bobbi Olson were a team. Their almost half-century love affair ended with Bobbi's death from cancer. Lute explores how he dealt with her death and how he moved forward to find a new love.

This is the chronicle of one American boy's dream to become a great basketball coach---his achievements, his coaching strategies, and how he dealt with his beloved wife's death---the wins and losses he faced as boy, man, and coach. But always with one constant in his life, the game of basketball. This is the story of fifty seasons in the life of Lute Olson.

Praise for "Lute!"

"Lute Olson's story is the true American dream. He is a legendary coach who has shared his vision of winning with all his players---now we are given the chance to learn too. It's inspirational and downright heartwarming." ---Jim Nantz, CBS Sports

." . . it is exactly what you would expect from Olson---intelligent, first-class, sprinkled with dry wit---personal in ways you might not anticipate."

---"Tucson""Citizen"

"This is not a basketball book. It is not a book about a coach. It is the most unexpected of all things from the inscrutable Olson: the story of his personal life." ---"Arizona"" Daily Star"

What NBA team was the greatest ever? For basketball fans, that question can lead to widespread debate.

Sports journalist and basketball enthusiast Kyle Wright has created a new and unique computer formula to rank every team in NBA history. Coining it as the POST formula, Wright assigns ratings to all NBA teams based on how they stack up to other comparable teams during any year-from the number of wins and losses to points scored and points allowed. The result is a complete ranking that takes you from number one to number 1,153.

Wright brings to light other game-stopping details that sports lovers will appreciate, including:

The most dominant teams to ever play The teams with brilliant records but no titles The unimpressive teams that won championships The teams that lost the most through the years "The NBA from Top to Bottom" is for every diehard basketball fan. It achieves nothing but net as it comprehensively identifies and profiles the best and worst teams ever to grace the court.

In A Rocket at Heart, Rudy Tomjanovich tells the story of how the son of hardworking Croatian parents from Hamtramck, Michigan, helped the city of Houston change its image from Choke City to Clutch City. With unusual insight and unsparing honesty, Rudy talks about the doubts, the fears, and the obstacles he's overcome in becoming such a successful and well-respected coach. He tells how he learned to be a coach while standing in the spotlight; how he developed his theories of offense and defense that helped the Rockets reach the pinnacle; how he learned when to teach with praise and when to be forceful; and how he learned valuable lessons from Bill Fitch about preparation, from Don Chaney about dignity, and from Del Harris about handling adversity. He also talks, for the first time, about the adversity he himself had to learn from: the devastating punch thrown by Kermit Washington that cost Rudy a season in his prime, and could have cost him his life. Along the way, Rudy shares great stories about all the people he's known and the fun he's had in a life in basketball. He talks about his old roommate Calvin Murphy, and how this seemingly mismatched pair became the closest of friends; about watching Hakeem Olajuwon develop into one of the most extraordinary players ever to play the game; about the enormous challenge of changing a championship team in midseason by making the Clyde Drexler trade, and the satisfaction of beating the odds by winning four straight playoff series without homecourt advantage (and then, a year and a half later, trying that transition game again by adding the always entertaining Charles Barkley to the mix). With remarkable candor and self-deprecating wit, Rudy T. shows us the roads he's traveled and the good times and high points along the way.

The true story of basketball lives as much off the court as on the hardwood; it is about politics and race and cultural clashes as heated as a final-four buzzer-beater. This story unfolds in all its gritty and colorful detail in Under the Boards. From the birth of the Larry Bird legend to the ascendancy of a hip-hop-infused NBA to the backlash against bling and the contemporary American game, Jeffrey Lane traces the emergence of a new culture of basketball, complete with competing values, attitudes, aesthetics, and racial and economic tensions. The revolution Lane describes resonates in the way Latrell Sprewell's assault on his coach forever changed NBA power relations; in legendary coach Bob Knight's entanglement in high school basketball history; in the dramatic shift in attitude toward European players; in the impact of the deaths of two rappers on rookie Allen Iverson's career; and in conflicting cultural models rooted in ideals of black masculinity and white nostalgia. In these moments Lane's book documents a profound change in basketball and in American culture over the last thirty years. Jeffrey Lane is the founder and director of Schoolhouse Tutors, a mentoring program for middle and high school students in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Walt Frazier, one of the greatest guards ever to play the game, writes about "old school ball" and his ideas for reinvigorating the sport In The Game Within the Game, basketball legend Walt Frazier looks at basketball from both a historical and personal viewpoint. When Frazier first started playing the game, discipline and strategy were more highly valued than in today's game, which he describes as having devolved into "a playground fest of dunks and threes." The old-school style of Frazier's past emphasized substance over style, contrary to the current state of the game, where celebrity and flashy moves dominate. In lively and accessible language, Frazier writes about how important "the game within the game" really is. He emphasizes timing and mental skill, far more than dazzling moves, as the strengths that today's players need to hone in order to achieve success. Frazier makes some controversial points, aimed at new basketball players."The game within the game starts with players respecting their coaches, their teammates, and the opposing team. The Indiana Pacers had a good chance of winning the NBA championship last year before Artest erupted. They had a record of 16 wins and only 8 losses at the time the brawl occurred and were touted as the team with the best chance of dethroning the Pistons in the East.Artest had been out of control for a long time. The Pacers tried to rein him in by suspending him earlier in the season, but Artest didn't learn his lesson. He is a product of his times. Basketball is a microcosm of life. Walking down the street today, guys want their props. If you bump into a young guy, he might go off. It's carried over into the NBA. The guys in the league today are young and they often have a similar mindset."

Sports Illustrated's chief NBA writer, Jack McCallum, only planned to spend the preseason with the Phoenix Suns as an "assistant coach" -- and then write a story about his experiences. Instead, he stayed on with the Suns throughout their exciting and controversial 2005-2006 season. Gaining access to everything from locker-room chats with superstar point guard Steve Nash, to coaches' meetings with maverick coach Mike D'Antoni, McCallum learned what makes this wildly popular, innovative, and international assemblage of talented players and brilliant coaches tick -- making Seven Seconds or Less an all-access look at one of the greatest shows in sports.

NEW MATERIAL FROM THE 2005-2006 SEASON "It's not about me versus Dean, or me against Roy or Dean against Vic Bubas. Duke and Carolina will be here forever."
---Mike Krzyzewski
For fifty years the rivalry between Duke and Carolina has featured famous brawls, endless controversy, long-nurtured hatred---and some of the best basketball ever played in the history of the sport. For Duke and UNC players and fans, the competition is not about winning a prize, trophy or title---it's about bragging rights and raw pride.
"Blue Blood" is a thrilling chronicle of the Duke-Carolina rivalry as it has evolved over the last fifty years. With unparalleled insider access, veteran journalist and author Art Chansky details the colorful, revered, and respected rivalry---for the first time ever.
The Duke-Carolina rivalry has fostered more than thirty former players from the two schools playing or coaching in the NBA; it has enchanted a nation of spectators to watch games between the archrivals---garnering some of the highest regular-season TV ratings in history. "Blue Blood" celebrates the history of this rivalry, the traditions, the heritage, and, most importantly---spectacular basketball. "You can see the beads of sweat on coaches' and players' faces as the tale by this former sports editor for the "Durham Morning Herald" unfolds."
---"News & Record" (Greensboro, NC)
"A book on this rivalry was long overdue, and Chansky does it justice. This is sure to become a staple of every Tar Heel or Blue Devil fan's library."
---"InsideCarolina.com"
"A holy text for both sides of the rivalry. . . . This book is a coffee table necessity for anyone that claims to have a background incollege basketball . . . you need to read this book cover to cover as many times as possible until you can recite from it."---"The East Carolinian"
"I'm biased, but I think this is the greatest rivalry, not just in college basketball, but in all of sports."
---Dick Vitale, ESPN
"Art Chansky has more than learned what Duke-Carolina is all about; he's "lived" it for more than thirty years. His columns, commentaries, and characterizations have long been on the money, and "Blue Blood" puts them all together in an anticipated and entertaining work that reads more like a novel. But truth "is" stranger than fiction, and Chansky tells it just like it is."
---Curry Kirkpatrick, who has covered Duke-Carolina for "Sports Illustrated,""" ESPN, and "ESPN the Magazine"

National bestseller reveals the man behind eight NBA championships

"A must for any serious student of basketball."
--Gary Dretzka, "Chicago Tribune

"Mindgames follows the journey of Phil Jackson to the top of basketball's coaching hierarchy, a rise that took him from failure and obscurity in the CBA to eight championship rings in the NBA. Along the way he turned multimillionaire players on to meditation, transformed the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls from a one-man show into a five-man team of domination, and, after battling with Bulls management, ended one dynasty to start another on the West Coast.

Sportswriter Roland Lazenby, author of the bestselling "Blood on the Horns and "Mad Game, reveals the fascinating elements of Jackson's life and mental approach to coaching that have made followers of his players but also have made him--perhaps not surprisingly--unpredictable and sometimes unpopular to outsiders. It is also a detailed basketball story, with entertaining accounts from Jackson's years with the New York Knicks under the legendary Red Holzman to his remarkable eight championships coaching first the Chicago Bulls and then the Los Angeles Lakers. This paperback edition of "Mindgames includes a new chapter on the 2000-2001 season, in which Jackson and the Lakers overcame the perils of success and team-breaking player infighting to capture their second consecutive NBA title.

In "Mindgames, Lazenby compellingly portrays a man with a unique determination to control the competitive environment he inhabits. A clear picture of the Jackson mystique emerges: philosopher, teacher, manipulator, counselor, psychologist, shaman, champion, master of mind games.

"Inner City Hoops," A Historical Account of Chicago Basketball is a unique publication. Both basketball junkies and social historians will enjoy the content. You will read about the top sixty basketball players in the history of Chicago.

The author gives readers a first hand look at what it's like to grow up in the inner city and make the most of the opportunities that present themselves through sports and education. This account gives you the view of the person who actually lived the inner city experience in Chicago. The reader sees a real-life view through the eyes of Calvin Davis, who gives this historical account along with his personal story. It will be exciting to learn how Chicago basketball has evolved over the past one hundred years, and how it has served as an avenue for upward mobility. This work of contemporary history gives the view of respected basketball historian Dr. Larry Hawkins, who speaks about the "Golden Triangle" where basketball talent in the city of Chicago was developed in the 1920s and 1930s. Sports Researcher, Robert Pruter who wrote the article about Early Phillips Teams indicated that "The Golden Triangle" allowed future basketball phenoms to develop their outstanding basketball skills which would change the face of basketball in the inner city in the years to come. You'll read about community spirit and growth, as well as indifference to racism. The Bronzeville neighborhood on the inner south side of Chicago and the near west side neighborhoods were the places where African Americans from the southern states migrated approximately 35 years after the civil war. This influx of African Americans led to Phillips High School becoming the first black high school in Chicago in the 1920's. The author, Calvin Davis grew up in Bronzeville more than 40 years later and sharpened his basketball skills at all 3 parts of the Golden Triangle. Calvin talks about his time as a member of the notorious Jr. Trotters, the city of Chicago's first traveling AAU type all star team of the modern era. You will read about the famed 2-2-1 press they employed that hunted down opposing ball handlers until they wilted from the relentless pressure, and how they beat any team, any time, any place, and anywhere. You'll also read about the success stories that were a result of the opportunities created, and the discipline learned in basketball that carried over into life skills. A large number of Jr. Trotters went on to not only College, NBA and European League basketball careers after college, but also to a variety of Professional Occupations. Many of them continue to give back to their communities today. In Calvin's case, after leaving the Trotters, he continued as an Honor - Student-athlete at Dunbar High on Jim Foreman's basketball team. He became a Scholarship Basketball Player at William Penn University, a Teacher in the Chicago Public Schools, an Elementary and High School Basketball Coach, a Citywide Sports Coordinator, a School Administrator, the Director of Sports Administration, Driver Education and Facilities for the City of Chicago's Public Schools, and now the author of "Inner City Hoops," a History of Chicago Basketball. The Bronzeville area in Chicago was the first home for many black families from the south and served as a home for many successful athletes. Basketball has been a springboard not only to the NBA, but to college scholarships and professional occupations for individuals like Calvin and countless others. The history in this book will expand the knowledge of readers, and provide enjoyment as well. The book was designed to be written as if a general basketball conversation is being held. As you read about the individual exploits of players, you'll feel the respect the author has for their talents along with his love for the game.

THE FULL, CANDID STORY OF COLLEGE BASKETBALL'S MOST CONTROVERSIAL COACH! Detailing Bob Knight's most explosive moments on and off the court, and drawing from more than one hundred revealing new interviews with those who have worked and played alongside him, this is the most balanced and comprehensive portrait of the NCAA's infamous coach. Love him or hate him, here is BOB KNIGHT AS HE REALLY IS.

This is the most comprehensive and up-to-date basketball-specific training guide in the world today. It contains descriptions and photographs of over 80 of the most effective weight training, flexibility, and abdominal exercises used by athletes world-wide. This book features year-round basketball-specific weight-training programs guaranteed to improve your performance and get you results. No other basketball book to date has been so well designed, so easy to use, and so committed to weight training.This book will have players increasing strength, power, agility, and overall quickness on the court, leading to an increase in rebounds, steals, blocked shots, and overall defensive efficiency. You will build the strength and power needed to dominate the post and under the basket and you will build the stamina and endurance needed to go strong until the final whistle. Both beginners and advanced athletes and weight trainers can follow this book and utilise its programs. From recreational to professional, thousands of athletes all over the world are already benefiting from this book and its techniques, and now you can too!

Earl "The Goat" Manigault had what it takes to become a superstar: incredible leaping ability, great timing, and unstoppable moves. He sets a New York City junior high school record by scoring 52 points in one game. In high school and on the playgrounds of Harlem, he astonished opponents with his acrobatic shots, including the patented double dunk. Although seventy-two colleges offered him scholarships, lack of discipline and bad breaks sent Manigault stumbling into a world of heroin addiction and petty crimes for three years. He succumbed to the fast land life that sapped the lives of so many of his friends in the 1960's. The Goat kicked the habit, however, and then returned to Harlem to start his own summer basketball league for black youth. This inspiring story of how one man rebuilts his life is told with vivid, no-holds-barred descriptions of the harshness, humour and love in today's inner city.

A BRILLIANTLY WRITTEN ACCOUNT OF THE NBA'S GLORY DAYS, AND THE RIVALRY THAT DOMINATED THE ERA
In the mid-1950s, the NBA was a mere barnstorming circuit, with outposts in such cities as Rochester, New York, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Most of the best players were white; the set shot and layup were the sport's chief offensive weapons. But by the 1970s, the league ruled America's biggest media markets; contests attracted capacity crowds and national prime-time television audiences. The game was played "above the rim"-and the most marketable of its high-flying stars were black. The credit for this remarkable transformation largely goes to two giants: Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain.
In The Rivalry, award-winning journalist John Taylor projects the stories of Russell, Chamberlain, and other stars from the NBA's golden age onto a backdrop of racial tensions and cultural change. Taylor's electrifying account of two complex men-as well as of a game and a country at a crossroads-is an epic narrative of sports in America during the 1960s.
It's hard to imagine two characters better suited to leading roles in the NBA saga: Chamberlain was cast as the athletically gifted yet mercurial titan, while Russell played the role of the stalwart centerpiece of the Boston Celtics dynasty. Taylor delves beneath these stereotypes, detailing how the two opposed and complemented each other and how they revolutionized the way the game was played and perceived by fans.
Competing with and against such heroes as Jerry West, Tom Heinsohn, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, and Elgin Baylor, and playing for the two greatest coaches of the era, Alex Hannum and the fiery Red Auerbach, Chamberlain and Russell propelled the NBA into the spotlight. But their off-court visibility and success-to say nothing of their candor-also inflamed passions along America's racial and generational fault lines. In many ways, Russell and Chamberlain helped make the NBA and, to some extent, America what they are today.
Filled with dramatic conflicts and some of the great moments in sports history, and building to a thrilling climax-the 1969 final series, the last showdown between Russell and Chamberlain-The Rivalry has at its core a philosophical question: Can determination and a team ethos, embodied by the ultimate team player, Bill Russell, trump sheer talent, embodied by Wilt Chamberlain?
Gripping, insightful, and utterly compelling, the story of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain is the stuff of sporting legend. Written with a reporter's unerring command of events and a storyteller's flair, The Rivalry will take its place as one of the classic works of sports history.

"From the Hardcover edition."

The years 1945 1959 marked the time when basketball truly became the sport of Indiana. High school basketball bound together communities across the state and interest in the sport rose to a new level. The period saw the Milan/Muncie Central game, given new fame through the movie Hoosiers. It also saw the first televised game, the start of the career of Oscar Robertson (who played for Crispus Attucks), and friendly town rivalries to build the state s biggest gymnasium. It was a time before the massive consolidations of the 1960s and 70s, with more than 700 teams involved in basketball tournaments. (There are some 300 now.)

Greg Guffey captures the flavor of the period and showcases many of the best teams, players, and coaches. This is a book for all fans of Indiana basketball."

Ron Richardson has written a cogent, well-reasoned, scriptural account of purpose lost and purpose regained in the human community. In Oneness With God he makes the case for God's plan to bring mankind full circle, and back to Himself. If you've struggled with meaning in your life, this book will help you find plenty of meaning in your connection to the Creator.