Brian Doyle himself explains it best: ""A few years ago I was moaning to my wry gentle dad that basketball, which seems to me inarguably the most graceful and generous and swift and fluid and ferociously-competitive-without-being-sociopathic of sports, has not produced rafts of good books, like baseball and golf and cricket and surfing have . . . Where are the great basketball novels to rival The Natural and the glorious Mark Harris baseball quartet and the great Bernard Darwin's golf stories? Where are the annual anthologies of terrific basketball essays? How can a game full of such wit and creativity and magic not spark more great books?"" ""Why don't you write one?' said my dad, who is great at cutting politely to the chase."" And so he has. In this collection of short essays, Brian Doyle presents a compelling account of a life lived playing, watching, loving, and coaching basketball. He recounts his passion for the gyms, the playgrounds, the sounds and scents, the camaraderie, the fierce competition, the anticipation and exhaustion, and even some of the injuries.

Delving into the history of gambling and corruption in intercollegiate sports, Cheating the Spread recounts all of the major gambling scandals in college football and basketball. Digging through court records, newspapers, government documents, and university archives and conducting private interviews, Albert J. Figone finds that game rigging has been pervasive and nationwide throughout most of the sports' history. The insidious practice has spread to implicate not only bookies and unscrupulous gamblers but also college administrators, athletic organizers, coaches, fellow students, and the athletes themselves. Naming the players, coaches, gamblers, and go-betweens involved, Figone discusses numerous college basketball and football games reported to have been fixed and describes the various methods used to gain unfair advantage, inside information, or undue profit. His survey of college football includes early years of gambling on games between established schools such as Yale, Princeton, and Harvard; Notre Dame's All-American halfback and skilled gambler George Gipp; and the 1962 allegations of insider information between Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and former Georgia coach James Wallace "Wally" Butts; and many other recent incidents. Notable events in basketball include the 1951 scandal involving City College of New York and six other schools throughout the East Coast and the Midwest; the 1961 point-shaving incident that put a permanent end to the Dixie Classic tournament; the 1978 scheme in which underworld figures recruited and bribed several Boston College players to ensure a favorable point spread; the 1994-95 Northwestern scandal in which players bet against their own team; and other recent examples of compromised gameplay and gambling.

Lee Rose has been one of basketball's most knowledgeable and respected coaches over the past 50 years at the high school, college, and professional levels. "Winning Basketball Fundamentals" presents his proven program for success, the same one he used in taking teams from two different colleges to the Final Four.

From offense to defense to transition play and special situations, Rose covers every tactical facet of the game and adds his insights for improving execution in each. He presents popular offensive systems--the Triangle, LA, Flex, Dribble Drive, and Motion--as well as man-to-man and zone defensive schemes, with suggestions for when and how to deploy and adjust them.

Rose also teaches all the essential individual skills required for performing those tactics proficiently and consistently, with special tips for executing when the game is on the line. Perimeter- and post-specific instruction and drills will help players build on their skills through practice.

Coach Rose also shares his Performance Rating System--a tool he's used time and again to develop some of the game's top players. Rose explains not only how to identify strengths and weaknesses but also how to use that information to maximize the potential of individual players and the team.

Flashy and fluke plays might be fun to watch, but you can't build a successful season or career on them. "Winning Basketball Fundamentals" is the proven formula for developing the solid individual skills and team tactics you can count on game after game.

Harvard graduate Jeremy Lin recently became a New York Knicks phenomenon and he's the NBA's first American-born player of Taiwanese descent. The book will chronicle Lin's high school, college and early career in the NBA with particular emphasis on the media explosion surrounding his success as starting point guard with the Knicks. It will explore how Jeremy's Christian faith, family, education and cultural inheritance have contributed to his success. The book will also include interviews with basketball experts on Jeremy's future in the NBA, Asian-American thought leaders on the role of race in Jeremy's rise to stardom, and renowned Christian athletes and pastors on the potent combination of faith and sports.