For more than a decade, the UCLA dynasty defined college basketball. In twelve seasons from 1964 to 1975, John Wooden's teams won ten national titles, including seven consecutive championships. The Bruins made history by breaking numerous records, but they also rose to prominence during a turbulent age of political unrest and youthful liberation. When Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton--the most famous college basketball players of their generation--spoke out against racism, poverty, and the Vietnam War, they carved out a new role for athletes, casting their actions on and off the court in a political light. The Sons of Westwood tells the story of the most significant college basketball program at a pivotal period in American cultural history. It weaves together a story of sports and politics in an era of social and cultural upheaval, a time when college students and college athletes joined the civil rights movement, demonstrated against the Vietnam War, and rejected the dominant Cold War culture. This is the story of America's culture wars played out on the basketball court by some of college basketball's most famous players and its most memorable coach.

The seven-foot Dirk Nowitzki is one of the greatest players in basketball history. The Dallas Maverick's legend revolutionized the sport, redefining the role of the big man in the modern game. Dirk moved differently: flexible and fast, confident and in control. He thought differently, too. On the court, his shots were masterful-none more venerated than his signature one-legged flamingo fadeaway, a move that lives on in the repertoire of today's most skilled NBA players. How did this lanky kid from the German suburbs become an all-time top ten scorer and NBA champion? How can a superstar stay so humble? Award-winning novelist and sportswriter Thomas Pletzinger spent over seven years traveling with Nowitzki. He witnessed Dirk's summer workouts, involving fingertip pushups and the study of the physics, and spent days discussing literature and philosophy with Holger Geschwindner, Dirk's enigmatic mentor and coach. Watching Nowitzki in empty gyms and in packed arenas with 30,000 fans, Pletzinger began to understand how Dirk and Holger's philosophical insights on performance, creativity, and freedom enabled his success and longevity. The Great Nowitzki tells Dirk's dramatic story like never before. Pletzinger describes Dirk's youth in small-town Germany, follows the steep learning curve of Dirk's early seasons, the devastating Finals loss to the Miami Heat, and the triumphant championship five years later. Traveling with Dirk in his final seasons, Pletzinger immerses himself in the community of people impacted by Nowitzki's game, interviewing everyone from average fans in Dallas and security guards at the arena to front office executives and Hall of Fame teammates, who reflect on what Dirk's career means to the next generation of ballplayers. And to the game itself. A masterpiece of sports writing that reads like a novel, The Great Nowitzki brims with a fan's passion. Pletzinger shows how strongly basketball influences our imagination and the extraordinary journey an icon like Dirk Nowitzki must take to reach the pinnacle of the game.

Two-time All-Star and thirteen-year NBA veteran Caron Butler has an impressive basketball record. He was Big East Co-Player of the Year at UConn, the 10th overall pick of the 2002 NBA Draft and a key player for the Dallas Mavericks in their championship-winning season in 2011. But before Butler had a chance to prove himself on the court, he spent his time trying to prove himself on the streets, as a gang member and drug dealer in his hometown of Racine, Wisconsin. He saw friends gunned down in the bloody street wars near his home, was arrested nearly 15 times and wound up behind bars and in solitary confinement before his 15th birthday. Tuff Juice shares Caron Butler’s extraordinary journey from his delinquent youth in the streets of Racine to his role as an accomplished pro basketball player, dedicated husband and father, active philanthropist and burgeoning businessman. Along the way, the book explores the incredible impact his single mother’s unconditional love and his college coach’s unwavering support had on him, and what drives him to be so successful in basketball and in life.

Jump Shooting to a Higher Degree chronicles Sheldon Anderson's basketball career from grade school in small-town Moorhead, Minnesota, in the 1960s, to inner-city high school and college ball in Minneapolis, to a professional career in West Germany, and finally to communist Poland, where he did PhD research while on a basketball junket behind the Iron Curtain in the late 1980s. Because he was the only American player in the league at the time, and with help from a Polish scholar, Anderson was one of the first Western scholars to gain access to Communist Party documents. He's also likely the only American scholar to have funded his research by playing semi-pro basketball in a communist country. Jump Shooting to a Higher Degree is much more than a basketball story. Anderson provides insights into the everyday lives of people on either side of the Iron Curtain, such as the English coach he played for in West Germany, an elderly woman he visited many times in East Germany, and a sailmaker's family he lived with in Warsaw. He reflects on German, Polish, and Cold War history, providing a commentary on the times and the places where he lived and played, and the importance of basketball along the way.

Basketball: A Guide for Physical Education Teachers and Coaches is a valuable resource for those beginning to teach the sport or even seasoned coaches looking for a fresh approach to the game. The practical guide is a consolidated effort from two authors who have taught and coached the sport at various levels for many decades. Their aim is to share knowledge and sound pedagogical approaches in teaching and coaching basketball.This book will show you how to teach fundamental skills and concepts progressively through fun and innovative ways. It includes many modified games and examples of lesson plans aim to develop competent and confident learners through differentiated instruction. In this guide, Koh and Wang advocate the importance of taking a 'game-based' approach to develop good decision-making skills in the game. You will be able to select different types of content with a skill/concept, plan and deliver a teaching/coaching session to cater to different groups of learners.Complete with numerous tactics, skills and tips, Basketball: A Guide for Physical Education Teachers and Coaches is a wealth of information for instructors.

There simply is no other current record like it in men's or women's college basketball: seven national championships in the last twenty-one years. That is the record of the unquestioned queenpins"" of women's college basketball: the University of Tennessee Lady Vols, coached by the summit of all court coaches, the incomparable Pat Head Summitt. ""Seven"" presents an intimate portrait of those championship seasons, with a thorough look at the makeup, execution, and final achievement of each championship squad. The chapters include the turning point of each season, the highs and lows, the rivalries, the highlight moments, the stars, and the force behind them all: Coach Pat Summit. Alan Ross presents a courtside look at all the great Tennessee stars: Candace Parker, Shannon Bobbitt, Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings, Michelle Marciniak, Daedra Charles, Dena Head, Bridgette Gordon, Tonya Edwards, Sheila Frost, and the other magnificent players who helped cut down the nets.""

How was basketball born? Why is the area in the paint and around the free throw circle known as the key? When did the NBA begin play? What team was arguably the worst NBA squad ever? Who was the highest drafted college player who never played a single game in the NBA? This book provides over 100 questions and detailed answers concerning the traditions, rules, and history of basketball. Organized by the sport's three eras--its birth through 1945, the NBA from 1946 through 1999, and the game today--it answers questions about the sport at all levels, from college games to the Olympics. A bonus chapter provides a who, what, when, where, why, and how of basketball--the perfect resource to settle arguments or to answer challenging trivia questions.

So you're thinking about volunteering to coach youth basketball? Great You're in for a fun, rewarding experience. Whether you're new to the sport and looking for some guidance or you're a seasoned coach hunting for some fresh tips, "Coaching Basketball For Dummies" will help you command the court with confidence.

Each friendly chapter is packed with expert advice on teaching the basics of basketball--from dribbling and shooting to rebounding and defending--and guiding your kids to a fun-filled, stress-free season. You get a crash course in the rules and regulations of the game, as well as clear explanations of what all those lines, circles, and half-circle markings mean on the court. You'll assign team positions, run great practices, and work with both beginning and intermediate players of different age groups. You'll also see how to ramp up your players' skills and lead your team effectively during a game. This book will also help you discover how to: Develop your coaching philosophyUnderstand your league's rulesConduct a preseason parents' meeting--crucial for opening the lines of communicationTeach offensive and defensive strategiesKeep your kids healthy and injury-freeEncourage good sportsmanshipMake critical half-time adjustments during a gameHelp struggling playersAddress discipline problems and handle difficult parentsCoach an All-Star or Travel team

Complete with numerous offensive and defensive drills and tips for helping your kids relax before a game, "Coaching Basketball For Dummies" is the fun and easy way to get the score on this worthwhile endeavor

The celebration of Washington D.C. basketball is long overdue. The D.C. metro area stands second to none in its contributions to the game. Countless figures who have had a significant impact on the sport over the years have roots in the region, including E.B. Henderson, the first African-American certified to teach public school physical education, and Earl Lloyd, the first African-American to take the court in an actual NBA game. The city's Spingarn High School produced two players - Elgin Baylor and Dave Bing - recognized among the NBA's 50 greatest at the League's 50th anniversary celebration. No other high school in the country can make that claim.These figures and many others are chronicled in this book, the first-ever comprehensive look at the great high school players, teams and coaches in the D.C. metropolitan area. Based on more than 150 interviews, The Capital of Basketball is first and foremost a book about basketball. But in discussing the trends and evolution of the game, McNamara also uncovers the turmoil in the lives of the players and area residents as they dealt with prejudice, educational inequities, politics, and the ways the area has changed through the years.

In this in-depth biography, an award-winning sports journalist assesses the life and career of Steve Kerr, the championship-winning basketball player and head coach of the record-breaking Golden State Warriors. Few individuals have had a career as storied--and improbable--as Steve Kerr. He's been part of eight NBA titles, General Manager of a franchise, and a respected broadcaster. Playing under three Hall of Fame coaches, including Phil Jackson, and a fourth destined for enshrinement, Gregg Popovich, Kerr was on five championship teams before winning three more as one of the most accomplished coaches in the NBA, with three NBA titles. Kerr's teammates have included the greatest of the greatest: Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, and Dennis Rodman. In this fascinating biography, Scott Howard-Cooper looks at the man and the facets of his unusual life that have made him a legend, from his childhood growing up in the Middle East as the son of academics, to the tragedy of his father's murder by terrorists; the inauspicious years of his early career at the University of Arizona and in the NBA; his championship-winning seasons with the Chicago Bulls and the Antonio Spurs; his success as head coach of the Golden State Warriors, leading the team to the NBA title in his first year, and adding two more championships in the next four seasons. The only NBA coach other than Red Auerbach to lead a team to the Finals five consecutive seasons, Kerr seems destined for the Basketball Hall of Fame. Steve Kerr is his incredible story, offering insights into the man, the game he personifies, and what it takes to be--and make--a champion. Steve Kerr includes 24 photos.

In MIRACLES ON THE HARDWOOD, author John Gasaway traces the rise of Catholic college basketball - from its early days (Villanova made an appearance in the Final Four in the first NCAA tournament in 1939) to the dominance of the San Franciso Dons in the 1950s and the ascendance of powerhouses Georgetown, Villanova, and Gonzaga-through their decades-long rivalries and championship games. Featuring interviews with notable coaches, players, alums, and fans -- including Loyola Chicago's most famous and dedicated fan, 99-year-old Sister Jean -- to get at the heart of what makes these universities excel at this sport. Small in number but devout in the game's spirit, these teams have made the miraculous a matter of ritual, and their greatest works may be yet to come.

College basketball and its annual March Madness extravaganza have emerged over the last three decades as one of the most popular sporting phenomena in America. Perhaps no one personifies the excitement of this tournament better than Jim Valvano, whose heavily underdog North Carolina State Wolfpack achieved the pinnacle of success in college basketball in 1983 with an unlikely run through the NCAA Tournament, culminating in an incredible one-point victory over Houston's heavily favored Phi Slamma Jamma squad in the championship game.

While that Cinderella story was Valvano's only national championship, he quickly came to symbolize the exuberance and excellence of the exciting world of college basketball. Valvano transcended his sport, touching millions as he emerged as one of the most charismatic and, ultimately, courageous figures in American life who touched millions.

Diagnosed with bone cancer, he joined ESPN to comment on college basketball games. Later he received the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at ESPN's first ESPY Awards, where he announced that he was starting the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Shortly after receiving the award, he died at the age of forty-seven. In I Remember Jim Valvano, he is remembered by former players, fellow coaches, a variety of other basketball experts, close associates, and many others as one of college basketball's great movers and shakers, a man with a heart as big as his popularity. Valvano's life is the classic story of courage and determination as borne out in his memorable line: "Don't give up. Don't ever give up".

For fans of Netflix's The Last Dance, this is the definitive account of Michael Jordan's spectacular and disastrous return to basketball. As one of the greatest, most celebrated athletes in history, Michael Jordan conquered professional basketball as no one before. Powered by a potent mix of charisma, near superhuman abilities and a ferocious drive to dominate the game, he achieved every award and accolade conceivable before retiring from the Chicago Bulls and taking an executive post with the Washington Wizards. But retirement didn't suit the man who was once king, and at the advanced age of thirty-eight Michael Jordan decided it was time to reclaim the court that was once his. Having closely followed Jordan's final two seasons, Michael Leahy draws a fascinating portrait of an intensely complex man hampered by injuries and assaulted by younger players eager to usurp his throne. In this enthralling book Jordan emerges as an ambitious, at times deeply unattractive character with, unsurprisingly, a monstrous ego. WHEN NOTHING ELSE MATTERS is an absorbing portrait not only of one athlete's overriding ambition, but also of a society so in thrall to its sports stars that it is blind to all their faults.

The Eastern Professional Basketball League (1946-78) was fast and physical, often played in tiny, smoke-filled gyms across the northeast and featuring the best players who just couldn't make the NBA--many because of unofficial quotas on Black players, some because of scandals, and others because they weren't quite good enough in the years when the NBA had less than 100 players. In Boxed out of the NBA: Remembering the Eastern Professional Basketball League, Syl Sobel and Jay Rosenstein tell the fascinating story of a league that was a pro basketball institution for over 30 years, showcasing top players from around the country. During the early years of professional basketball, the Eastern League was the next-best professional league in the world after the NBA. It was home to big-name players such as Sherman White, Jack Molinas, and Bill Spivey, who were implicated in college gambling scandals in the 1950s and were barred from the NBA, and top Black players such as Hal "King" Lear, Julius McCoy, and Wally Choice, who could not make the NBA into the early 1960s due to unwritten team quotas on African-American players. Featuring interviews with some 40 former Eastern League coaches, referees, fans, and players--including Syracuse University coach Jim Boeheim, former Temple University coach John Chaney, former Detroit Pistons player and coach Ray Scott, former NBA coach and ESPN analyst Hubie Brown, and former NBA player and coach Bob Weiss--this book provides an intimate, first-hand account of small-town professional basketball at its best.

When John Beilein arrived at University of Michigan in 2007, the once-proud men's basketball program was adrift after failing to reach the NCAA Tournament for nine straight seasons. Over the next twelve years, he became the program's all-time winningest coach, reached two national championship games, won four Big Ten championships and produced eight NBA first-round draft picks. In an age of ethical lapses throughout college basketball, Beilein succeeded without a hint of impropriety. As much a teacher as a coach, he consistently identified undervalued recruits, taught them his innovative offensive system and carefully developed them into better players--an approach to the game that drove his unprecedented rise from high school junior varsity coach to head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. This book examines his tenure at Michigan in detail for the first time.

Winner of the Frankfurt eBook Award for Best Nonfiction Book

In Native American tradition, a warrior gained glory by touching his enemy in battle and living to tell the tale. They called it...

COUNTING COUP

Freelance journalist Larry Colton traveled to the Crow Indian reservation in Montana to do a story on high-school basketball. There he met Sharon LaForge, a seventeen-year-old Native American basketball player who lit up the gym with talent, spirit, and a fierce will to win...a young woman engaged in a heroic struggle not only to lead her team to the state finals but to save herself from a life of poverty and loss.

In this brilliant account, Colton takes us through one frantic, pressure-packed basketball season with Sharon. Through her eyes, and those of the Indians and whites around her, we witness a harrowing battle with alcoholism, a shattered family, racial conflict, and perhaps the most daunting challenge of all: growing up. Set on the banks of the Little Big Horn River, COUNTING COUP is Sharon's unforgettable story-and the story of today's forgotten Americans fighting for the victories that count.

SPECIAL READING GROUP GUIDE INSIDE THE BOOK
Includes an 8-page photo insert

ALSO AVAILABLE FROM WARNER BOOKS

IN THESE GIRLS, HOPE IS A MUSCLE
A True Story of Hoop Dreams and One Very Special Team
by Madeleine Blais
They were a talented team with a near-perfect record. But for five straight years, when it came to the crunch of the playoffs, the Amherst Lady Hurricanes somehow lacked the scrappy desire to go all the way. Now finally, it is their season to test their passion for the sport and their loyalty to each other. This is the fierce, funny, and intimate look into the minds and hearts of one group of girls and their quest for success and, most important of all, respect.

"Beautifully written...a celebration of girls and athletics."
-USA Today

LITTLE GIRLS IN PRETTY BOXES
The Making and Breaking of Elite Gymnasts and Figure Skaters
by Joan Ryan
This book chronicles the real world of women's gymnastics and figure skating that happens away from the cameras, at the training camps and in the private lives of these teenage competitors. From starvation diets and debilitating injuries to the brutal tactics of trainers, it portrays the horrors endured by girls at the hands of their coaches and sometimes their own families. An acclaimed exposé that has already helped reform the Olympics, it has now been updated to reflect the latest developments in these sports.

"Scathing...profoundly important."
-San Francisco Chronicle

GIRL POWER
Personal Writings from Teenage Girls
by Hillary Carlip
In this extraordinary book, discover the secrets and deepest needs of girls from across the country—the thoughts, the fears, and the dreams of girls between the ages of thirteen and nineteen. Hear from teen mothers and beauty queens, girl rappers and farm girls, surfers and sorority sisters. Theirs are voices that are too often silenced or ignored, and in this stunning collection they dare to reveal things that will enlighten and touch readers.

"Moving, striking, and important...a beacon in the darkness. Should be required reading for all young women."
-Melissa Etheridge

A native son of Akron, Ohio, LeBron James seemed like a miracle heaven-sent by God to transform Cleveland's losing ways when he was drafted by the Cavaliers in 2003. But after seven years--and still no parade down Euclid Avenue--he left, announcing his move to South Beach on a nationally televised ESPN production with a sly title that echoed fifty years of misery. The Catch, The Drive, The Shot . . . The Decision.

Out of James's treachery grew a monster. Scott Raab, a fifty-nine-year-old, 350-pound Jewish Santa Claus with a Chief Wahoo tattoo, would bear witness to LeBron's every move, and in so doing would act as the eyes and ears of Cleveland itself. Crude but warmhearted, poetic but raving, hilarious, profane (and profound), The Whore of Akron is both a rabid fan's indictment of a traitorous athlete and the story of Raab's obsessive quest to reveal the "wee jewel-box" of LeBron James's soul.

Eight years of unfettered access, a keen sense of a story's deepest truths, and a genuine compassion for his subject allow Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist George Dohrmann to take readers inside the machine that produces America's basketball stars.
Hoop dreams aren't just for players. The fever that grips college basketball prospects hoping to strike big-time NBA gold afflicts coaches, parents, and sneaker executives as well. Every one of them has a stake in keeping America's wildly dysfunctional, incredibly lucrative youth basketball machine up and running--no matter the consequences.
In" Play Their Hearts Out," George Dohrmann offers an up-close and unforgettable look inside the maw of that machine. He shares what he learned from his years spent embedded with a group of talented young recruits from Southern California as they traveled the country playing in elite Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) events. It's a cutthroat world where boys as young as eight or nine are subjected to a dizzying torrent of scrutiny and exploitation. Coaches vie to have them on their teams. Sneaker companies ply them with free shoes and gear. "All-star camps" are glorified cattle auctions, providing make-or-break opportunities to secure the promise of an elusive college scholarship.
At the book's heart are the personal stories of two compelling figures: Joe Keller, an ambitious AAU coach with a master plan to find and promote "the next LeBron"--thereby paving his own path to power and riches; and Demetrius Walker, a fatherless latchkey kid who falls under Keller's sway and struggles to live up to the unrealistic expectations his supposed benefactor has set for him. As their fortunes take shape and the pressure mounts--Demetrius finds himself profiled in Sports Illustrated at age fourteen, while Keller cultivates his business empire--Dohrmann weaves in the stories of numerous other parents, coaches, and players. Some of them see their prospects evaporate as a result of poor decisions and worse luck. Others learn how to thrive in a corrupt system by playing the right angles.
Written with incomparable detail and insight, "Play Their Hearts Out" is a thoroughly unique narrative that reveals the inner workings of an American game, exposing the gritty reality that lies beneath so many dreams of fame and glory.

"From the Hardcover edition."

A young man's journey through the Philippines' most unlikely obsession: basketball.
In "Pacific Rims," Rafe Bartholemew, journalist, New Yorker, and veteran baller, ventures through the Philippines to investigate the country's love of basketball.
From street corners where diehards fashion hoops out of old car parts to the professional league where politicians exploit team loyalties to win elections, "Pacific Rims" gets the story-and gets in the game.

This book examines the development and organization of the NBA and its clubs, how each club has performed in seasons and postseasons, and to what extent each has prospered and succeeded as a business enterprise despite competition for market share from other types of entertainment. Each chapter contains two core themes-Team Performance and Franchise Business. The former highlights how teams won division and conference titles and NBA championships while the latter analyzes and compares financial data including revenue, gate receipts, and operating income. The book also explores such things as when each franchise organized and why it joined the NBA, a brief profile of its current majority owner or ownership group, records of teams' special coaches and players, attendances at home games, and how their arenas rank as venues for fans. This book explains why particular teams located in very large, large, midsized, or small markets win more games and titles than others and when and how frequently this occurs. In addition, it provides ways to individually-and by division or conference-compare basketball franchises from a financial perspective.