NBA Hall of Famer Bernard King is one of the most dynamic scorers in basketball history. King was notoriously private as a player, and rarely spoke to the press-not about his career and never about his personal life. And even beyond his prolific scoring, King will forever be remembered for the gruesome knee injury he suffered in 1985. Doctors who told him he'd never play again were shocked when he not only became the first player to return to the NBA from a torn ACL, but returned at an All Star level. In Game Face, King finally opens up about his life on and off the court. In his book, King's basketball I.Q. is on full display as he breaks down defenses using his own unique system for taking shots from predetermined spots on the floor. King talks about matching up against some of the all-time NBA greats, from Michael Jordan, Julius Erving and Charles Barkley to Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing and many others. He also tackles issues of race and family off the court, as well as breaking a personal cycle of negativity and self-destructiveness with the help of his family. Engaging, shocking, revelatory, yet always positive and upbeat, Bernard King's memoir appeals to multiple generations of basketball fans.

Although the basketball teams of the Southeastern Conference dominate the national college rankings, it wasn t too long ago that the SEC was mostly recognized for football. Today the SEC has displaced the Big Ten and the Atlantic Coast Conference as the premier conference of college basketball. Beginning with Rick Pitino s revival of the University of Kentucky from the perdition of probation to the University of Arkansas s entry into the conference and subsequent national title, Chris Dortch chronicles SEC history up to its present pinnacle.The twelve conference teams play for high stakes, competing fiercely for coaches and players and for coveted spots at the NCAA tournament. Join Dortch as he talks to the coaches, players, and fans who have turned the SEC into the home of all that is best in college basketball. "String Music" also explores the traditions and history that bring SEC hoops to life, including the rivalries, the history, the players, and the coaches. It sets the standard for analyzing the state of college basketball today and provides the best coverage of the rich heritage of SEC basketball.

Wars ravage Iraq and Afghanistan. An earthquake devastates Haiti. The economy is in crisis and America is in the death grip of partisan politics. But what really, really gets you down? Your college basketball team loses a key game. It kind of makes a person wonder-first, of course, about his priorities, but then, inevitably, about the nature of such an obsession, one clearly shared with millions of sports fans spanning the United States. In a book that begins with one fan's passion for a game, Andrew Malan Milward takes a deep dive into sports culture, team loyalty, and a shared sense of belonging-and what these have to do with character, home, and history. At the University of Kansas-where the inventor of the sport coached its first team-basketball is a religion, and Milward is a devoted follower with a faith that has grown despite time and distance. Jayhawker, his first venture into nonfiction, bears the marks of the accomplished storyteller. Sharply observed, deftly written, and often as dramatic as its Subject, the book pairs personal memoir with cultural history to conduct us from the world of the athlete to the literary life, from competition to camaraderie, from the history of the game to the game as a reflection of American history at its darkest hour and in its shining moments. A journey through one man's obsession with basketball, Jayhawker: On History, Home, and Basketball tells a quintessential American story.

Chronicling and critiquing the passion African American males have with the NBA, this thoughtful dialogue challenges athletes, parents, educators, the media, and the larger society to examine the obsession with basketball. With 91 percent of NBA players being African American and only two percent of African American community becoming doctors, dentists, and engineers, a solution for the future is desperately needed, and this book tries to answer some of the tough questions posed by these alarming figures. Among the questions addressed is "What happens to all the athletes who are unable to go into the NBA?" and "Has this obsession with basketball robbed the African American community of talent needed in other professions?" These questions are accompanied by an examination of the attitudes and perceptions of the black sports culture.

Ernie Johnson Jr. has been in the game a long time. With one of the most recognized voices in sports broadcasting, he is a tireless perfectionist when it comes to preparing and delivering his commentary. Yet he knows that some of sports' greatest triumphs--and life's greatest rewards--come from those unscripted moments you never anticipated. In this heartfelt, gripping autobiography, the three-time Sports Emmy Award-winner and popular host of TNT's Inside the NBA provides a remarkably candid look at his life both on and off the screen. From his relationship with his sportscaster father to his own rise to the top of sports broadcasting, from battling cancer to raising six children with his wife, Cheryl, including a special needs child adopted from Romania, Ernie has taken the important lessons he learned from his father and passed them on to his own children. This is the untold story, the one Ernie has lived after the lights are turned off and the cameras stop rolling. Sports fans, cancer survivors, fathers and sons, adoptive parents, those whose lives have been touched by a person with special needs, anyone who loves stories about handling life's surprises with grace--Unscripted is for all of these.

For millions of basketball fans in the 1970s, Walt "Clyde" Frazier defined the word cool. One of the greatest point guards in NBA history, Clyde guided the New York Knicks to their only two championships with a style and flair that was wholly his own. Back in 1974, Clyde and "New York Times" sportswriter Ira Berkow collaborated on a book that has become an iconic and much-sought-after piece of basketball history. Now, three decades later, " Rockin' Steady: A Guide to Basketball & Cool" is back with an all-new introduction, afterword, and everything that made it one of the most unusual sports books of all time.