NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERPat Conroy, one of America’s premier novelists, has penned a deeply affecting coming-of-age memoir about family, love, loss, basketball—and life itself. During one unforgettable season as a Citadel cadet, Conroy becomes part of a basketball team that is ultimately destined to fail. And yet for a military kid who grew up on the move, the Bulldogs provide a sanctuary from the cold, abrasive father who dominates his life—and a crucible for becoming his own man.With all the drama and incandescence of his bestselling fiction, Conroy re-creates his pivotal senior year as captain of the Citadel Bulldogs. He chronicles the highs and lows of that fateful 1966–67 season, his tough disciplinarian coach, the joys of winning, and the hard-won lessons of losing. Most of all, he recounts how a group of boys came together as a team, playing a sport that would become a metaphor for a man whose spirit could never be defeated.Look for special features inside.Join the Circle for author chats and more.RandomHouseReadersCircle.com
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On December 12, 1891, 13 rules of a new game were posted in a YMCA gym in Springfield, Massachusetts. At each end of the floor, Dr. James A. Naismith, who had invented the game, had peach baskets nailed below a walkway that happened to be 10-feet high. Within a few days, one of Naismith's students would christen the new game "Basket Ball."Over a century ago, no one could possibly have envisioned the extraordinary changes that were going to transform Dr. Naismith's game. Who could have imagined a 6-10 George Mikan swatting shots away from the basket? Julius Erving in flight, soaring in from the free throw line for a heart-stopping stuff? Or Bob Cousy throwing a mind-boggling no-look, behind-the-back pass; Jerry West hitting a 60-foot shot with no time left in a crucial playoff game; Larry Bird's three-point prowess and Michael Jordan rising to heights - literally and figuratively - never before seen by any athlete? Who could have foreseen more than 62,000 fans crowded into the Georgia Dome to see a game between the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks? Or the titanic battles between Wilt and Russell? Or the Dream Team? The longevity of Stockton and Malone? Red Auerbach's victory cigars? Phil Jackson's Zen coaching? Or Shaquille O'Neal's powerful dunks? Who could have ever predicted talent like Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Walt Frazier, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Grant Hill, Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, Allen Iverson, and Kobe Bryant?With an Introduction by NBA Commissioner David J. Stern and a Foreword by Michael Jordan, this third edition of The Official NBA Encyclopedia captures it all: The past and the present. The complete stats and the complex personalities. Dynasties, rivalries, coaches, referees, all the pre-NBA leagues, vignettes and features by the top basketball writers in the world. Every NBA season is reviewed and individual statistics are provided for every player who has ever played in the league. An extraordinary 32-page color photo essay that captures the spirit of the game since Naismith conceived it opens this encyclopedia in an unprecedented and spectacular manner.From the peach basket to the slam dunk championship - it's all here in The Official NBA Encyclopedia, a book that's almost as exciting as a triple overtime seventh game of the NBA Finals.
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Dismayed when he discovers he is assigned an all-girl basketball team, the new coach becomes increasingly committed to his players as he works with them.
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"To Hell with Carolina," --From the Duke Fight Song "Go to Hell, Duke!" --Last line, Tar Heel Fight Song 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. The reason students at both schools camp out for days to get tickets--is about bragging rights and raw pride. Fueled by a proximity of eight miles along Tobacco Road, these two highly respected academic institutions have a rivalry of contrasts: powder blue vs. royal blue; public vs. private; Southerners versus Northern transplants; Michael Jordan and Vince Carter vs. Grant Hill and Christian Laettner. And now, with former Tar Heel assistant Roy Williams the new head coach of UNC, and Mike Krzyzewski still going strong at Duke--the rivalry only continues. 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. Chansky has seen every Duke-Carolina game since 1968 and now gives readers the never-before-told details, the story behind the story of this rivalry that has polarized the nation. The Duke-Carolina rivalry has fostered more than thirty former players from the two schools playing or coaching in the NBA; it has cultivated a maniacal subculture of fans who camp out for weeks just to get tickets to the seasonal match-ups; 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. "I'm biased, but I think this is the greatest rivalry, not just in college basketball, but in all of sports. .. You believe this is just another game? Are you serious? Are you serious? There's no way you can tell these kids it's just another game."--Dick Vitale, ESPN "Having been loved and loathed by fans of both schools, glad-handed and banned on both campuses, I know the passion that fuels the Duke-Carolina rivalry. 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 "Across the rolling Piedmont and through the pines of the Old North State, there's a whisper of anticipation. The 'Blues' are about to run again. Powder and royal. Eight miles…two schools…two programs…one driving passion to excel. In the mecca of this great game, it is THE rivalry. This is no mere game, no mere rivalry. This is a phenomenon . . .this is Duke-Carolina."--From ESPN Opening, February 5, 2004 "It's not about me vs. Dean, or me against Roy or Dean against Vic Bubas. Duke and Carolina will be here forever." --Mike Krzyzewski "I was hit three times and spit at during the whole game before I started to fight." --Art Heyman "Eight miles away sat a legend, perhaps the greatest coach of all time. I was inundated with thoughts of beating Dean Smith. If we couldn't beat him, we could never get to where we were thinking about." --Tom Butters, former Duke Athletics Director
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Walt Frazier, one of the greatest guards ever to play the game, writes about "old school ball" and his ideas for reinvigorating the sportIn 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 fl ashy 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 didnt 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."
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Motivation…Success…Leadership…Passion. Hall of Fame college basketball coach Jim Calhoun shares his secrets for success for the first time ever. Coach Jim Calhoun is one of the most successful coaches in college basketball history. Having sent countless players to the NBA, Coach Calhoun is known for producing not just great athletes but great human beings. He is both an exceptional leader and self-made man whose ability to motivate and inspire young men is unsurpassed. In A Passion to Lead, he shares the fundamental principles that have allowed him to have an impact on so many.When he took command of the Connecticut Huskies, the team had had a losing record for five straight seasons. In twenty-one years of leadership, Calhoun has transformed a middling regional program into a national powerhouse with two NCAA championships.But what makes Coach Calhoun such an excellent leader? How did he take a program with a modest tradition and turn it into a national champ and perennial title contender? What is his management style? What are his motivational techniques? Calhoun reveals them here and includes anecdotes about his life as a coach, family man, and, ultimately, a teacher--as well as the following key principles:*Win Every Day: Talent determines what you can do in life. Motivation determines what you decide to do. Attitude determines how well you do it.*Standards, Then Victories: To build a winning organization, establish a culture of winning and make everyone accountable. Out of high standards come victories. *Tough Love: Pushing is only half the equation. Individuals perform best when they feel good about themselves. *And much more. A Passion to Lead is for all those who are serious about making their dreams a reality. It’s a motivational tool for achieving success both at work and in life, and it can help turn any adversity into an advantage.
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There is no event in sports quite like the Final Four. John Feinstein will explore what it means to a school, a coach and a player to be in the Final Four or even at The Final. There are moving stories of players and coaches who thought they'd never make it to college basketball's final weekend, spectacular triumphs of the winning teams and heartbreaking defeat of those who missed the cut. He also brings us inspiring and dramatic stories from people behind the scenes: from officials and referees to scouts and ticket-scalpers. With the unflinching eye of a seasoned reporter and the remarkable skill of a true storyteller, Feinstein exposes the driving force behind one of the most revered events in American sports.
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Head basketball coach of Notre Dame at age 29, a position he held for more than two decades with a 100 percent graduation rate, an attention-getting figure in President George H. W. Bush’s anti-drug program, part-time ambassador, a nationally adored ESPN commentator, and a possible Presidential candidate, Richard “Digger” Phelps has done it all. Undertaker’s Son is an eminently readable, inspirational, account of how he rose from an unmotivated student in small-town Beacon, New York, to a nationally known figure who attracts attention wherever he goes. One lesson: Do it today, for tomorrow might not come—a hard lesson he learned while apprenticing at his father’s funeral home. In Undertaker’s Son, the irrepressible Phelps gives advice that really matters, whether it’s how to get getting ahead in business, make the right decision, or plan for the future. Here also is Phelps’s plan for a better America in these contentious times. Brutally honest, inspirational and often humorous, Phelps’s message will appeal to anyone seeking an edge in business or life.This is the perfect gift for anyone who loves a turnaround story.
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A historiography of basketball.
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