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Best College & University Basketball

The Fab Five: Basketball Trash Talk the American Dream
Recounts the remarkable story of University of Michigan basketball players Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson, and chronicles their success in the NCAA tournaments of 1992 and 1993. An award-winning journalist and radio host, Albom wrote the screenplay for The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and is an established playwright, having authored numerous pieces for the theater, including the off-Broadway version of Tuesdays With Morrie (co-written with Jeffrey Hatcher) which has seen more than 40 productions nationwide, and several recent comedies which have been produced and performed in venues across the country. "A Time To Help," founded in 1998, brings volunteers together once a month to tackle various projects in Detroit, including staffing shelters, building homes with Habitat for Humanity, and operating meals on wheels programs for the elderly.
Reviews
"It did not come with the cover as you see in this picture."
"Excellent book."
"When read right before and after watching the documentary, it makes it even better."
"A fantastic insight into the group that changed basketball to what it is today (for good or bad according to some)."
"One of the best books I've ever read, check out the ESPN 30 for 30 about the Fab Five, this goes more in depth but the documentary is very good as well and features Mitch Albom."
"Great book-----and I'm not a basketball fan!!!"
"As a man who went to college during the fab five era, it was a cool read, and walk down memory lane of a time when I couldn't trade in my basketball short shorts, for a pair of the fab five long baggy shorts fast enough, these 5 kids really did touch and change the worlds of so many people!!!"
"Any fan of college hoops will love this book."
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Leading with the Heart: Coach K's Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business, and Life
In his more than twenty years coaching the Blue Devils, Coach Mike Krzyzewski has made his program the most admired in the nation, with back-to-back national championships in '91, '92, and again in 2001, and ten Final Four appearances since 1986. Thus, in Leading with the Heart , Krzyzewski reviews the lessons he's learned as basketball coach at Duke University, and tries to universalize them so they translate to any leadership position. Between the quotes and the bullet points are anecdotes about Duke basketball games and (occasionally) Krzyzewski's life outside basketball. What you come away with is an understanding of why Krzyzewski is a great basketball coach, why former Duke assistants such as Tommy Amaker and Quin Snyder are probably going to become great basketball coaches, and how anyone who's currently a coach can become a better coach. Duke basketball coach Krzyzewski, today's most successful NCAA coach, reviews significant games and key events in his career in addition to offering advice to coaches, players and everyone trying to do better in life. Although he occasionally refers to a coach as a "leader," for the most part he leaves it up to readers to connect the dots between his coaching strategies and useful business strategies.
Reviews
"There is some cliche text in the book and some misspelling with bad grammar but if you pay attention to what is being said you can grow and learn from this book."
"The truly value of that book is showing a path of implementation natural leadership phiolosophy of COACH K. MIke KRZYZEWSKI extraordinairy basketball coach is also an extraordinairy LEADER, whose POWER based of VALUES LEADERSHIP."
"Team work, in sports, business, family and life makes all the difference in the world. When you think of the super credible people in this world, 'Coach K,' is, 'one' of those unique great ones at the top of the list."
"Coach K covers many of his formulas for success with managing basketball teams, and does it in a way that is immediately approachable and applicable daily when leading others. Communication (Ask for advice, conduct “huddles” with no BS). 2. Collective Responsibility (Foster the idea that we win and we lose together). 3. Trust (The team leader is the truth, he/she will tell you what you are doing right, and what you are screwing up). 4."
"In this book, Krzyzewski focus on the things in life that really matter to him: family, friendship, commitment, etc."
"That to be honest seems to me what makes him such a successful coach - his ability to tailor his approach to maximize motivational impact."
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The Last Amateurs: Playing for Glory and Honor in Division I College Basketball
John Feinstein spent a season with these players, uncovering the drama of their daily lives and the passions that drive them to commit hundreds of hours to basketball even when there is no chance of a professional future. After years of smartly dissecting our games at their highest levels in bestsellers like The Majors , A Good Walk Spoiled , and A Season on the Brink , he returns to dissecting our games at their purest level, ground he first staked out quite stirringly in A Civil War , his chronicle of Army-Navy football. Given the high-stakes, high-profile, and often dirty world of college hoops these days, Feinstein comes up with a remarkably refreshing place to visit, a sporting environment short on scandals, prima donnas, and sneaker contracts, but long on a pure passion for the game that complements achievement in the classroom.
Reviews
"These men, now in their mid- and late-30’s, were featured in John Feinstein’s 2001 book, The Last Amateurs: Playing for Glory and Honor in Division I College Basketball, Feinstein is a prolific chronicler of the American sporting life, having authored well written and easy to read books on everything from the Army-Navy football game and the Baltimore Ravens to the PGA Tour and Bob Knight. The organization of The Last Amateurs is familiar and easy to follow – Feinstein summarizes a Patriot League men’s college basketball season, highlighting the high and low points and crafting uncritical profiles of head coaches and players."
"Looking at college basketball in an age when winning at all costs is the norm in Division I."
"This time the story is a lowly Division 1 basketball conference that was formed under the premise of not issuing scholarships, therefore the title of the book. How they got here, family issues effecting college educations, and the personal motivation that keeps kids playing basketball without significant minutes or monetary reward are covered in detail with brillance. The author is at his best telling these individual stories or commenting on how these true amatuers play for the challenge of competitive sports."
"This book will take you into a world where the kids play because they love the game, knowing there is pretty much no chance they will make a living from basketball."
"I had higher hopes but there is way too much game recaps between interesting stories."
"to remember all of the schools, coaches and player names."
"Arrived on time and exactly as described."
"The mugging of the TV cameras, the grabbing of themselves or the pure showboating attitude is not on these young mens agenda."
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Best Professional Basketball

The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to The Sports Guy
Then he takes it further by completely reevaluating not only how NBA Hall of Fame inductees should be chosen but how the institution must be reshaped from the ground up, the result being the Pyramid: Simmons’s one-of-a-kind, five-level shrine to the ninety-six greatest players in the history of pro basketball. Simmons summarizes the history of the league, discusses his personal fandom, includes a great “what if?” chapter (what if Michael Jordan had been drafted second by Portland instead of third by Chicago? The true NBA fan will dive into this hefty volume and won’t resurface for about a week, emerging from the man cave unshaven, smelling of beer and pizza, grinning, and armed with NBA history, insight, anecdotes, statistics, and a dozen new examples of Simmons’ Unintentional Comedy Scale.
Reviews
"It's a great mix of stats and "I just feel" analysis that forms the basis of all great sport's debates."
"The focus here beyond his dad's Celtics season tickets sealing his fate as a kid fan, is on pyramid pantheon best ever debates, what ifs, secret knowledge, team comparison compendiums and various other scenario incidentals. Simmons, master of the between the lines scoop, says what's on his mind, is quick to offend and may be off the cuff with tactless fan boy antics, but he thinks like a genius GM and really should be considered as part of an NBA team brain trust someday. Via a coach sharp humanist link tying cults of personality to levels of performance, we learn that selfish players hit a ceiling and greats must share the ball to be transcendent. Twas ironically originated by an adult cinema historian who mixed pop, news and sports trivia intros with his movie reviews in an erotic film bible from the early 1980s. With so much info on elite players and teams, this needed a tongue-in-cheek chapter on footnote characters of the game like Darryl Dawkins, aka Chocolate Thunder, a rushed high school prospect who never reached his full potential but was memorable for destroying backboards on slam dunks."
"Last year I purchased Bill Simmons' The Book of Basketball for my birthday. If you aren't a fan who loves reading about the past in great detail this book may not be for you. And while it may make you wrinkle your nose at some of his thoughts he is still pretty centered and doesn't go too far left. His perspective is a great easy read and he loves having fun with his words. My brother-in-law Curtis got me into playing an NBA board game (Statis Pro Basketball) in the 70's and I was hooked. I wish there had been a little more love for my favorite Dominique Wilkins and the Atlanta Hawks but I was still very happy with his thoughts on both. To quote Paul Harvey this book gave me "the rest of the story". Nowadays every move is over analyzed instantly on TV and on the web allowing us to make a better informed analysis of what we are seeing in a game and around the league. Again it may be a bit much for the casual fan but if you think there is any possibility you might like this book I suggest you spend the $11.11 on Amazon or at some other retailer and I don't think you'll be disappointed."
"The passion yields some diversion that I think even the most NBA wonk might get a bit overwhelmed by."
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Best Basketball Coaching

Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court
When future NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was still an 18-year-old high school basketball prospect from New York City named Lew Alcindor, he accepted a scholarship from UCLA largely on the strength of Coach John Wooden's reputation as a winner. From his first day of practice, when the players were taught the importance of putting on their athletic socks properly, to gradually absorbing the sublime wisdom of Coach Wooden's now famous "Pyramid of Success"; to learning to cope with the ugly racism that confronted black athletes during the turbulent Civil Rights era as well as losing loved ones, Abdul-Jabbar fondly recalls how Coach Wooden's fatherly guidance not only paved the way for his unmatched professional success but also made possible a lifetime of personal fulfillment. He is also one of a handful of influential and respected black men in America who has a national platform as a regular contributing columnist for the Washington Post and TIME , where he shares his thoughts on some of the most socially relevant and politically controversial topics facing our nation today. Currently he serves as the chairman of his Skyhook Foundation whose mission is to "Give Kids a Shot That Can't be Blocked" by bringing educational opportunities to under-served communities through innovative outdoor environmental learning.
Reviews
"Hearing all the personal stories that Kareem shared with the greatest coach in sports history was such an enjoyable read."
"this is a gift for my dad."
"I love reading about Kareem and Wooden's friendship."
"Great story of a friendship over a long career."
"A touching look at the special relationship Kareem had with his "surrogate father,' John Wooden."
"Basketball is in middle of the theme but the relationship between."
"When there is so much negativity and conflict in the news, it’s very refreshing to read about two people who cared deeply about hard work, honesty, and integrity."
"A very inspirational book about the relationship between two legends."
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