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Archive for October, 2009
October 31, 2009 at 2:11 pm · Filed under Basketball Books
In a nation distinguished by a great black athletic heritage, there is perhaps no sport that has felt the impact of African American culture more than basketball. Most people assume that the rise of black basketball was a fortuitous accident of the inner-city playgrounds. In Hot Potato, Bob Kuska shows that it was in fact a consciously organized movement with very specific goals.
When Edwin Henderson introduced the game to Washington, D.C., in 1907, he envisioned basketball not as an end in itself but as a public-health and civil-rights tool. Henderson believed that, by organizing black athletics, including basketball, it would be possible to send more outstanding black student athletes to excel at northern white colleges and debunk negative stereotypes of the race. He reasoned that in sports, unlike politics and business, the black race would get a fair chance to succeed. Henderson chose basketball as his marquee sport, and he soon found that the game was a big hit on Washington's segregated U Street. Almost simultaneously, black basketball was catching on quickly in New York, and the book establishes that these two cities served as the birthplace of the black game.
Hot Potato chronicles the many successes and failures of the early years of black amateur basketball. It also recounts the emergence of black college basketball in America, documenting the origins of the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association, or CIAA, which would become the Big Ten of black collegiate sports.
The book also details for the first time the rise of black professional basketball in America, with a particular emphasis on the New York Renaissance, a team considered by experts to be as important in the development of black basketball as the Harlem Globetrotters. Kuska recounts the Renaissance's first victory over the white world champion Original Celtics in 1925, and he evaluates the significance of this win in advancing equality in American sports. By the late 1920s, the Renaissance became one of the sport's top draws in white and black America alike, setting the stage for the team's undisputed world championship in 1939. As Edwin Henderson had hoped -- and as any fan of the modern-day game can tell you -- the triumphs certainly did not end there.
Customer Review: A Landmark Work
There aren't enough adjectives to describe this important work on an oftentimes overlooked part of U.S. history/sports.
Bob Kuska takes the reader on an exploration of the development of black athletics at the turn of the last century, with his focus surrounding basketball teams and leagues in New York City and Washington, D.C.
The chapters are in chronological order by year and highlights the important personalities, teams and events in the two cities and throughout the country - from youth leagues to the colleges and beyond.
I am particularly impressed with Kuska's acknowledgement of many individuals that time had seemingly forgotten. The ten years of research he did certainly accomplished his goal of giving the reader a complete understanding of the era.
To set a clear path to the future, our society must have an appreciation of the rough paths taken by those who confronted the hideous Jim Crow laws and other forms of racisim & truly learn from the past.
America's game was changed forever, but not just on the hardwood floors. These heroes knocked down barriers and opened the door for others to pursue their dreams, no matter what the odds.
Customer Review: A truly outstanding sports history
When one Edwin Henderson, a Harvard-educated African American physical education teacher - was introduced to basketball in Washington DC in 1907, he envisioned it as a method of organizing black athletes to allow them to excel at northern while colleges. In sports, he reasoned, blacks would get a fair chance to succeed. Hot Potato details the birth and rise of black amateur basketball in America, examines college basketball and the origins of the CIAA, and surveys the rise of black professional athletes. A truly outstanding sports history evolves.
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October 30, 2009 at 4:33 pm · Filed under Basketball Books
From the pricing leaders of sports cards and collectibles comes a new basketball card price guide, offering complete coverage of all known cards including the newest releases and graded cards.
This book features prices and listings from 1948 to present with checklists for more than 3,700 sets and values for more than 175,000 cards. More than 2,250 photos accompany the listings.
Covers cards from the NBA, WNBA, and CBA, as well as from college, high school, the Olympics, and more. All popular card manufacturers are covered including Fleer, Topps, Upper Deck, Pacific, Press Pass, SAGE, and Star Co. Prices and listings are also given for Starting Lineups, McFarlane, and other collectible figurines.
• Checklists for more than 3,700 sets and values for more than 175,000 cards
• Covers NBA, WNBA, CBA, college, high school, the Olympics, and more
• Includes popular manufacturers such as Fleer, Topps, Upper Deck, Pacific, Press Pass, SAGE, and Star Co.
• Free bonus pricing includes complete Michael Jordan checklist
Customer Review: Packs in plenty of pricing details
Now in a completely updated sixth edition, 2003 Standard Catalog Of Basketball provides the latest prices and photos to over 155,000 basketball cards, including thousands of sets from all top manufacturers from 1948 to modern times. Don't anticipate the glitzy color of competitors who fall short on the facts: 2003 Standard Catalog Of Basketball is a price guide 'bible' and packs in plenty of pricing details along with small, black and white photos of selected cards. Highly recommended as a basic reference for the basketball card collector.
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October 29, 2009 at 5:07 pm · Filed under Basketball Books
Hear the first-hand account of the life and career of the man with more wins than any other coach in college basketball and the story of the Raiders who took him there. Skillfully researched and beautifully illlustrated, this amazing never-before-told story gives insight into Besss extraordinary success, revealing his simple but steadfast methods and coaching philosophies.
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October 29, 2009 at 10:20 am · Filed under Basketball Books
Texas Western College, then a small and unknown school tucked away in the far corner of West Texas, came out of nowhere to pull the biggest upset in the history of college basketball in 1966. The Miners? 72?65 victory over the University of Kentucky, coached by the legendary Adolph Rupp, in the finals of the NCAA Tournament topped one of the most remarkable stories in the history not only of basketball, but of all sports. It?s a story of triumph of character and heart over hardship and seemingly impossible odds. Their accomplishment also had a big impact on society. For the first time, five African-Americans started in the finals of the NCAA Tournament. The victory overcame many prejudices against the ability of African-American athletes to function in a team concept and opened doors for them throughout the South and other parts of the country.
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October 28, 2009 at 11:54 am · Filed under Basketball Books
Every men's basketball game the North Carolina State University Wolfpack has played as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, through the 2005-2006 season, is detailed in this unique resource. For each season since 1953, it contains the following:
A yearly overview of the conference--overall season statistics, team and individual statistical leaders, MVPs, ACC Tournament results, performance of ACC teams in the NCAA Tournament and more
N.C. State team and player statistics for the season (including conference and non-conference games)
Notes on important awards, milestones, individual and team achievements and other significant events
Detailed box scores of all N.C. State games, including the regular season, the ACC tournament, the NCAA tournament and the NIT, and often featuring comments on notable aspects of the games
Drawn from the 3-volume book Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Basketball Games (McFarland, 2008), this is the definitive record of NCSU basketball.
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October 26, 2009 at 6:04 pm · Filed under Basketball Books
Upon its establishment in 1946 the NBA - via its forerunner the Basketball Association of America - became the 21st professional basketball league to be formed in the U.S., and the one that would outlast all the others. In addition, since 1896 when professional basketball began in Trenton, New Jersey thousands of players have competed in a pro game, and generated countless hours of debate as to who the best players are in the history of the sport. In fact, precisely 3572 players and 439 All-stars have graced the courts of the NBA and the American Basketball Association when it was in operation between 1967 and 1976. And until now there has never been a truly scientific method of evaluating their performances on a basketball court, and determining who is the all-time best. Finally, after 109 years, such a measure has been created.
This book, Heroes of the Hardcourt: Ranking Pro Basketball's 100 Greatest Players identifies and profiles the 100 greatest players to play professional basketball since 1946, and ranks them by utilizing a scientific methodology known as the Performance Efficiency Rating (PER) System developed by the author, a former economics professor. This is the most comprehensive measure ever devised to accurately measure basketball performance and answer the question of who is the greatest basketball player ever. This methodology has accurately forecasted the annual regular season MVP in three of the last four NBA seasons, and predicted which team is most likely to win the NBA championship (forecasted the eventual champion in seven of the last ten years).
This book will cause you to rethink your own top 50 greatest players; and the top 10 players, let's just say it's sure to raise a few eyebrows. Without doubt this is the most scientific basketball book ever written and should end all debates as to the game's all-time greats. Heroes of the Hardcourt, in addition to profiling the top 100 players also provides an historical summary of the one hundred-plus years of professional basketball in the U.S., and concludes with an explanation of how to better link productivity with pay among professional athletes. It shows that the PER can accurately forecast which rookies drafted in a particular year are indeed the best selections, and follows that up with an analysis of the 1984 NBA draft in which four of the best players to ever compete were drafted. It concludes that not only did the Portland Trailblazers make a poor decision in selecting Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan, but so did the Houston Rockets who also drafted Hakeem Olajuwon over MJ. A knowledge of the PER methodology, the author asserts, would have created a better draft selection then, as it clearly will do now. Heroes of the Hardcourt will finally lay to rest all the debates as to who the best players are in the history of professional basketball, and who is the all-time greatest.
Customer Review: Very Insightful
The author started with a history of professional basketball which includes a timeline of the major events, teams and players that played the game. The book also proposed an alternative way of evaluating the best professional basketball players for a team not just by using free agents, scouting,gut feelings, or draft picks but acutually using a scientific approach to anaylze the talents and athletic abilites of a player.This book is awesome and should be read basketball purists and fanatics-for the love of the game.
Customer Review: A good concept, poorly executed
I bought this book because I am a very avid basketball fan. I also am very interested in basketball statistics and what they mean and how they can and should be used. Mr. Thompson approaches the question of the greatest basketball player ever with a unique methodology that I found intriguing. Unfortunately, I also found it flawed, and was also dismayed and put off by Thompson's ignorance of the already-growing community of statistical analysts in basketball.
One very welcome and useful section of the book is Thompson's opening on the very early history of the game. He spends about 30 pages on the time period between the game's creation and the formation of the NBA. While it's not comprehensive, it's a good introduction to the key figures in basketball before the NBA was formed.
Mr. Thompson's methodology, in short, is terribly short-sighted. He attempts to quantify every meaningful accomplishment in basketball - statistical performance, most valuable player awards and other awards, championships and playoff performance, and also all-star selection and performance. His methods would be welcomed under other circumstances, but he felt compelled, for some reason, to not only trademark his term "Performance Efficiency Rating", but to withhold certain portions of his formulas because of a pending patent. He further states that his measure is the most comprehensive measure of player greatness ever developed. It certainly is comprehensive, but the flaws in the formulas he uses are evident to those who study the game on a deeper level. The flaws in his evaluation of player statistics - points, rebounds, assists, etc. - are the most evident of all, notwithstanding his taking the highly appropriate step of adjusting everything to a per-minute basis. I would also like to know how he knows how to weight every possible factor correctly, or even why he thinks non-statistical accomplishments are quantifiable.
Further, Thompson is either willfully dismissive or accidentally ignorant of the aforementioned community of statistical analysts already present and growing in influence. I don't know why he felt it necessary to keep his work proprietary, but it does him and his work a disservice by making him appear self-important, and by closing his formulas to mainstream evaluation and constructive feedback. If he felt that his work was worthy of widespread use, I believe he would have been better served to allow others who love and follow the game to see exactly what he was doing.
Finally, the book itself is not very well written. There are many, many errors in punctuation - such as a pronounced lack of question marks where they should be, and the word "though" repeatedly misspelled as "thou". Whether this is the publisher's fault or Mr. Thompson's, it certainly should never have happened. Other authors (such as John Hollinger, who was mentioned in one of the other reviews here) produce books that not only demonstrate that they know basketball, but that are entertaining and well-written. Much more importantly, other authors such as Hollinger haven't yet assumed that they've found the Holy Grail of analysis. They're constantly trying to improve upon what they've already done, and they seek the input of others - something that Thompson apparently didn't consider. They also know that "statistical analysis" means a lot more than mashing a bunch of numbers together and adding them up.
I mean no disrespect to Mr. Thompson. The project he undertook must have been extensive and time-consuming. But it doesn't offer any real advances in common knowledge, and the poor writing detracts from any attempt to take it seriously. As I mentioned to a colleague of mine, "I would have been better served checking this book out from the library instead of buying it."
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October 26, 2009 at 12:07 pm · Filed under Basketball Books
Published to coincide with the 2000 Olympics, "Chamique" is the inspiring life story of the six-foot-two-inch, 22-year-old WNBA star who is considered to be the best woman basketball player in history.
Customer Review: A Story of Confindence
I don't know how to express how Chamique's book has given me confindence. Knowing Chamique is succeeding over come obstacles in her here life has given me inspiration. The book has taught me to work hard in school and on the basketball court. If you work hard you will success in great things. It could be changing the world or graduating from High School.
Customer Review: NOT AS GOOD AS THOUGHT
Chamiquqe did a good job writing about her life,but it wasn't as good applying it to her life. It was about her family, basketball, but wasn't very much on focus. It was an okay book.
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October 25, 2009 at 6:13 am · Filed under Basketball Books
This is a true story about a boy whose life revolved around God and basketball. Matt Espinoza aka "Noza" was taught about the game of basketball at a very young age. During that time he faced many obstacles, the most difficult one being that he lost his mom to brain cancer when he was nine years old. His dad raised him and his brother and continued developing them for basketball. Other challenges would confront Matt. He was dealing with a blood platelet condition he had not grown out of yet. Matt had a love for the game of basketball but his body was not developing as fast as most kids. In his younger years things were going great. But when he got to Jr. High other kids seem to be passing him up and he was struggling for playing time. Matt would always tag along with his older brother, Jake, but always found himself watching and not playing. When Matt was a freshman and a sophomore he almost didn't make McNary High School's basketball team. His dad speaks of the challenges and lessons learned in this amazing story. Matt was always trying to keep up with his older brother Jake. They would eventually battle it out in a college basketball game. This is an inspirational, encouraging, and an amazing story of a young man that believed in himself and was not going to be denied. Matt set goals for himself and he worked hard to reach those goals. His attitude of never giving up, and having faith paid off big time.
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October 24, 2009 at 7:50 am · Filed under Basketball Books
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October 22, 2009 at 7:33 pm · Filed under Basketball Books
Customer Review: A Woman's Work
This was the best book I read. I love this book and will read it again and again .....
Sasha is a intelligent, sexy, go getter. She takes an interesting job working for a basketball player, Pheonix. Sasha and Pheonix then discover spark that become uncontrollable amongst each other.
This story makes turn that keep you flipping the pages. This books is rated as the most addictive book, once you start you will not be able to stop reading Brenda Thomas's books - she is a creative author that keeps her reader's fening for more.
Customer Review: Pretty Good Read
This was an interesting read. I felt bad for Sasha. The poor girl don't know what to do. Some people are never happy. I can't wait to read the Sequel.
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