This book takes a one of a kind look at what it means, and what it takes to be a head coach in the college arena of the new millennium.
Customer Review: Extremely insightful to every aspect of the game
As I saw in other reviews, the book doesn't always flow within chapters and there are some grammatical errors. However, if you have ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of big-time college basketball programs, this book is a must. The following of each team through their season took a back seat for me. What stood out was how coaches had to stay on top of their game, their players, their team, and their program on a daily basis. After reading this book you will have a much better understanding, and respect, for what coaches go through from year to year. You really get the sense that you are there, in the locker room, and you feel like the coaches are your next door neighbors. I definitely recommend this book to coaches, hoops fans, and sports fans in general.
Customer Review: Really, two books in one
I must be getting old...all the guys who were playing basketball when I was in college are now coaches! I was a college classmate of one of the coaches profiled in this book, so from that perspective I found it interesting, but not terribly well-written. This is really two books in one. First, Curtis profiles the "inside stories" of the coaches and teams at Iowa, Illinois, Notre Dame, and UCLA. But then, he drops in all sorts of little essays on the state of the college game today: how recruiting works, how coaches really make all their money, how influential Dick Vitale is, how the coaches network among themselves to recommend each other for jobs. Each of these could have been a decent book; both together is just a little too much. There also were a number of spelling errors and a few factual errors.