It Was A Truly "Shock"ing Turnaround! From worst record in the league to WNBA champions...this was the history making achievement of the 2003 Detroit Shock. Led by great players like Swin Cash, Ruth Riley, Deanna Nolan and Cheryl Ford, and coached by Detroit Piston legend Bill Laimbeer, the Shock knocked off the defending champions from Los Angeles in a thrilling three game championship final. This book tells the entire history of the Shock through the 2003 season, and also includes general background information on women's basketball.
Customer Review: A Little Of That Motor City Magic
After the tumultuous 2002 season, where the club was in national publications like Sports Illustrated for all the wrong reasons, the Detroit Shock basically had nowhere to go but up in the standings.
Instead of one of those cliche-ridden rebuilding years in 2003, the Shock had one of those remarkable runs that culminated with a WNBA championship, defeating the Los Angeles Sparks in a three game series.
In a brief, yet thorough chronicle of the season, author Vince Prygoski demonstrates how the Shock captivated a region that loves pro basketball. To celebrate the title, an industrial gas holding tank near I-75 was painted like a basketball with the Shock logo.
Under the leadership of coach Bill Laimbeer, the team had a little bit of the swagger from the Pistons' Bad Boys era of Isiah, Vinnie, Dennis and Joe with a nucleus consisting of 2004 Olympian Swin Cash, Finals MVP Ruth Riley, Deanna Nolan and rookie of the year Cheryl Ford. To win the Eastern Conference crown, Detroit defeated Cleveland and Connecticut.
The Sparks won game one by 12 points and seemed in control during a tight game two. Some late heroics at the free-throw line by Nolan, who smoothly drained free throws late in the contest, gave the Shock an exciting 62-61 victory. Detroit won the third game 83-78.
What made it all satisfying was it demonstrated how a true team with a great leader can cap a successful regular season with a storybook ending.
Customer Review: You'll Get Caught Up in the Enthusiasm
Sports fans and women's history buffs will both enjoy author Vince Prygoski's latest: "Worst To First (A 'Shocking' Tale of Women's Basketball In Motown)." The book presents the story of the Detroit Shock, and the amazing turnaround of the women's basketball team who went from last place to league champions in the course of two seasons.
Those interested in how women have advanced themselves in U.S. society over the last 100 years will appreciate the difficulties faced by female pioneers to take their place in professional sports, as Prygoski provides a quick history of women's basketball in the U.S. Personally, i wish the book had gone into much greater detail about this subject.
The book primarily caters to sports afficionados. Prygoski provides game-by-game coverage of several seasons as the Detroit Shock start off with a jolt, lose their footing, and then come back with a roar in the 2003 Season when they swept the championship. In the final chapter, Prygoski switches to announcer-mode, and gives play-by-play coverage of the most important games. As one who is primarily interested in
women's history, i still found myself caught up in the enthusiasm.
The book is a brief 72 pages, but it is a fun and fascinating read.