Are you caught up in the NCAA March Madness College Basketball Tournament? My family loves March Madness and we each have our own bracket. It is a family tradition and the winner gets to decide where we will go out to eat. I’m already out this year. I’m usually the first one out of contention each year because I don’t look at stats, I don’t look at the season, I just go with my heart. My husband on the other hand actually thinks about his bracket; he analyzes the team record, thinks about coaches and individual players, and makes an informed decision. He usually doesn’t fare any better than I do.
So, since I’ve been thinking basketball lately, I thought I would share some books that are available through Topsham Public Library that may be of interest to other basketball fans.
The Legends Club: Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Valvano and an Epic College Basketball Rivalry by John Feinstein is a look at the recruiting wars, the high pressure stakes, and the sometimes ugly rivalry between big time college basketball powerhouses University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke, and North Carolina State.
Indentured: The Inside Story of the Rebellion Against the NCAA by Joe Nocera and Ben Strauss is an unveiling of the dark side of the NCAA. They argue the organization exploits the student-athletes it is meant to protect.
In 2016, the world of basketball mourned the loss of Pat Summitt, the most successful women’s basketball coach whose career spanned 38 years. The Final Season: the Perseverance of Pat Summitt by Maria M. Cornelius covers her career and her battle with early onset Alzheimers.
1966 is a historic year in basketball: it was the first time a college coach started five African-American players, and if that wasn’t enough, they went on to unseat the then nationally top-ranked University of Kentucky. Coach Haskins tells this amazing story in Glory Road: My Story of the 1966 NCAA Basketball Championship and How One Team Triumphed Against the Odds and Changed America Forever.
Usually it’s the sports legends that write their stories, but if you want to know what it’s like to sit the bench, try Don’t Put Me in Coach: My Incredible NCAA Journey from the End of the Bench to the End of the Bench by Mark Titus.