Sports & Recreation : Basketball

The New York Times bestseller and ESPN Book Club selection. In a city mired in endless decay, where the youth suffer through all the horrors of urban blight, hope comes in a most unassuming form: a tiny brick schoolhouse run by two Felician nuns where a singular basketball genius takes teenagers from the mean streets of Jersey City and turns them into champions on the hardcourt. Coach Bob Hurley had been working miracles at St. Anthony High School for over thirty years, winning state and national championships and offering his players rescue from their surroundings through college scholarships, when he met his most dysfunctional team yet. In The Miracle of St. Anthony Adrian Wojnarowski follows Hurley through a gripping and heartrending season as he struggles to lead a troubled team to glory through his unparalleled understanding of the game and his ceaseless determination to see no more children lost to these streets. In The Miracle of St. Anthony, acclaimed sports journalist Adrian Wojnarowski follows Hurley through a gripping and heartrending season, as he struggles to lead a troubled team to glory through his unparalleled understanding of the game and his ceaseless determination to see no more children lost to the city streets. more...

Price: $15.00

Before Shaquille O’Neal and before Bill Russell, there was George Mikan, a six-foot-ten, 240-pound center, whose quiet demeanor and bespectacled face belied his competitive fire. A four-time All-American at DePaul and a six-time professional champion, Mikan was such an unstoppable force—and a national sensation—that, when his Minneapolis Lakers played the New York Knickerbockers in 1949, the marquee outside Madison Square Garden read simply, “George Mikan vs. Knicks.” Drawing on extensive interviews—with former teammates, opponents, coaches, friends, and rivals—critically acclaimed author Michael Schumacher reveals, for the first time, a wonderfully nuanced portrait of one of the most unheralded athletes of our time, and a fascinating look at the birth of the National Basketball Association. more...

Price: $18.95

NATIONAL BESTSELLER. For John Wooden's millions of fans--a heartfelt and revealing self-portrait about the people and events that shaped his life. Sports Illustrated declared: ''There has never been a finer coach in American sports than John Wooden. Nor a finer man.'' ESPN selected him as the ''Greatest Coach of the 20 th Century.'' From his birth on an Indiana tenant farm, to All-American honors at Purdue, to his historic record-setting UCLA dynasty, John Wooden is a towering figure in 20 th -century sports, and his experience and wisdom an American treasure. In My Personal Best , Coach Wooden tells how he did it and the lessons he learned on his remarkable journey. Pairing never-before-seen photos from Coach Wooden's private collection with his personal stories and affirmations, this book encompasses the dramatic arc of Wooden's larger-than-life achievements and experiences. As he did in his perpetual bestseller Wooden , Coach offers a wealth of biographical details, personal reflections, and a lifetime of lessons. His millions of fans will cherish this definitive pictorial history of a living sports legend. ''John Wooden is a living legend because he practiced what he preached--the code of ethics which created America's strength.''. --Phil Jackson, head coach, Los Angeles Lakers. ''Most of what I know, what's made me a smart man, has come from John Wooden.''. --Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer. ''A man of John Wooden's accomplishments and integrity would stand out in any era, but now, almost three decades after he coached his last game, he is in some ways an even more striking figure.''. --Bob Costas. more...

Price: $23.95

Describes the intrigues that brought the first Chinese players to the NBA, and discusses China's efforts to produce Olympic champions, the brutal Chinese sports machine, the life of Yao Ming, and America's billion-dollar basketball empire. more...

Price: $26.00

“Don Casey does an extraordinary job illustrating the key concepts of zone defense. The knowledge and insight he shares are sure to help coaches at all levels.”--David J. Stern, NBA Commissioner. Own the Zone is the first authoritative guide to bothemploying fundamentally sound zone defenses aswell as attacking them on the offensive end of thecourt. A true master of zone defensive strategies,author Don Casey teaches you howzone defenses can help to avoid mismatches, neutralizedribble penetration, and shut down dominant postplayers--while providing the game-tested know-howto put these invaluable strategies in play. more...

Price: $17.95