Sports & Recreation : Basketball

Bring a family of four to an NBA game today, and it costs around $500 to watch a bunch of seven-footers take bad shots. Perhaps the quote often attributed to P.T. Barnum is true—there really is a sucker born every minute. The NBA is in trouble. And as NBA agent Keith Glass describes it—he's part of the problem! If team owners are willing to throw millions of dollars his way for marginal players, why should he be the only one with the self-restraint to say ''no''?. In his insightful, funny, and often mind-numbingly bizarre tales of life in the NBA over the last twenty- five years, Keith Glass lets it fly from half-court. He'll tell you how we got to the present state—where an agent who makes millions off the game can't sit through one; why our NBA stars couldn't capture Olympic gold; and why the game he loves is in dire need of help. Glass has seen it all as the representative of players like Mark Eaton, the seven-foot-five center found working as a mechanic because he hated basketball; Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, who converted to Islam and brought the wrath of the league upon him when he refused to stand for the National Anthem; and first-round draft pick Quincy Douby, who was forced to enter the draft before graduating from Rutgers because of the harsh NCAA rules regarding college eligibility. With informative chapters such as ''How to Feed Your Family on Only $14 Million a Year,'' ''Eighty-one Feet of White Centers,'' and ''From 6'11'' to the 7- Eleven,'' Glass shatters the myth of NBA marketing: that everything about the game is great, and that as long as the fans in the luxury boxes are happy and weighed down with expensive merchandise, all is well. But have no fear! Keith Glass doesn't preach about the evils of highlight film slam-dunks—he'll just have you falling down laughing as he flagrantly fouls the league that was once the envy of the pro sports world. more...

Price: $12.99

The story of the heated rivalry between North Carolina's and Duke University's basketball teams discusses the fervency of the long-term feud between the teams and their fans, citing a long history of race, family, loyalty, privilege, and Southern belief systems that contributed to its present state. 40,000 first printing. more...

Price: $11.99

For forty years, he has been the Quiet Man of the NBA. With only John Wooden does Lenny Wilkens share the honor of being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame twice - first as a player, and then as a coach. In this thought-provoking, candid memoir, Wilkens speaks plainly and unequivocally on the changes he's seen in his career. more...

Price: $25.00

Melvin Juette has said that becoming paralyzed in a shooting was "both the worst and best thing that happened" to him. This memoir re-constructs the defining moments of his life with the assistance of sociologist Ronald Berger. It is bracketed by Berger's introduction and conclusion, which places this narrative in proper sociological context. more...

Price: $18.95

Baker sets the stage with a quick look at current statistics and trends in women’s basketball nationwide, noting the profound changes in the last thirty-five years. A series of exclusive interviews then takes us into the heart and soul of the sport. Her subjects are players and coaches, from neophytes to stars such as Dawn Staley and Nancy Lieberman; from legendary coaches such as Jody Conradt to the masterminds of USA Basketball and the 1996 Women’s Dream Team; from Donna Lopiano, former CEO of the Women’s Sports Foundation, to tomorrow’s Olympic athletes. A richly detailed, all-encompassing portrait of the sport, these interviews offer a wealth of insight into the game, American sports culture, and, indeed, why Baker plays. more...

Price: $17.95