Basketball Memoir

Paul Westhead was teaching high school in his native Philadelphia when he was named La Salle University’s men’s basketball coach in 1970. By 1980 he was a Los Angeles Lakers assistant, soon to be hired as head coach, winning an NBA title with Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and rookie guard Magic Johnson.

An award-winning journalist's behind-the-scenes account from the epicenter of sports, social justice, and coronavirus, Can't Knock the Hustle is a lasting chronicle of the historic 2019-2020 NBA season, by way of the notorious Brooklyn Nets and basketball's renaissance as a cultural force beyond the game.

When all she wanted was to fit in, Tamika Catchings stood out and felt left out, never knowing one day she'd stand out - as a basketball superstar and an inspiration. She faced being set apart by her hearing loss, separated from family, living up to high expectations, and the pain and discouragement of debilitating physical injury. Yet she reached for the stars with hard work, perseverance, and her faith in God. Through the silence, she found the way to shine.

In The Jump, one of America's great sports writers follows high school phenom Sebastian Telfair on his quest for NBA stardom - and exposes all that big-time sports in America has become, the good and the bad. Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James - all became NBA superstars without playing a day of college ball. In 2004, Coney Island's 5-foot-11 Telfair became the first small player ever to jump straight from high school to the NBA when he signed contracts with the Portland Trail Blazers and Adidas worth $25 million.

"All die Stunden in der Halle, die Niederlagen und Siege, all die Geschichten und Gedanken - es braucht einen Autor wie Thomas Pletzinger, um die richtigen Worte für meine Welt und mein Spiel zu finden. Ich hätte mir keinen besseren wünschen können." Dirk Nowitzki. Wenn man über Dirk Nowitzki spricht, kommt man an Superlativen nicht vorbei. Er gehört zu den Legenden seiner Sportart, ist ein globaler Superstar - und als Mensch zugleich nahbar und schwer zu fassen. Thomas Pletzinger hat den Ausnahmesportler über viele Jahre begleitet, er wurde Teil von dessen Kosmos.

Set against a backdrop of social change during the 1970s, State is a compelling first-person account of what it was like to live through both traditional gender discrimination in sports and the joy of the very first days of equality - or at least the closest that one high school girls’ basketball team ever came to it.

Welcome to Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School, in a working-class corner of the Bronx, where a driven coach inspires his teams to win games and championships - and learn Russian history and graduate and go on to college.

LeBron James is the hero in two very American tales: one, a success story the nation loves; the other, the latest installment in an ongoing chronicle of American antiblackness. James has lived in the public eye ever since high school when his extraordinary athletic skills subjected his every action, every statement, every fashion choice to intense public scrutiny that tells us less about James himself and more about a nation still wrestling with many social inequities.

Evoking days gone by when coaches were respected as much for their off-court performances as for their success on the court, Wooden presents the timeless wisdom of legendary basketball coach John Wooden. In honest and telling passages about virtually every aspect of life, Coach shares his personal philosophy on family, achievement, success, and excellence. Raised on a small farm in South-Central Indiana, he offers lessons and wisdom learned throughout his career at UCLA and life as a dedicated husband, father, and teacher.

In Jayson Tatum: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball’s Rising Stars, you will learn the incredible story of one of basketball's emerging stars, Jayson Tatum. Since being drafted by the Boston Celtics in 2017, Tatum has quickly established himself as a versatile and formidable guard to play against. At the time of this writing, Tatum is just 21 years old, with his prime years ahead of him.

In Game Face, King finally opens up about his life on and off the court. In his book, King's basketball IQ is on full display as he breaks down defenses using his own unique system for taking shots from predetermined spots on the floor. King talks about matching up against some of the all-time NBA greats, from Michael Jordan, Julius Erving, and Charles Barkley to Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing, and many others.

Caitlin Clark, a standout player in women's college basketball, has risen to prominence with her impressive skills, breaking records, and drawing widespread attention. However, her meteoric rise has been subject to controversy. This book explores why Caitlin Clark has become such a contentious figure, why mainstream audiences love her, and why she faces criticism from minority communities.

Porter Moser, one of the most inspiring and driven Division I basketball coaches today, offers a practical, motivating guide to help build character, transform failure into success, find purpose, and live an authentic life through energy and positivity. Porter Moser knows what it’s like to live and work with determination, passion, and grit. He also knows what it’s like to keep front and center the core values of faith, family, honesty, and integrity.

Linspired reveals the remarkable journey of the ultimate underdog, Jeremy Lin, superstar of the New York Knicks and the first American-born player of Chinese/Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA.

Learn the incredible story of Devin Booker, one of basketball's most exciting young shooting guards. As the 13th overall pick in the 2015 draft, Devin Booker become a prominent piece of the Suns franchise, as they continue rebuilding post-the-Steve-Nash-and-Mike-D'antoni era.

Lloyd Daniels learned to hoop on the playgrounds of Brooklyn and Queens during the 1980s. "Swee'pea" they called him. His rep on the court traveled all the way to the Bronx and across the country, earning him enthusiastic comparisons to the likes of Magic Johnson. Swee'pea was sure to make it to the big time and out of a New York City where drugs and violence had gripped many of its neighborhoods. Eventually he did, leaving the city's asphalt courts for the shiny hardwoods of NCAA programs.

The basketball rivalry between Duke and North Carolina is the fiercest and longest-running blood feud in college athletics, and perhaps in all of sports. To legions of otherwise reasonable adults, it is a conflict that surpasses athletics; it is rich against poor, locals against outsiders, even good against evil. In North Carolina, where both schools reside, it is a way of aligning oneself with larger philosophic ideals—of choosing teams in life—a tradition of partisanship that reveals the pleasures and even the necessities of hatred.

Harvard graduate Jeremy Lin recently became a New York Knicks phenomenon and he's the NBA's first American-born player of Taiwanese descent. The book will chronicle Lin's high school, college and early career in the NBA with particular emphasis on the media explosion surrounding his success as starting point guard with the Knicks. It will explore how Jeremy's Christian faith, family, education and cultural inheritance have contributed to his success.

Long before he hit the big time as the play-by-play voice of the Texas Longhorns and San Antonio Spurs, sportscaster Bill Schoening paid lots of dues. Stories, Sports, and Songs is a collection of 101 tales that chronicle Schoening's unlikely and often humorous radio journey.

In John Stockton: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball's Greatest Point Guards, you will learn the inspirational story of one of basketball's greatest point guards of all time, John Stockton. Stockton ran the point for the Utah Jazz through the majority of the '80s and '90s. He holds the NBA record for the most assists and steals of all time. Playing for the majority of his career alongside Karl Malone, Stockton had a highly illustrious career. By the time he retired, he was a 10-time All-Star and had led the league in assists nine times.