Basketball Books

An outstanding book for any young reader. It sums up "Sir Charles" quirky personality -- gruff but lovable, silly but complex. The message of this book is a good one for youngsters -- dedication and perseverance pays off. It also offers a look at the importance of family in Mr. Barkley's life. Well done, a good read.

I would recommend this child's book and all by Mr. Macnow to anyone who has a young child that is interested in reading about some athletes.

I thought this was a great read! Here is an article I found about the book from the August Gannetteer:

"Indy staffer bares basketball player's 'sole'"

Probably the only thing you know about Chuck Taylor is that his name appears on a shoe. Abe Aamidor wants you to know why.

The Indianapolis Star reporter has penned "Chuck Taylor, All Star"(Indiana University Press), a biography of the man whose name became synonymous with the Converse basketball shoe that bears his signature.

"I learned that Chuck Taylor was the most famous name in sports no one knew anything about," Aamidor says. "There had been no biographies written about him, and some people thought the name was fake, like Betty Crocker or Juan Valdez. I felt there had to be a story to tell."

Aamidor was granted access to Converse's corporate archives and Taylor's stepson gave him permission to visit the Port Charlotte, Fla., home and estate of Taylor's second wife to collect materials. He discovered correspondence between Taylor and legendary University of North Carolina coach Dean Smith, as well as UCLA's John Wooden. Smith wrote the foreword for Aamidor's book and Wooden "was by far my best living source."

The three-year project also took Aamidor to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio - Taylor was coach of the Wright Field Army Air Force "Air-Tecs" basketball team during World War II - and the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

The book, Aamidor's third, has brought him national attention, with interviews on ESPN2's "Cold Pizza" and syndicated radio shows "Sports Byline USA" and "The Bob and Tom Show." Aamidor has also penned two college-level journalism texts, "Real Feature Writing" and "Real Sports Reporting."

by Ryan Corazza
Indiana Daily Student
Published Wednesday, March 22, 2006


His signature resides on the ankle patch of perhaps the most popular shoe in American history. He's a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and mingled with such basketball legends as John Wooden, Red Auerbach and Dean Smith. But up until now, nobody knew the true story of Chuck Taylor.

Enter Abe Aamidor.

The former IU adjunct professor and current feature writer at The Indianapolis Star spent three years digging up the facts and filtering out the myth of Chuck Taylor's life to write the first-ever biography on the Columbus, Ind., native.

"I was excited to learn there was never a book written about him," Aamidor said. "It was kind of like finding a gold coin in the street and nobody's around -- you just pick it up."

Because Taylor played in the pre-modern era of basketball that newspapers did not cover much and Converse misled the public about which pro teams Taylor played for, there was a lot for Aamidor to discover.

"Part of the mission was to debunk the mythology," Aamidor said. "There was a lot of junk in the standard brief stuff on Chuck's life, but there was also a lot that wasn't talked about."

Taylor was born in 1901 and spent most of his early years in Azalia, Ind., and Columbus, Ind.

He never played college basketball, which before World War II was the most watched and publicized level of the game. Instead, Taylor became involved with industrial league hoops, more prominent during the 1920s than professional basketball.

Taylor was also a great basketball coach -- a part of his life that is often overlooked, Aamidor said. He coached the Wright Field (Ohio) Army Air Force "Air-Tecs" of the U.S. Army's Special Service Division. The team toured the country playing college and other military teams and is regarded by some as the best service basketball team in history, winning more than 90 percent of its contests during the 1944-45 season.

"All the good players from colleges that were already playing pro ball were drafted (for military service)," Aamidor said. "In those days, you didn't get a deferment from the draft because you were a great ball player."

Instead of being well-known for his coaching abilities, Taylor became most famous for his relationship with Converse and its "All-Star" shoe. Although stories range on just how Chuck became involved with the company, he most likely became a salesman for Converse in 1921 and after proving to be a valuable asset to the company, his name was added to the All-Star patch in 1932.

One way Taylor marketed the shoe was through the "Fundamentals of Basketball" clinics he put on throughout the country. These clinics were put on at high schools and small colleges and on average drew about 300 to 400 guests.

"Before World War II, football and baseball were the big sports," Aamidor said. "So, in the clinics, he explained the game to a lot of people who weren't familiar with it."

Taylor promoted the shoe in a variety of other ways, ranging from traveling with the Converse All-Stars basketball squad to personally contacting and visiting owners of small-town sporting goods stores.

"In a way, his dealings were a bit shady, but he was ultimately honest and likeable," Aamidor said. "Nowadays, every photograph is airbrushed and any statement made is through a spokesman and interviews have to be granted. While Chuck's ways weren't perfect, they were much more honest."

Ryan Corazza
Published Wednesday, March 22, 2006

this Book reflects the Heart&Soul of the Lakers title drive&run.the start of Something big.a Treat for Laker Fans.

As far as quickie championship stories go (and I've helped produce a few of them), this may be the best ever. Superbly packaged and illustrated, well written, this title is one I've enjoyed immensely.

Roland Lazenby
author of Mindgames, Phil Jackson's Long Strange Journey

McShane is the real deal when it comes to coaching soccer. I highly recommend his instructional and informative book. I do wish that he sought out the mighty Arsenal Football Club as a resource. I'm sure Thierry Henry could have added some poignant insights on the game. My only other complaint regarded the fact that there were no chapters on soccer video games. I feel that these games not only serve to develop hand-eye coordination and lot of good material for "smack-talk," but also instill confidence (albeit false) in one's outdoor performance. Nonetheless, this is a fine read for the lads. Go STA! Go Arsenal! and GO SOX!

Mr. McShane has produced a work that will, I think, have a profound effect on how the elite youth players in the United States are trained. He has done intensive research on how the most successful player development systems operate and has written a book designed to clearly define the essential elements of their training. If you have involvment with the development of potentionaly elite players, you should read this book.

Every good youth AAU basketball coach should know his or her limits. In my case, the trademark of most of our teams is usually to play tough defense. To this end, our defensive pressure generates plentiful scoring opportunites. However, as my teams climbed into the tougher AAU tounaments and faced nationally ranked clubs I found our style was lacking and we needed a vast improvement in our ability to execute a reliable zone offense.

Consequently, I found, "Coaching Zone Offenses," by Bob Huggins is an excellent guide to help teams score against complex defenses. Coach Huggins does a good job of providing zone offenses in all shapes and sizes. The key of course...as Huggins points out is to immediately identify what type of zone defense you are facing and then to make the appropriate adjustments.

The Huggins "quick hitters" and "penetration & pitch" plays are easy to teach and valuable tools for getting quality shots during offensive opportunities. We found the low post "kick-out to wing," play a reliable offensive set against good zone defenses. Certainly, the overload and ball reversal plays that Huggins recommendes open scoring opportunites on offense as well. Coach Huggins is also a master of stacks and offers sound ideas on how to consistently crash the boards on offense.

Overall, this is a great book for coaches looking to prepare youth players for serious AAU or high school basketball competition. The narrative in this text is well written and the many diagrams are easy to understand. Recommended for coaches looking for more offensive options.

Bert Ruiz

This book is terrific. Bob Huggins (U. of Cincinnati) gives you every weapon you need to embarrass any kind of zone defense. 1. Overview of how to beat Zones. 2. Player Job descriptions and placement of personnel. 3. Terminology. 4. Techniques (and drills). 5.Entries and quick hitters. 6.Zone offensive sets.

This book is a great tool. You'll never have a problem scoring against a zone defense again. The author makes it clear WHY you setup the way he suggests, and WHY the offensive principles work. The best part is that he provides drills that make it easy to teach your team everything they need to know to be effective.

This is a must-buy. It's a great weapon.

well im a professional basketball player im my country , and i just bought several books to improve my strength , well this book just gave me a total new perspective of how i should do it. sometimes we do our weight work with other body builders and our head stay so confused for what you ear , well this book will help you understand what you really need to be in shape.

As a high school basketball coach, developing a comprehensive strength and conditioning program can be a difficult process. I searched high and low for materials that I could reference, this book offers 'far and away' the most comprhensive and practical methodology. It is very easy to understand and implement with your players. I use this for the development of pre, post and in season conditioning regimes. The court conditioning drills were used throughout our practices. I recommend this book to any coach or parent who is serious about the benefits of a practical basketball conditioning program. Great book!!

If you coach girl's basketball -- at any level -- this book will help you immensely. Coach Hatchell goes beyond discussing the simple fundamentals of coaching and X's and O's; she delves deeper into the mentality of a coach and the various nuances that can occur (though the fundamentals are important and they are covered in great detail). The Complete Guide To Coaching Girls' Basketball: Building a Great Team the Carolina Way is loaded with discussions and drills regarding fundamentals, offense and defense. The basics are here if you are just starting out as a coach or if you coach younger girl's. If you coach high school age girls and are more experienced, there is also a wealth of information. There are numerous drills, plays, and sets that will benefit the most experienced of coaches and teams. Coach Hatchell also talks at length about team and game management; a couple of areas that are often overlooked and sometimes difficult to learn. She does a masterful job discussing these areas and giving helpful ideas and tips.

The one aspect of this book that really sets it apart are the 'Ask the Coach' boxes throughout. In these, Coach Hatchell gives her answer to questions such as "What's a good drill to teach the behind-the-back dribble?" and "How do I get my kids to make good cuts in our press break?". The 'Ask the Coach' boxes are loaded throughout the book and the answers are very insightful and interesting.

The Complete Guide To Coaching Girls' Basketball: Building a Great Team the Carolina Way is a must-have addition to your coaching library. It is a well-written book that is very easy to understand and easy to follow. This is one of those coaching books you will want with you at all times -- any information you may be searching for is right in the book.

The only coaching book you may ever need! Coach Hatchell hasn't left anything aside. From the psychology of young women and how to deal with it, to the most subtle nuances of coaching, it is all in there. Well illustrated, the explanations are easy to understand and the chapters are arranged in a logical way. I wish the photos would have been in full color instead of black & white but it would have made the book more expensive. I highly recommend it to anyone, whether you are a senior coach or just stepping in the field.

Very enjoyable. Typical Peter Gent book. If you like his others, you will like this one. Conspiracies everywhere. The protagonist is a tortured, well-meaning, but not perfect, baseball coach/scout. I hope that the recruiting scandals described are not even one quarter true, but who knows?

My only regret is that he hasn't written more novels

I read The Conquering Heroes by Peter Gent several years ago and was reminded of it when I recently read The Franchise by Gent. This book is a very interesting story of some of the behind the scenes of major college basketball. As in most of his books, the seedy underside is explored in great detail here from recruiting scandal to protection of a star player who committed a major crime. I enjoyed this book as much as I did North Dallas 40, although it didn't get near the accolades that 40 did. If you can find it used, it's worth your time.

This is an exceptional book that really helps a new/young varsity coach organize their program. The points are well thought out and well written for easy communication. Most beneficial is the long term development model that introduces "another way" to train the young athletes with their long term development at heart.

An excellent read that I have referenced a number of times, and will continue to do so.

Cross Over truly sets the standard of where American youth athlete development needs to cultivate. Brian McCormick has compiled one of the most comprehensive and detailed models for youth development, specifically focusing on basketball. Researched and clearly presented, Cross Over is the essential guide for all youth coaches, parents, trainers, and administrators to follow. McCormick encompasses training techniques, specific drill sequences, a stage by stage model for development, coaches' education, and expert knowledge and research into this one book. Thank you, for finally bringing to the forefront and presenting the problem (and answer) of youth athletics and development, and for sincerely trying to make the system better!

An enjoyable read for basketball fans, this factoid book also gives readers insight into the daily operation of a family farm. The story of a young man's dreams of playing "hoops" while struggling with family responsibilities is fascinating. The basketball tips and the portrayal of life on a farm ring true. Chapter 14, The Contest, made me laugh out loud.

Strong male characters lead the reader quickly into thirteen-year-old Joe's choices, decisions, and mistakes as he moves through life's surprises and disappointments in corn fileds, cow pastures, pig pens, and on a gravel basketball court. Readers will also enjoy meeting Joe's parents, Captain, Cuda, Sassy, and Scottie in this reassuring view of growing up.