Wooden: A Coach's Life

Author: Davis, Seth

Edition: First Edition ~1st Printing

Number Of Pages: 608

Details:

A provocative and revelatory new biography of the legendary UCLA coach John Wooden, by one of America's top college basketball writers No college basketball coach has ever dominated the sport like John Wooden. His UCLA teams reached unprecedented heights in the 1960s and '70s capped by a run of ten NCAA championships in twelve seasons and an eighty-eight-game winning streak, records that stand to this day. Wooden also became a renowned motivational speaker and writer, revered for his "Pyramid of Success." Seth Davis of Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports has written the definitive biography of Wooden, an unflinching portrait that draws on archival research and more than two hundred interviews with players, opponents, coaches, and even Wooden himself. Davis shows how hard Wooden strove for success, from his All-American playing days at Purdue through his early years as a high school and college coach to the glory days at UCLA, only to discover that reaching new heights brought new burdens and frustrations. Davis also reveals how at the pinnacle of his career Wooden found himself on questionable ground with alumni, referees, assistants, and even some of his players. His was a life not only of lessons taught, but also of lessons learned. Woven into the story as well are the players who powered Wooden's championship teams – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Walt Hazzard, and others – many of whom speak frankly about their coach. The portrait that emerges from Davis's remarkable biography is of a man in full, whose life story still resonates today. From Booklist *Starred Review* Although the most successful and one of the best-known college basketball coaches ever, the late John Wooden is not an easy subject for a biographer. He was a reserved and aloof man, often dull, always a midwesterner despite his many years as coach of the UCLA Bruins. Though a coach of biracial teams during a period of intense racial feelings, Wooden remained above the fray, rarely accused of bigotry, though never a crusader. Similarly, coaching with astounding success throughout the sixties, and having among his athletes the greatly gifted but politically aware and rebellious Bill Walton, Wooden, though frequently at odds with his stars, managed an unprecedented and since unequaled series of championships. By way of interviews with former players and associates, and with the aged Wooden himself, Davis (When March Went Mad, 2009) manages to present a balanced portrait of a singular man, deflating the image of Saint John with suggestions of his anger, occasional nastiness (his bench jockeying will be a revelation to those who observed him less closely), the blind eye he turned to overzealous boosters, compulsive orientation to detail, and detachment from athletes who, in some cases, may have craved more paternal attention. Davis has avoided stultifying, game-by-game detail (but does offer genuinely exciting accounts of several key games) and has provided a multidimensional, nearly cradle-to-grave portrait of a highly successful and revered coach and teacher, in the process delivering a history of the evolution of college basketball and profiles of many of its stars. --Mark Levine

Reviews:

“Mr. Davis beautifully captures the ties that bound a strong-willed coach and his players. His biography is superb--readable, well-reported and savvy in its understanding of basketball.” ―The Wall Street Journal

“Neither a hatchet job nor a hagiography but a meticulously researched and evenhanded assessment.” ―The New York Times Book Review

“Superb . . . Surprising as it seems, Wooden, arguably the most influential coach in basketball history, has never had a definitive biography until now. . . . [Seth Davis] has written a virtual cutaway view of the history and evolution of basketball in the form of a biography. Davis takes us on bus rides over snow-covered roads to Friday-night high school games, puts us in the frantic and pre...

EAN: 9780805092806

Release Date: 14-01-2014

Languages: English

Item Note: Great shape- pages are unmarked and sharp. Hardcover Used - Like New Ships fast! 2014First Edition ~1st Printing

Item Condition: UsedLikeNew

Binding: Hardcover