Title/Author:
“We Will Rise: A True Story of Tragedy and Resurrection in the American Heartland” by Steve Beaven
Tags:
Basketball, college, history, tragedy
Publish date:
January 1, 2020
Length:
276 pages
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very good)
Review:
On December 13,1977 a plane crash near Evansville, Indiana killed all on board, including the players, coaches and managers of the Evansville University basketball team. The grieving by the school and city as well as their recovery from this tragedy is the topic of this excellent book by Evansville native Steve Beaven.
He uses his first hand knowledge of the town and the Purple Aces history, along with information from over 150 interviews and many other stories to paint an excellent picture of the basketball program. From legendary coach Arad McCutcheon, who won multiple Division II titles in Evansville to the heartbreaking loss in the 1982 NCAA tourney to Marquette, Beavan's account reads like a history lesson of Evansville University basketball. The most interesting part of this information is the six day coaching stint (no games,.practices, or recruiting) by Jerry Sloan, who abruptly resigned after making his alma mater excited about their most famous player coming to coach. Don't feel.sorry for Sloan...he ended up with a long and successful career coaching in the NBA, most notably for the Utah Jazz more than 20 years.
Of course, in the middle.of all this basketball history is the terrible night of December 13, 1977. Here, Beavan describes the night of the crash with great detail, especially with the delayed takeoff and resulting errors that led to the fatal.crash and the doctor who heard the crash, ran out of his house and tried to help any survivors. The reader will also know something about !many of the young men on the plane, such as prize recruit Mike Hoff and Kevin Kingston. Even the only player not on the plane, David Furr, couldn't escape tragedy as he and his younger brother were killed in a car crash two weeks after David's teammates perished.
But this somber story is not the mood for the book, nor the school or its basketball team. There is great detail in how the Purple Aces, under coach Dock Walters, hired to replace the popular Bobby Watson after the crash, built the team.back to its winning just three years after the crash. While Meagan also is able to write about some of the surviving family members of the players and how they mourned, soles and moved on, their stories are not as.prominent in the book after the crash as the basketball is and that is the only minor flaw, in my opinion, in an otherwise very uplifting book.
Fans of the story of the Marshall football team rebuilding after a plane crash, told in the movie "We Are Marshall", will enjoy this similar tale of tragedy and resurrection after a very dark period. Especially recommended for college basketball fans who recall that tragic day.
He uses his first hand knowledge of the town and the Purple Aces history, along with information from over 150 interviews and many other stories to paint an excellent picture of the basketball program. From legendary coach Arad McCutcheon, who won multiple Division II titles in Evansville to the heartbreaking loss in the 1982 NCAA tourney to Marquette, Beavan's account reads like a history lesson of Evansville University basketball. The most interesting part of this information is the six day coaching stint (no games,.practices, or recruiting) by Jerry Sloan, who abruptly resigned after making his alma mater excited about their most famous player coming to coach. Don't feel.sorry for Sloan...he ended up with a long and successful career coaching in the NBA, most notably for the Utah Jazz more than 20 years.
Of course, in the middle.of all this basketball history is the terrible night of December 13, 1977. Here, Beavan describes the night of the crash with great detail, especially with the delayed takeoff and resulting errors that led to the fatal.crash and the doctor who heard the crash, ran out of his house and tried to help any survivors. The reader will also know something about !many of the young men on the plane, such as prize recruit Mike Hoff and Kevin Kingston. Even the only player not on the plane, David Furr, couldn't escape tragedy as he and his younger brother were killed in a car crash two weeks after David's teammates perished.
But this somber story is not the mood for the book, nor the school or its basketball team. There is great detail in how the Purple Aces, under coach Dock Walters, hired to replace the popular Bobby Watson after the crash, built the team.back to its winning just three years after the crash. While Meagan also is able to write about some of the surviving family members of the players and how they mourned, soles and moved on, their stories are not as.prominent in the book after the crash as the basketball is and that is the only minor flaw, in my opinion, in an otherwise very uplifting book.
Fans of the story of the Marshall football team rebuilding after a plane crash, told in the movie "We Are Marshall", will enjoy this similar tale of tragedy and resurrection after a very dark period. Especially recommended for college basketball fans who recall that tragic day.
Book Format Read:
E-book (Kindle)
Buying Links:
https://www.amazon.com/We-Will-Rise-Resurrection-Heartland-ebook/dp/B07LF4VRPC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Good review. Mine is very similar. Thought the author may have held back some. Perhaps he could have included more of his own personal thoughts and feelings for a deeper edge.
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