Starting off May, which will mark 10 years of this website, with a review of a book reliving some of the glory years of UCLA basketball by a man who was both a player and a coach for the school. Here is my review of "Role of a Lifetime."
Title/Author:
“Role of a Lifetime: Larry Farmer and the UCLA Bruins” by Larry Farmer
Rating:
4 ½ of 5 stars (very good)
Review:
When one thinks of UCLA basketball’s glory days in the 1960’s and 1970’s, the names that come to mind include John Wooden, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton and Jamaal Wilkes. Those are just a few of the many stars that came from that program coached by Wooden, but one name who all of those mentioned considered important but is not easily recognized is Larry Farmer. He was a player on three UCLA championship teams, his team’s record in games he played was 89-1 and he later coached the team for four seasons. His stories about UCLA as both a player and coach are described in this book written by Farmer
This book cannot be described as a true biography as there is very little mention of any events in Farmer’s life, personal or professional, after his resignation as the UCLA coach in 1984 aside from a stint coaching in Kuwait. Per Wikipedia, he did later coach at Weber State and Chicago Loyola, as well as assistant coaching jobs with both NBA and college teams. This was the only aspect of the book that disappointed me as his stories about UCLA were excellent.
Whether he talked about his role on the UCLA championship teams, the unrealistic expectations from fans on the coaches that succeeded Wooden or his own work at the school doing coaching duties, whether as an assistant or the head coach, Farmer’s dialogue is easy to read. This is especially true if one is knowledgeable in basketball-speak as there is a lot of technical language during his playing days. For coaching, that was more about his recruiting trips and how he would handle young men who are away from home for the first time and for many, having a male authority figure. His stories about the rivalry games against Notre Dame are great, whether he was a player or a coach.
Because the focus of the book is strictly on UCLA, this is recommended only for readers who are fans of that program or who enjoy learning about basketball history, especially in that time frame. I do fall into that latter category, so I did rate the book highly, but if one is not interested in UCLA, then it is best to skip this one.
I wish to thank Santa Monica Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed are strictly mine.
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