Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States and it is celebrated in part with a full slate of NBA games. In between catching those in which I had interest, I also read this memoir by former NBA star Ray Allen. I was able to complete it fairly quickly and enjoyed it. Here is my review of "From the Outside."
Title/Author:
“From the Outside: My Journey Through Life and the Game I Love” by Ray Allen with Michael Arkush
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very good)
Review: Most memoirs from current or past professional basketball players will follow a certain pattern as they are read, from the less than desirable conditions, for whatever reasons, the subject went through in their formative years. Then because a certain person or persons believed in them, they achieved success on the basketball in youth leagues or high school and they were able to take that newfound success into a career in the NBA. This memoir by former NBA All-Star Ray Allen follows the same path, but reads differently in a few ways.
One is that Allen was a child of a military member, so when he talks of his father not always being there for him, it was due to his father’s military commitments, not because he was absent from his children’s life. However, due to this, Allen obtained much of his personal traits from the women in his life, starting with his mother. He mentions that frequently through the book. Another difference is that when he became a teenage father, he remained in the child’s life even though he and the child’s mother did not marry (although they did attempt to keep their relationship going when Allen went to college). That experience made a difference in how Allen lived his family life when he married and had children with his wife.
This type of writing is not the main point of the book, however, as it is very basketball-centric as Allen describes his experience in high school basketball in South Carolina, his college career at the University of Connecticut and his NBA career in which he played for four teams – the Milwaukee Bucks, Seattle SuperSonics, Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. The last two teams are the ones he speaks most fondly of, mainly because that was with whom he won his championships. Throughout his basketball career, no matter what level, there is one constant theme that worked well for him – his work ethic. He always wanted to be the first one at the gym and he would always be working toward improving his game, especially his shooting.
That last aspect is what he became most noted for, especially his accuracy with three-point shots. He made one of the most memorable three-point shots in NBA history, a game tying 3 point shot at the end of regulation in game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals with the Heat. That shot not only sent the game into overtime, but it catapulted the Heat to win that game and the championship over the San Antonio Spurs. I enjoyed this section of the book (including the description of that shot in Chapter 1) along with his stories about his championship team in Boston. On that 2008 team, he bonded well with Kevin Garnett who like Allen, was a key off-season acquisition by the Celtics to build that championship team.
The last aspect of the book that should be mentioned is that Allen never comes across as angry or bitter, even when describing issues that if they did, would be understandable. Of course, he was subjected to racism but other incidents such as with his Milwaukee coach George Karl or when he was told several times that he would not succeed, he always wrote in a tone that suggested that he was glad he overcame whatever obstacles that situation or person made him endure. It’s a very good read for those who enjoyed watching Allen become one of the better shooters of his era.
