Review of “Together”

Admittedly, I was disappointed when North Carolina ended the miracle run of St. Peter’s in the 2022 NCAA men’s basketball tourney. But that was gone the next week when UNC and Duke had their classic game in the semifinals. The entire season for Carolina is captured in this book - here is my review of “Together” 

Title/Author:

“Together: The Amazing Story of Carolina Basketball’s 2021-2022 Season” by Adam Lucas, Steve Kirschner and Matt Bowers

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

When the University of North Carolina’s men’s basketball team reached the Final Four in 2022, it was a complete surprise. It was the first year for coach Hubert Davis, a former Tar Heel player who reached the Final Four during his playing days. The story of how he and his players reached the Final Four is told here in this book co-authored by three writers.

This is more than just a game-by-game recap of the season, although there are brief write-ups of each game played by the Tar Heels, non-conference, conference play and the NCAA tournament. There were bumps along the way - some blowout losses were suffered by the team but they pulled together to have a very good conference record and a magical run in the tourney. Their last two wins are the most notable - ending the Cinderella run of the St. Peter’s Peacocks in the regional finals, then a classic game against arch rival Duke to make the championship game. While it ended with a loss to Kansas in that tilt, it didn’t diminish the team’s accomplishments and the book’s writing about Davis and some of his players confirms this. 

It is clear in the interviews with Davis that he infused confidence in his team and brought some innovation into Carolina basketball, such as utilizing his guards more, unlike the legendary coaches who made UNC famous for its use of centers. Although Davis even changed that a little as he drew up more plays in which his center Brady Manek (whose chapter made for great reading) took many three-point shots. The book was an excellent source of learning about the basketball sense of the first-year coach.

Manek was just one of the players whose backstory was told and while not every player had his own chapter, the reader will learn much about these players and how they played well together at the right time.  This book is completed by great photography and action shots for most of the games played by the Tar Heels and a reader can understand the story of the 2021-22 North Carolina basketball team through pictures as well as words. UNC fans will love this book about an unlikely run to the championship game.

I wish to thank University of North Carolina Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Link: https://uncpress.org/book/9781469672762/together/ 

Review of "The Legends Club"

Happy New Year!  I want to thank everyone who visited the blog in 2015 as it has grown a tremendous amount in the two and a half years it has been online.  I am humbled by not only this fact, but also by all the authors and readers who have contacted me to not only request a review or leave a comment but who also have complimented the blog and my review.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Therefore, for 2016, it is only appropriate that I start off the year with a review of a book from one of the best writers for college basketball and my personal favorite author of sports books in general, John Feinstein.  His book on Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzweski, and Jim Valvano will be published in March and should be another winner.  Here is my review of "The Legends Club." 

Title/Author:

“The Legends Club: Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzweski and Jim Valvano and an Epic College Basketball Rivalry” by John Feinstein

Tags:

Basketball, college, North Carolina, Duke, North Carolina State, rivals

Publish date:

March 1, 2016

Length:

416 pages

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (outstanding)

Review:

In 1980, North Carolina was already established as a legendary basketball program with a legendary coach, Dean Smith.  That year, the two biggest rivals of the Tar Heels, Duke and North Carolina State, hired Mike Krzyzweski and Jim Valvano respectively.  That led to a decade of intense basketball between these three schools.

John Feinstein, considered by many to be one of the best writers of college basketball, captures the spirt of this three-headed rivalry by telling the story of not only the successes on the court of these three coaches, but by also exploring what made each one of them so intense despite having distinctly different personalities.

Feinstein is a no-nonsense writer as he tells stories of the recruiting wars between the three, the intensely competitive fire inside each one against one another, and insightful stories that bring the reader inside the mind of each coach. Feinstein gives each man equal time through the years that all three coached.  However, I felt that Feinstein did his best work when writing about the discovery of Valvano’s cancer and all that happened until his death in 1993. The stories have been told before, but not like this. Feinstein should also get extra kudos for getting Valvano’s widow to open up so freely about the loss of her husband. This section made for some of the best reading in the entire book.

Readers who have enjoyed Feinstein’s previous books on college basketball such as “A Season on the Brink” and “The Last Amateurs” will enjoy this one as well. Covering the game and the three schools who were coached by these three legendary coaches in his usual informative style, “The Legends Club” is a book that every basketball fan should add to his or her collection.

I wish to thank Doubleday Publishing for providing an advance review copy of the book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  

Book Format Read

E-book (Kindle)

Buying links (pre-order at time of posting):

http://www.amazon.com/The-Legends-Club-Krzyzewski-Basketball/dp/038553941X

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-legends-club-john-feinstein/1123107984?ean=9780385541664

Review of "To Hate Like This"

Earlier I reviewed a book about sports rivalries, "Love Thy Rival."   One of the rivalries mentioned was Duke-North Carolina basketball.   I found this book on that rivalry in the library, so naturally I was curious.  I am glad I picked it up, as it was a very entertaining read.   Here is my review of "To Hate Like This."

Title/Author:

“To Hate Like This Is To Be Happy Forever” by Will Blythe

Tags:

Basketball, College, North Carolina, Duke, rivals

Published:

October 13, 2009

Length:

382 pages

Rating: 

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

College sports are filled with rivalries that evoke passions that otherwise are not shown by some people. Will Blythe writes about one of these emotions that he otherwise would not admit to having, hate, as a result of the rivalry between the Duke University men’s basketball team and his favorite team, North Carolina.  

The book is mostly personal stories about the times he would talk about and watch the games with his parents. The stories where he and his mother are watching the game and her pessimism until the final horn are priceless. I especially like Blythe’s description of what she would do after a particularly upsetting loss to calm herself down.   The stories where he interacts with his father are touching and written from the heart.

There are also recaps of games during the 2004-05 season.  However, these do not read like typical recaps in a newspaper or reporting book.  These are where the stories are with his parents or other people with whom he watched the game.   Also, these recaps often resulted in other stories about players, coaches or others who were a part of the action.   He doesn’t only write about North Carolina players and coaches.   He did include some Duke stories as well that were not spiteful or mean.  In fact, my favorite story in the entire book was about Duke shooting guard JJ Reddick and it was a very flattering piece on the player.

The book’s selling point is the humor, and the first chapter sets the tone.  It made me cry a couple times because I was laughing so hard.  Even the title of that chapter, “The Object of My Affliction” made me chuckle.   While this book would be best for North Carolina fans, any fan of college basketball will be entertained by reading it.

Did I skim?

No. 

Pace of the book: 

Very good.  A few of Blythe’s stories about other people slowed down the book briefly, but his own stories and his accounts of the Tar Heel games were fast.

Do I recommend? 

Yes, I do to fans of college basketball and especially of North Carolina.

Book Format Read:

e-book (Kindle)

Buying Links:

http://www.amazon.com/Hate-Like-This-Happy-Forever-ebook/dp/B000FCKREC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1392583158&sr=1-1&keywords=to+hate+like+this+is+to+be+happy+forever

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/to-hate-like-this-is-to-be-happy-forever-will-blythe/1110766088?ean=9780060740245