The Last Shot

The Last Shot
Author: Darcy Frey
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2004
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 9780618446711

It ought to be just a game, but basketball on the playgrounds of Coney Island is much more than that -- for many young men it represents their only hope of escape from a life of crime, poverty, and despair. In The Last Shot, Darcy Frey chronicles the aspirations of four of the neighborhood's most promising players. What they have going for them is athletic talent, grace, and years of dedication. But working against them are woefully inadequate schooling, family circumstances that are often desperate, and the slick, brutal world of college athletic recruitment. Incisively and compassionately written, The Last Shot introduces us to unforgettable characters and takes us into their world with an intimacy seldom seen in contemporary journalism. The result is a startling and poignant expose of inner-city life and the big business of college basketball.

Last Shot: Mystery at the Final Four (The Sports Beat, 1)

Last Shot: Mystery at the Final Four (The Sports Beat, 1)
Author: John Feinstein
Publisher: Yearling
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2006-06-27
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0553494600

New York Times bestselling sportswriter John Feinstein exposes the real “March Madness”—behind the scenes at the Final Four basketball tournament. When Stevie wins a writing contest for aspiring sports journalists, his prize is a press pass to the Final Four in New Orleans. While exploring the Superdome, he overhears a plot to throw the championship game. With the help of fellow contest winner Susan Carol, Stevie has just 48 hours to figure out who is blackmailing one of the star players . . . and why. John Feinstein has been praised as “the best writer of sports books in America today” (The Boston Globe), and he proves it again in this fast-paced novel. “A page-turning thriller and a basketball junkie’s bonanza.” —USA Today

One Last Shot

One Last Shot
Author: Mitchell Krugel
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2007-04-01
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1429976470

One Last Shot gives Jordan fans the inside scoop they're looking for on basketball's greatest legend, with exclusive interviews from NBA executives, players, and coaches. Mitchell Krugel uses his fifteen years of following Michael Jordan's every move to explain why the man who left the game as The Greatest Player of All Time would risk his unparalleled legend to play again. After delivering the Chicago Bulls their sixth championship in 1998 by pulling off what became known as the greatest money shot in the history of the NBA, Michael believed he still had much of that Greatest-Player-Of-All-Time left in his game. But he felt that retirement was forced on him in 1999, and he left the game craving more doses of fifty-point binges, winner-take-all confrontations, and repeated nights of reminding fans they just saw the greatest player ever. One Last Shot not only explains why Michael Jordan came back to the court but also looks at his transition from Wizards executive to player, his struggle to join a team that had grown up with his posters on their walls, and his glories and setbacks in a Wizards season chock full of both struggles and surprises. Krugel also details the star-laden workouts Michael designed in the summer of 2001 to get his game back into shape. This look at Michael Jordan, circa 2001-2002, shows how much basketball had changed since his last coming and how much it hadn't, and how his drive pushed him to the verge of a crippling knee injury all in the pursuit of winning. And for six weeks he did make it back. He made the shots. He made good on his mission to teach the Wizards how to be winners, to teach talented teammate Richard Hamilton to be a shooting star, and to whip Kwame Brown, the high school kid he made the first-ever first pick in the NBA draft, into a man. And he did the things that only a man of legend could do. Krugel analyzes both the man and the legend to trace how the First Coming led to a Second and to a Third, and he chronicles the season that defines Michael Jordan as a man who will forever be playing for one last shot.

Basketball Shooting

Basketball Shooting
Author: Dave Hopla
Publisher: Human Kinetics
Total Pages: 154
Release: 2012
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0736087370

Describes the skills and strategies for effective basketball shooting, covering long-range three-pointers, jumpers, bank shots, and free throws, and includes tips, techniques, and drill exercises for individuals and teams.

Taking the Shot

Taking the Shot
Author: Michael Kruse
Publisher:
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2008-01-01
Genre: Basketball
ISBN: 9781884532986

The basketball team from Davidson College captivated the country in the 2008 NCAA tournament. It was more than just a Cinderella story. There was a coach who preached balance and family, a boy-faced superstar shooter who wrote scripture on his sneakers and a gritty, smiling point guard who went from being little-used to leading the nation in assists. It all led to a singular moment.In Taking the Shot, Michael Kruse, a Davidson grad and a staff writer at the St. Petersburg Times, tells the tale of hope, trust and togetherness. This is the story of that moment, and why it meant so much to so many.From the book: "It wasn't a feeling of imminent victory. What it was was an overwhelming feeling of opportunity. The chance. We can win this. It was, for some alums, particularly for those who had been boys during the Lefty years of the 1960s, something like a reawakening of the possibility of national success. Two days after that, late in the second half of the comeback against Georgetown, one fan turned to his left and looked down his row in Raleigh and saw a white-haired alum with a single tear running down his cheek and then turned back to his young son and asked him to please watch this game close."

Last Dance

Last Dance
Author: John Feinstein
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2008-11-15
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0316050067

Exploring what it means to be a school, a coach, and a player in college basketball's Final Four, Feinstein exposes the driving forces behind one of the most revered events in American sports. Readers will also find dramatic stories from the officials and referees to the scouts and ticket-scalpers.

After the Shot Drops

After the Shot Drops
Author: Randy Ribay
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2018
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1328702278

A powerful novel about friendship, basketball, and one teen's mission to create a better life for his family. Written in the tradition of Jason Reynolds, Matt de la Pe a, and Walter Dean Myers, After the Shot Drops now has three starred reviews * "Belongs on the shelf alongside contemporary heavy-hitters like Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give, Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds's All-American Boys, and Nic Stone's Dear Martin."--School Library Journal, starred review Bunny and Nasir have been best friends forever, but when Bunny accepts an athletic scholarship across town, Nasir feels betrayed. While Bunny tries to fit in with his new, privileged peers, Nasir spends more time with his cousin, Wallace, who is being evicted. Nasir can't help but wonder why the neighborhood is falling over itself to help Bunny when Wallace is in trouble. When Wallace makes a bet against Bunny, Nasir is faced with an impossible decision--maybe a dangerous one. Told from alternating perspectives, After the Shot Drops is a heart-pounding story about the responsibilities of great talent and the importance of compassion.

The Last Amateurs

The Last Amateurs
Author: John Feinstein
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Total Pages: 363
Release: 2008-11-16
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0316049220

America's favorite sportswriter takes readers on a thrilling and unforgettable journey into the world of college basketball in this national bestseller. Like millions who love college basketball, John Feinstein was first drawn to the game because of its intensity, speed and intelligence. Like many others, he felt that the vast sums of money involved in NCAA basketball had turned the sport into a division of the NBA, rather than the beloved amateur sport it once was. He went in search of college basketball played with the passion and integrity it once inspired, and found the Patriot League. As one of the NCAA's smallest leagues, none of these teams leaves college early to join the NBA and none of these coaches gets national recognition or endorsement contracts. The young men on these teams are playing for the love of the sport, of competition and of their schools. John Feinstein spent a season with these players, uncovering the drama of their daily lives and the passions that drive them to commit hundreds of hours to basketball even when there is no chance of a professional future. He offers a look at American sport at its purest.

The Last Great Game

The Last Great Game
Author: Gene Wojciechowski
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2013-01-29
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0452298954

New York Times bestseller "A compelling narrative about the people who produced the most spine-tingling moment in modern college basketball history.” –Seth Davis, Sports Illustrated and CBS March 28, 1992. The final of the NCAA East Regional, Duke vs. Kentucky. Millions could say they witnessed the greatest game and the greatest shot in the history of college basketball. But it wasn’t just the final play—an 80-foot inbounds pass with 2.1 seconds left in overtime—that made Duke’s 104-103 victory so memorable. Each player and coach arrived at that point with a unique story to tell. In The Last Great Game, ESPN columnist Gene Wojciechowski turns the game we think we remember into a drama filled with suspense, humor, revelations, and reverberations. Not just for Duke or Kentucky fans, this acclaimed New York Times bestseller is for everyone who appreciates the great moments in sports.

Basketball on Paper

Basketball on Paper
Author: Dean Oliver
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2020-02-15
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 164012389X

Journey "inside the numbers" for an exceptional set of statistical tools and rules that can help explain the winning, or losing, ways of a basketball team. Basketball on Paper doesn't diagram plays or explain how players get in shape, but instead demonstrates how to interpret player and team performance. Dean Oliver highlights general strategies for teams when they're winning or losing and what aspects should be the focus in either situation. He describes and quantifies the jobs of team leaders and role players, then discusses the interactions between players and how to achieve the best fit. Oliver conceptualizes the meaning of teamwork and how to quantify the value of different types of players working together. He examines historically successful NBA teams and identifies what made them so successful: individual talent, a system of putting players together, or good coaching. Oliver then uses these statistical tools and case studies to evaluate the best players in history, such as Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Charles Barkley and how they contributed to their teams' success. He does the same for some of the NBA's "oddball" players-Manute Bol, Muggsy Bogues, and Dennis Rodman and for the WNBA's top players. Basketball on Paper is unique in its incorporation of business and analytical concepts within the context of basketball to measure the value of players in a cooperative setting. Whether you're looking for strategies or new ideas to throw out while watching the ballgame at a sports bar, Dean Oliver'sBasketball on Paper will give you amazing new insights into teamwork, coaching, and success.