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Book Description
A brilliant journey through the world of college basketball, by the author of the sporting classic, A GOOD WALK SPOILED, John Feinstein.
Product Description
Like millions who love college basketball, John Feinstein was first drawn to the game because of its intensity, speed and intelligence. And 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 the the NCAA's smallest 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 an unforgettable 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. This is a look at American sport at its purest, written with the intensity, drama and insight into character that have made bestsellers of John Feinstein's previous books.
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First Sentence
ON a frigid March day, in the quite of a near-empty field house. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
ON a frigid March day, in the quite of a near-empty field house. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Being South African I have never had much contact with basketball - especially the college leagues. I bought the book strictly on the strength of Feinstein's previous work and he did not let me down. This is an excellent and complete description of a minor league in a major game. Feinstein writes well and even if the games tend to blend into one after a while, the side stories he describes are just as interesting as the drama of the league and finals. It is to his credit that this book will be enjoyed by those with minimal basketball knowledge. Thoroughly recommended.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
88 reviews
39 of 43 people found the following review helpful
An uplifting account of what basketball is all about
2 Nov 2000
Format:Hardcover
I bought the book because I'm a Lafayette alum, and wanted to read an account of the season that they ultimately won. While the partisan in me loved reading about Lafayette's trip to the NCAA tournament, I thoroughly enjoyed the information about each of the teams and the players at each school. Feinstein has a gift for finding the numerous stories inside the story - and The Last Amateurs is no exception. You'll get to know the students, their coaches, their challenges, and the numerous successes.
The Last Amateurs detalis a league untainted by shoe contracts, agents, and TV money. It looks at true student athletes, most of whom will play their last basketball game when the Patriot League season ends their senior year.
This was a fantastic book. Definitely worth a read.
37 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Pure basketball: the real hoop dreams
5 Nov 2000
Format:Hardcover
John Feinstein transports us to a world where in which Division I college basketball players care more about their grade point averages than points per game and are more likely to discuss the latest public utterances of Dick Cheney than Dick Vitale. It is a place where the players are all smarter than the vast majority of college students but must still work hard at thier studies-- regardless of their on-court skills. Best of all, this is not a world cleverly imagined by a gifted satirist, but rather the Patriot League as chronicled by an insightful observer.
In detailing a season where there are no television millions, agents, shoe contracts, recruiting violations, NBA scouts, or academic scandals, the reader is rewarded with a book that deals solely with college basketball, its players, coaches, fans, and rivalries. As such, it is the best book about college hoops, or for that matter college sports, that I've ever read. It's a must read for the cynical, the jaded, or merely those who love a great sports story.
22 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Naismith Would Approve
17 Nov 2000
Format:Hardcover
The basketball playing Patriot League consisting of teams from Army, Navy, Lafayette, Lehigh, Bucknell, Holy Cross, and Colgate has a few features unique to most Division 1 leagues in this era of big time college basketball. There are no big bucks national TV contracts, Dick Vitale doesn't hyperventilate over the awesome talents of its athletes, the academic standards are high, and the players actually graduate. Yet the competition within the league is intense and the level of play is surprisingly good. While there are no national champions here, the athletes who play for the love of the competition and the game do get a chance to meet with the "big boys" on occasion. The winner of the league receives an invitation to the NCAA Tournament (where they are usually ousted in the first round) and big time teams are sprinkled throughout the schedules. This year, for example, Penn State, Syracuse, Duke, Arizona State, Texas, and Wake Forest show up among the opponents. John Feinstein takes us on an extended guided tour of the league, its athletes, coaches, and administators and gives us an inside look at college basketball as close to it roots as it gets these days.
This is a nicely told tale of the fight to win the league's championship and its only bid to the NCAA Tournament. Its nice to read about athletes going all out to win even though the arenas may be small and the crowds might sometimes number in the hundreds rather than thousands. Caution though, Feinstein includes so much detail, so many names, and so many events that the reader may have a tendency to suffer from information overload. Nevertheless, this is a refreshing look at another aspect of collegiate competition.
If you enjoy this book and want to take a look at the other side of the college basketball equation, you might want to look at two other Feinstein books - "A March to Madness" which looks at the Atlantic Coast Conference and "A Season on the Brink" which deals with Bob Knight's Indiana Hoosiers of the Big Ten.
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