Four books to consider at Christmastime …
(Editor’s note: In the spirit of giving, I will be giving away my copies of Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original, Together — The Amazing Story of Carolina Basketball’s 2021-22 Season, and The Basketball Maniac’s Almanac. Just reply in the comments below the title of the book you want to read, and I will put your name in a hopper and do the drawing after Christmas. Not many rules to enter. No purchase necessary. Limit one book/entry per person.)
(To make it easy for you to buy any of these books if you are interested, I have embedded links to buying each book on amazon.com. I do get a commission if you use the links in this post.)
Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original
By Howard Bryant
HarperCollins Publishers
The author crafts an outstanding book on Rickey Henderson, one of baseball’s all-time greats, a unique individual who is profiled fairly here.
Bryant said he underwent four lengthy interview sessions with the greatest base stealer ever, but Henderson had no editorial control. It’s an unauthorized look at a self-centered, highly motivated, flawed, iconic figure who upset the apple cart on many occasions.
The book details the plethora of outstanding talent that emanated from the hard streets of Oakland from the 1960s and ‘70s, the era of Rickey. Racism is a central theme. So is money. Henderson craved it, so much so that he avoided signing autographs during his playing career so as to make them more valuable after retirement.
Rickey and his life partner, Pamela — they married in 1983 — had three children, but Rickey rarely had much time for them through most of the year.
“It was one of the reasons we cherished the holidays so much, because it was the one time we had him,” Pamela says in the book. “We didn’t have to share. We didn’t have to be in public. It was just us. I wished there were more times when he was devoted to family, but when we had holidays, we did not have to share him, and that was our cherished gift.”
Bryant covers Henderson’s battles with the media and many of his managers and some of his teammates and a load of opponents who saw him as a hot dog and a “me” guy. Bryant points out that Henderson’s individual achievements led to a lot of victories and a pair of World Series championships for his teams.
There is no mention, incidentally, of his short rehab stint in Portland while with the San Diego Padres in 2001 at age 42. Henderson played nine games with the PCL Beavers, hitting .275 with one stolen base in 40 at-bats. I got down to PGE Park to write a column on him before he skipped town. The interview was brief, as were his responses to my queries. Guess I got the same treatment as many writers before me.
Interviews with such as Tony La Russa, Dennis Eckersley, Dave Stewart, Mike Norris, Sandy Anderson, Lloyd Moseby, Dave Winfield and Buck Showalter paint a picture of Rickey, pros and cons, that provides the reader with an inside look at him as a man and ballplayer.
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The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban
By John Talty
Matt Holt Books
Talty covers Alabama and the SEC for the Alabama Media Group, so his access to the Crimson Tide program is unmatched, at least for a member of the media.
There are really no secrets, though, to the reasons why Saban, the most successful coach in college football history, has achieved what he has achieved. Saban doesn’t cooperate with this book, but many of the lieutenants during his 40-year run as a player, assistant coach and head coach weigh in on what makes Nick tick.
Saban’s close relationship with Bill Bellichick — the most successful coach in NFL history — is emphasized, though Bellichick doesn’t cooperate with this book, either. They both believe in closing ranks and funneling all media attention to the head coach; another way to phrase it is they are control freaks.
Talty suggests Saban is the hardest worker, the most organized, most detailed, best-prepared front man, and the most obsessed with winning. The coach has a 24-hour rule; enjoy a victory in the moments afterward, but by the next day turn to planning how to vanquish the next opponent down the line. The nose, it seems, is always to the grindstone.
Saban is a tremendous recruiter and 100 percent committed toward getting players in any way possible. There have been many accusations of cheating and alleged violations, but his programs have never been busted by the NCAA. With Saban’s resume and Alabama’s enormous success since he came aboard in 2007, including six national championships, he would probably land a legion of five-star recruits every season regardless of any hanky-panky.
Saban’s disciples who are interviewed here are devotees who follow their mentor’s example as best they can. Only a very few Saban “warts” (yelling at assistant coaches, not spending much time with his children, a quick temper at times on the practice field) are mentioned here. Mostly, it’s a love letter to a man whom I hope will one day stop to smell the roses through what has been an unparalleled career. Saban, who turned 71 on Halloween, shows no signs of slowing down. That day, it seems, may never come.
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Together — The Amazing Story of Carolina Basketball’s 2021-22 Season
By Adam Lucas, Steve Kirschner and Matt Bowers
Tobacco Road Media
If you’re a Tar Heel basketball fan, this is your book. A coffee table book with big, beautiful color photos covering the 2021-22 season in which North Carolina advanced to the NCAA Championship game before losing to Kansas 72-69.
First-year coach Hubert Davis — the former Tar Heel sharpshooter — went over plenty of speed bumps before arriving at the Final Four in New Orleans. The Tar Heels were 18-8 and on the bubble late in the regular season, with one-sided losses to Tennessee (89-72), Kentucky (98-69), Miami (85-57), Wake Forest (98-76), Duke (87-67) and Virginia Tech (72-59). Has any other team ever been hammered that many times and made the NCAA Championship Game?
The Tar Heels entered the tournament as a No. 8 seed. They got hot at the right time and put together an NCAA Tournament run to remember. This book details the ups and downs of an undeniably successful season. For a school that has won six NCAA titles, though, getting to the finals shouldn’t be too big a deal. Maybe Davis and his staff will use this picture book in recruiting.
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The Basketball Maniac’s Almanac
By Jason Katzman
Sports Publishing
This is a book you want in your Man Cave when you’re watching an NBA game on TV and somebody wants to know the most far-fetched bit of trivia imaginable.
If there’s a stat not in this 540-page compilation, it’s not worth memorizing.
The editors of Sports Publishing gathered every piece of statistical information about NBA players that one can imagine, and more. The table of contents is 31 pages. This baby is crammed with stuff you want to know along with some that you don’t care to know.
Some of the stats are esoteric and, frankly, a bit of a stretch. Such as:
• Left-handed MVPs (there have been seven, including two in ABA).
• Points leader by first letter of last name
• Fewest turnovers by a scoring champion (it’s Shaq!)
• Most career assists by Zodiac sign
• Most assists by a player 6-10 to 6-11
• Most turnovers before fouling out of game (none other than Scottie Pippen with 12).
• Players with 30 points, 5 steals, no turnovers and a perfect free throw percentage: (Two of eight all-time are Maurice Lucas and Gary Trent Jr., neither while playing with the Blazers.)
The editors chose to combine ABA stats with NBA stats. I wouldn’t have done that, though I’m sure Larry Brown would disagree.
A lot of the stats involved Blazers or players with Oregon ties.
• Scoring by decade, 2010-20: Damian Lillard seventh, LaMarcus Aldridge eighth and Carmelo Anthony ninth.
• Only two players in NBA history scored 2,000 points in rookie year, never to do it again; Geoff Petrie (2,031) in 1970-71 and Sidney Wicks (2,009) in 1971-72.
• Joel Przybilla ranks fourth in most starts without a point (70 games).
• Players with multiple 19-rebound games but never a 20: Wayne Cooper had three.
• Only 16 players averaged more than 25 points as a rookie. One was Terry Dischinger, who averaged 25.5 points for the Chicago Zephyrs in 1962-63. He finished his career with a season in Portland (1972-73).
• Portland resident Channing Frye ranks second (behind Dirk Nowitzki) in most 3-pointers by players 7-feet or taller with 1,049. Third is Brook Lopez with 652, so Channing should hold his spot for awhile.
• Lillard began the season tied for eighth (with Rick Barry) for career free throw percentage career at .893. Lillard also began tied for eighth with 2,143 career 3-point baskets. Among those ahead of him are Stephen Curry and James Harden. But Lillard could well pass the others and move into third all-time before he is through.
• Damon Stoudamire has the most career rebounds for a player under 6-foot (3,039).
• Terrell Brandon has the top four seasons with most blocks for a player under 6 feet, including the record 33 with Cleveland in 1995-96.
• Rasheed Wallace isn’t the career leader in technical fouls. He is third (with 317) behind Karl Malone (332) and Charles Barkley (329). I told you the refs protected Sheed.
• Eight of the top 36 coaches with 1,000 career regular-season games worked in Portland: Lenny Wilkens (first, 2,487), Rick Adelman (10th, 1,791), Jack Ramsay (12th, 1,647), Rick Carlisle (tied for 15th, 1,607), Nate McMillan (19th, 1,369), Mike Dunleavy (21st, 1,329), Mike D’Antoni (26th, 1,199) and Terry Stotts (36th, 1,003). Carlisle was an assistant for P.J. Carlesimo from 1994-97. D’Antoni was an assistant for Dunleavy in 2000-01. Portland native Erik Spoelstra began the season in 29th with 1,113 games coaching the Miami Heat.
• In most career points by father and son, Rick and Brent Barry rank second (Rick 25,279, Brent 8,488) in stats through the 2021-22 campaign. Mychal and Klay Thompson are sixth (Mychal 12,810, Klay 12,647), Gary and Gary II Payton are ninth (Gary 21,813, Gary II 740), Stan and Kevin Love are 16th (Stan 1,579, Kevin 14,305), Mike and Mike Jr. Dunleavy are 21st (Mike 3,496, Mike Jr. 11,048) and Harvey and Jerami Grant are 22nd (7,781, Jerami 6,329). The Thompsons, Paytons, Loves and Grants are still going.
Too many stats caught my eye to mention. Hang with me for a minute:
• Most games without a point (minimum 20 minutes played), just who you’d think: Ben Wallace with 57 and Dennis Rodman with 35.
• Joe Fulks went 13 for 55 for the Philadelphia Warriors in a game in 1948. That’s 42 missed field-goal attempts. Fulks, whose career shooting percentage through eight seasons in Philly was .302, also had games of 4 for 32, 7 for 40 and 8 for 41. That’s what you call a green light. That’s what you call no conscience.
But then, NBA players shot .279 from the field in the league’s inaugural 1946-47 season. They first hit 40 percent in 1959-60, reached a peak of .494 in 1983-84 — before the 3-point shot was popularized — and have been steady between 44 and 46 percent since 1990-91.
• Cleveland’s Mike Bratz won the 3-point crown with 57 in 1980-81. Stephen Curry made 285 from 3-point range to win in 2021-22.
• Wilt Chamberlain scored 40 or more points 107 times — in a loss. He scored 50 or more in a loss 37 times. Jordan is next with eight. Wilt has four of the top five scoring seasons in NBA history, with only Michael Jordan breaking the string. Wilt scored 43 points in his first game for the Warriors in 1959. He averaged 48.5 minutes for Warriors in 1961-62, playing every minute of the season including overtime sessions.
• Oldest player to hit a 3: Vince Carter for Atlanta, age 43, in 2020.
• During his rookie season in 1983-84, Chicago’s Ennis Whatley had a game with 21 assists and one point. The next season, San Antonio’s John Lucas had 24 assists and no points. Lucas also holds the record for most turnovers in a game without scoring (nine for the Warriors in ’81).
• Dallas’ Bubba Wells has the fastest disqualification on fouls (three minutes), but ex-Blazer Mark Bryant isn’t far behind at five minutes.
• John Stockton appeared in all 82 games in 17 seasons. A.C. Green is next with 15 seasons. The former Beaver standout holds the record of 1,192 consecutive games.
• There hasn’t been a rookie named first-team all-league since 1997-98 (Tim Duncan).
• George Karl was fired twice after 50-win seasons.
• Vermont is only state in which an NBA player was not born.
I had fun with this. If you like the NBA and statistics, you will, too.
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