atayebi's review
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Enjoyed this book on the prep to pro generation of NBA basketball stars.
Could tell this was well researched with countless sources and quotes throughout the book. Felt more personal hearing from so many entities that play a role in the league: coaches, executives, scouts, reporters and former players.
I really liked hearing of the stories of players in the league especially those that I had not heard of previously that had issues acclimating to the NBA lifestyle like Bill Willoughby and Lenny Cooke. Makes you appreciate those that could handle the pressure along with how far the league has come in helping the players reach their full potential and being a bit more understanding in a high pressure sport.
The draft story around Kobe was also very interesting and one I didn’t know involved John Calipiari when he was coaching the Nets.
Finally, I thought this book was well organized and a joy to read. Could’ve been a bit more detailed/intense but I liked the format and pacing really sucked me in. As a basketball fan, it was great to read a general book on the NBA not centered on a championship run or a specific team but the players. Interesting to think about the ripple effect of these draft picks and how they affected the age limit rule being imposed. KD would’ve definitely jumped straight to the NBA!
For comparison, I thought this book was much more enjoyable to read than Blood in the Garden.
Could tell this was well researched with countless sources and quotes throughout the book. Felt more personal hearing from so many entities that play a role in the league: coaches, executives, scouts, reporters and former players.
I really liked hearing of the stories of players in the league especially those that I had not heard of previously that had issues acclimating to the NBA lifestyle like Bill Willoughby and Lenny Cooke. Makes you appreciate those that could handle the pressure along with how far the league has come in helping the players reach their full potential and being a bit more understanding in a high pressure sport.
The draft story around Kobe was also very interesting and one I didn’t know involved John Calipiari when he was coaching the Nets.
Finally, I thought this book was well organized and a joy to read. Could’ve been a bit more detailed/intense but I liked the format and pacing really sucked me in. As a basketball fan, it was great to read a general book on the NBA not centered on a championship run or a specific team but the players. Interesting to think about the ripple effect of these draft picks and how they affected the age limit rule being imposed. KD would’ve definitely jumped straight to the NBA!
For comparison, I thought this book was much more enjoyable to read than Blood in the Garden.
blacksentai's review
1.0
So this books point is that if kids go to the NBA out of high school then people will try to exploit them at younger ages, ignoring entirely that the NCAA exploits them as well. The book only casually mentions how the sham of amateurism is the crux of the problem with young athletes. It focuses on every failed high school to nba prospect ignoring all the four year college players who failed and ended up in hard times. It never looks to the source of the problem, which is an unequal distribution of wealth, instead it says that kids should be forced to be exploited by larger and larger corporations in order to be deserving of a paycheck.
Right.
Right.
gstone899's review against another edition
4.0
I listen to the audio book and this is solid. I take a full star away from this book, that would have been a five-star, because the narrator does not know Sports and especially basketball whatsoever. The amount of names that he mispronounced was staggering. And the names, especially last names, where aren't even difficult to pronounce. I'm sorry but if I am an audiobook narrator and I don't know how to pronounce a name I'm going to ask somebody before I record. other than that it was a really good the book
joshurl's review
4.0
Jonathan Abrams shined a light on the Preps-to-Pros generation in the NBA and illuminated a point that most who criticize that generation have failed to grasp - The majority of players who jumped from high school to the NBA were more successful than the average NBA player in that time frame. Through the use of copious interviews (in one interview he said over 500) Abrams paints a picture on the stories of that generation of players including both the highs and the lows. It's a wonderful read on an interesting topic that I highly recommend to any basketball fan!
jakewritesbooks's review
4.0
(4.5) I think what I appreciated the most about this book is that it's not a polemic against the current NBA one-and-done system. Rather, Abrams presents a comprehensive look at the system that surrounded so many preps-to-pros players, going back to Moses Malone but really focusing on KG and Kobe. He eschews any sort of narrative in favor of presenting the nuts and bolts of the story while trusting the reader to make their own judgments. I love a good narrative bust, especially when it comes to sports, and one Abrams presents well is the argument against a "solid foundation." Guys who came from rough circumstances like Tracy McGrady and Amar'e Stoudemire turned out fine while a well supported guy like Robert Swift did not. Even Kobe had a "good foundation" and his game "adjusted well" to the league and yet he still found himself on trial for rape. It seems that there really wasn't much of a correlation from background-to-success. But reading about the shitstorm each of these guys dealt with on their way to the pros, whether they "made it"* or not makes me continue to hate the gross exploitation that surrounds amateur sports and the NCAA. A great companion to this book would be George Dohrmann's Play Their Hearts Out.
Abrams outlines in good detail the substance for a debate that is far from settled. And rather than making sure we "hear both sides," he allows the reader to focus on the humane aspect of the respective lives of these boys among men and trusts that we're smart enough to understand what's going on here, even if we don't know what the right answer is.
*And I'm using that term loosely because it seems like even guys who didn't have hall of fame careers such as Jonathan Bender are doing just fine in life without reaching superstardom.
Abrams outlines in good detail the substance for a debate that is far from settled. And rather than making sure we "hear both sides," he allows the reader to focus on the humane aspect of the respective lives of these boys among men and trusts that we're smart enough to understand what's going on here, even if we don't know what the right answer is.
*And I'm using that term loosely because it seems like even guys who didn't have hall of fame careers such as Jonathan Bender are doing just fine in life without reaching superstardom.
eagerloff's review against another edition
4.0
Developed a new perspective on this issue. An immense talent can result in immensely difficult decisions to make.
blue_has_no_value's review
3.0
An engaging and deeply reported account of how Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant built the high school-to-NBA pipeline that defined the league for a generation. Abrams delivers good behind-the-scenes info and strikes a balance between success stories and cautionary tales. There's also a solid section covering the malign influence of big shoe companies on prep athletes.
The structure is a little haphazard, and the audiobook version I listened to features several conspicuously mangled names. But this is a solid read for anyone interested in the topic.
The structure is a little haphazard, and the audiobook version I listened to features several conspicuously mangled names. But this is a solid read for anyone interested in the topic.
wellreadmegs's review
4.0
Really interesting perspective on the NBA, especially seeing where it is today and how much it's evolved. Plus the on-going conversation decades later about the NCAA vs. NBA.
katietaylor04's review
3.0
A very interesting read. There were so many stories that I didn't know, and even some that I did that were put into a different context and gave me a fascinating glimpse at, and understanding of, how the game of basketball has grown and evolved.
I guess that my main issue with the book is the overall set up of the book. Sometimes it is thematic, sometimes it follows several people, sometimes only one, the timeline jumps all over the place so that overall, the book itself was really hard to follow which made it really hard to engage with. It also assumed that I knew things about the sport and its history that as a newbie fan, I don't know. Maybe that is my fault, not doing enough research beforehand, but as an author, it seems counterintuitive to just assume that everyone who reads your book understands all the complexities like you do.
I guess that my main issue with the book is the overall set up of the book. Sometimes it is thematic, sometimes it follows several people, sometimes only one, the timeline jumps all over the place so that overall, the book itself was really hard to follow which made it really hard to engage with. It also assumed that I knew things about the sport and its history that as a newbie fan, I don't know. Maybe that is my fault, not doing enough research beforehand, but as an author, it seems counterintuitive to just assume that everyone who reads your book understands all the complexities like you do.