A review by jakewritesbooks
Boys Among Men: How the Prep-to-Pro Generation Redefined the NBA and Sparked a Basketball Revolution by Jonathan Abrams
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.