The Book of Basketball

[captain carrigan]

Noticed on twitter that Tom is reading this, and was curious as to what any other FOTs thought. 

For me, the good (made me want to dig up old clips, the pyramid discussion, Zapruder-style discussion of 1985 draft, actually did make me laugh out loud at least once) outweighed the bad, but would love to hear the thoughts of anyone who's read it.

[jbissell]

I'm still only about halfway through the pyramid stuff, just because it's easy to read a player or two and then put the book down for a while. Of course the book is full of the usual Simmons stuff that is off-putting for a lot of people (endless pop culture references, Celtics homerism, his pseudo everyfan-ness/namedrops, any time he tackles racial issues), but I've always felt his basketball writing is his strongest area because it's the most passionate. I agree with captain, with some of the older players I wasn't too familiar with, it definitely made me search out clips.

[Pregnant Pause]

I agree that he's a pretty great basketball columnist/writer.  It's evident that he greatly benefits from the standards of ESPN, his weird cursing and sex jokes in the book are just unnerving. 

[betheboy]

I've grown bored with Simmons's stuff on ESPN but I was looking forward to this book because I thought he was a good basketball writer. This books shoots holes in the "good basketball writer" theory.  Yes. the guy knows his basketball and he can write well about it when he wants to. The problem is, he doesn't want to do that. He's made a career out of dated references, homer-ism, and an apparent refusal to do research so why change the formula?

The Book of Basketball adds a subtle but unmistakable streak of racism and some blatant misogyny to his resume; maybe some of this were his attempts at humor but the were painful to read. The book has some good pieces in in that would make excellent magazine features or interesting books if expanded upon by a better writer (The Pyramid Discussion being one but the 85 draft conspiracy theory is pure junk) but as Simmons has written it, the book is about 500 pages too long. This was Simmons' chance to make his mark with a basketball book the way John Feinstein or Terry Pluto did with Season on the Brink and Loose Balls respectively but instead it just shows Simmons as writer with limited range. 

[senorcorazon]

I read it nonstop for a few weeks and was mostly entertained, but agree with most of the flaws everyone else pointed out. It was like eating cupcakes for breakfast -- fun for a day or two and then you're left feeling like you're missing some vital nutrients. It's also worth noting that I don't have cable so I'm starved for basketball, and I might have been compensating for that.

The Book of Basketball adds a subtle but unmistakable streak of racism and some blatant misogyny to his resume; maybe some of this were his attempts at humor but the were painful to read.

Yes, it was a little like the guy who has a few gay friends thinking he can get away with "fag" jokes because, you know, he's not homophobic. Comes off as a bit of a tool.

And might I add that this book just underscored what A MASTERPIECE that FreeDarko book is. Beautiful illustrations, some real research, and overarching theories that go beyond "The Lazy Guy".

[Kid Pain]

echoing the free darko book sentiments.

[jamesp]

I've grown bored with Simmons's stuff on ESPN but I was looking forward to this book because I thought he was a good basketball writer. This books shoots holes in the "good basketball writer" theory.  Yes. the guy knows his basketball and he can write well about it when he wants to. The problem is, he doesn't want to do that. He's made a career out of dated references, homer-ism, and an apparent refusal to do research so why change the formula? 

In his defense, I think he did do some research (went back to watch videos & I heard him say he read any basketball book he came across) so I'll give him some credit even if he is most likely exaggerating. I read a review somewhere that made a good point about what is frustrating about Simmons. He'll tell you an interesting fact that few people knew and he'll finish with "Why hasn't somebody written a book or made a documentary about this?" It just shows laziness on his part.

[Cotton]

The guy clearly knows his basketball, but it's still such a homer book that it drove me nuts.

Also, the Road Rules Challenge references.

[Pregnant Pause]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1608190838?ie=UTF8&tag=freedacom-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1608190838

Hopefully after this comes out, no one will ever have to be subjected to the Book of Basketball again.   

[senorcorazon]

I think you mean this, right?

http://www.amazon.com/Knee-High-Livin-Large-According/dp/0609602365/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1

HOW IS THIS A BOOK?! The publishing industry officially has no right to complain that it's in trouble.

That FreeDarko book is going to crush Simmons.

[wood and iron]

According to this: http://deadspin.com/5712872/ and this http://deadspin.com/5713567/freedarko-also-scrubbed-from-bill-simmonss-book Bill Simmons seems to be purging his book of references to people who were mean to him.

[jbissell]

If anyone doesn't already have the new Free Darko book, it's pretty great.

[senorcorazon]

If anyone doesn't already have the new Free Darko book, it's pretty great.

Santa better come through or I'm giving up.

[Greggulator]

I still have to pick up Free Darko.

I just finished reading Played Their Hearts Out by George Dohrmann. I cannot recommend this book enough. It follows the travails of a California-based AAU program built around Demetrius Walker, ranked as the #1 basketball player in the world when he was in sixth grade. It's really heartbreaking at points and is a really good reflection of what's wrong with the sport of basketball in the US today. AAU teams are mostly meatmarkets for youth basketball players, run by people who have no idea how to coach but do know how to peddle to shoe companies. It's really eye opening and it kind of explains LeBron James' boneheadedness and Renardo Sidney and a teammate tossing haymakers while watching a game. It reminded me of Darcey Frey's The Last Shot which followed a high school team in Coney Island in the 90s which starred a young Stephon Marbury (who shows up skidding out in a Big Wheel at a 9th grader) and T'Chaka Shipp, who was a washout recruit at Seton Hall back in their heyday.

I'm going through Rise of a Dynasty by Bill Reynolds right now. It's supposedly about the Game 7 between the St. Louis Hawks and Boston Celtics in 1957. I'm nine chapters into it and haven't gotten anywhere near the tip-off of the game yet. It's pretty bad. The only other book I read by Reynolds is called Fall River Dreams which is the Friday Night Lights of New England basketball and is largely centered around Chris Herron, who played at Fresno State and for a few minutes in the NBA and was arrested for heroin possession a few times.

Just also reread Loose Balls by Terry Pluto, the oral history book about the ABA. This is one of the funniest sports books ever written. The stories about The Spirits of St. Louis and the guy who was an enforcer who left the sport of basketball to be a mercenary for Idi Amin are the best.

Simmons' book is about 500 pages too long. It's the world's heaviest coaster. His podcasts are pretty good but his articles have been pretty dreadful for a few years now, although I keep reading for some reason

[leggala]

Free Darko is amazing. I'm halfway through now and I'm loving it. The only problem is I think I'm annoying my friends by constantly dropping trivia like, "Did you know Rod Strickland puked on the court in a '98 game against the Nets because he ate too many hot dogs in the press room?"

I also have to second Loose Balls - it's a favourite. Such a funny book and I've always been super interested in the brief phenom of the ABA. What a hot mess.

Another great basketball book that I read recently is Life on the Run by Bill Bradley. Total classic, for good reason - that man can write.

PS. Gregg, I'm a huge fan of the podcast.