Tales From The Villanova Wildcats Locker Room

Take a bunch of nice kids, dump in gobs of fiery Italian seasoning, mix in copious measures of robust Augustinian teaching, and stir gently for four years. That’s the winning recipe that transformed April Fool’s Day 1985 into a feast for underdogs and everymen everywhere. March Madness maddened to the max that year with the crowning of perhaps the NCAA Tournament’s most unlikely champion, the Villanova Wildcats. The most unlikely and perhaps the most liked team to ever win the championship, the Villanova kids won the nation over with courtesy and class more than jump shots and slam dunks. The NCAA final was supposed to be a slam dunk for Georgetown, the defending national champions. But ’Nova never buckled under "Hoya Paranoia," the fear factor that paralyzed most Georgetown opponents in the John Thompson era. Paternal coach Rollie Massimino drilled commitment, loyalty, and honor into his "family" as much as Xs and Os. The result was a poised, disciplined, and undaunted quintet who played what some have called the perfect basketball game where they sizzled the cords with unprecedented 78.6 percent shooting accuracy. Wildcat icon Ed Pinckney, along with teammates and other members of Coach Mass’s "family," relate the tale of how "Villa-nowhere," as the ’Cats were dubbed before April 1, fooled the whole world. This reissue of Tales from the Villanova Wildcats Locker Room is a perfect gift for fans of Villanova basketball! Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

The images are forever etched in the minds of Arizona basketball fans, from Miles Simon falling to the court clutching the basketball as Arizona won its first and only NCAA title in 1997, to Lute Olson’s hair being mussed in the process, to Jason Terry sleeping in his uniform for four consecutive games in the middle of all the madness. All are indelible in Wildcats history as Arizona calmly drove the winding and bumpy road to the Final Four and beyond. Before Simon, Terry, and Olson, however, there were the likes of Sean Elliott, Steve Kerr, Fred Enke, and Pop McKale—all pivotal figures in Arizona’s hoops history. There were also Fred Snowden, Mo and Stewart Udall, and a host of others who helped bring prominence to a school looking for respect first in the Southwest, and then in the rest of the nation. Arizona’s rise has made them one of television’s must-see teams and one of the country’s top winning programs over the past 25 years. In Tales from the Arizona Wildcats Locker Room, author Steve Rivera takes readers back to the time when James Pierce wanted to be more of a movie idol than a coach. They will learn about the troubled times of the 1950s and ’60s, when racial tensions were high, and how Arizona’s first black player, Hadie Redd, dealt with them. Rivera also details Arizona’s participation in the Border Conference, its switch to the Western Athletic Conference, and its current dominance of the Pacific-10 Conference. This book is sure to be a must-have for any true Arizona fan.

There is no richer tradition in college sports than University of Kentucky basketball. Tales from the Kentucky Locker Room recounts the school’s glorious roundball history through timeless stories from the players and coaches who shaped it. Some of the stories will leave the reader howling with laughter, others will inspire tears, but all will enable the reader to experience a feeling of closeness to the unique phenomenon that is Kentucky basketball. Former University of Kentucky play-by-play telecaster Denny Trease highlights the hilarious anecdotes and poignant tales told and retold during more than 70 years of Wildcat mania. From the Adolph Rupp era through the new millennium, there has been an endless parade of legendary characters associated with the Big Blue basketball machine, including all-time leading scorer Dan Issel, Kenny Walker, C. M. Newton, and many more. Their remarkable on-court performances, zany antics, and sometimes-subtle one-liners make Tales from the Kentucky Locker Room a must-read for any Wildcat fan.

The Duke Blue Devils have a long and glorious history of success, and that history comes alive in this newly revised edition of Tales from the Duke Blue Devils Locker Room. The Blue Devils’ storied past includes forty NCAA tournament appearances, sixteen trips to the final four, and five national titles. In this treasure trove of Duke history, Jim Sumner recalls the most legendary games and unique players that have come to define this championship team. Read about the 1968 ACC Tournament, North Carolina’s scoreless half at Duke in 1979, Duke’s upset win over UNLV in the 1991 Final Four, and the 1992 Duke-Kentucky Eastern Regional classic. Duke University has been home to thirty-six All-American basketball players. Nine of them have been named national player of the year: Dick Groat, Art Heyman, Johnny Dawkins, Danny Ferry, Christian Laettner, Elton Brand, Shane Battier, Jason Williams, and J. J. Redick. Their tales are included here along with stories from Duke coaching legends Eddie Cameron, Vic Bubas, Bill Foster, and Mike Krzyzewski. This is a must-read for any fan of Duke basketball. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Ken Rappoport’s Tales from the North Carolina Tar Heels Locker Room is a compilation of the best notes, quotes, and anecdotes from North Carolina lore. Meet a coach nicknamed “Bloody Neck,” a player called “The Blind Bomber,” and a team known as the “White Phantoms.” And, of course, there is the extraordinary Michael Jordan. Tales from the North Carolina Tar Heels Locker Room captures the anecdotes and memories that have defined this team from the early twentieth century up through their incredible success in the 2000s and beyond. A must-have for any Tar Heels fan!

In Tales from the Duke Blue Devils Locker Room, readers will laugh, dream, and sweat alongside the players of one of the most successful and storied college basketball teams to ever take to the hardwood. In this treasure trove of Duke history, Jim Sumner brings to life the legendary games and unique players that have come to define this championship team.

In this action-packed collection of stories, Hoosier alum John Laskowski and veteran sportswriter Stan Sutton take readers onto the court and up to the basket with some of the greatest IU players to ever grace the hardwood. Fans will relive all the excitement, the disappointment, the laughter, and the celebration that has turned IU basketball into a statewide religion. The history of the Indiana program is revealed through the memories of the school’s hundreds of lettermen—from the days of the two-handed set shot and low-scoring games through World War II, to Bobby Knight’s perfect 1976 season, to the Cinderella Hoosiers of 2002, who advanced to the NCAA Finals under Mike Davis, and the winning season of 2012–2013, when the Hoosiers spent an incredible ten weeks ranked #1 in the nation. Tales from the Indiana Hoosiers Locker Room delivers the passion that has carried the program to five NCAA championships and beyond and is a must-have for any Hoosier fan.

One of the most storied collegiate basketball programs in the nation, the Kansas Jayhawks have produced some of the greatest players to ever hit the hardwood. In this updated edition of Tales from the Kansas Jayhawks Locker Room, diehard Jayhawks fans will thrill over the treasure trove of stories and memories from the players and coaches who have made the University of Kansas into a basketball powerhouse. For over a century, Kansas has been the home of storied coaches—from the game’s inventor James Naismith to the current reign of Bill Self—and prominent players including Wilt Chamberlain, Paul Endacott, Danny Manning, Paul Pierce, Drew Gooden, and dozens more. ,i>Tales from the Kansas Jayhawks Locker Room includes stories of all of them and is a must-read for any Jayhawks fan.