Basketball Stories
Fiction
Foul Trouble by John Feinstein (F FEI)
College recruiters are clambering to sign up Terrell Jamerson, the #1 high school basketball player in the country. But not all of these recruiters are straight shooters, and Terrell will have to think fast if he wants to stay in the game
Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery by John Feinstein (MYS FEI)
After winning a basketball reporting contest, eighth graders Stevie and Susan Carol are sent to cover the Final Four tournament where they discover that a player is being blackmailed.
Ball Don't Lie by Matt De La Pena (F PEN)
Seventeen-year-old Sticky lives to play basketball at school and at Lincoln Rec Center in Los Angeles and is headed for the pros, but he is unaware of the many dangers--including his own past--that threaten his dream.
Night Hoops and others by Carl Deuker (F DEU)
While trying to prove that he is good enough to play on his high school's varsity basketball team, Nick must also deal with his parents' divorce.
Slam and others by Walter Dean Myers (F MYE)
Sixteen-year-old "Slam" Harris is counting on his noteworthy basketball talents to get him out of the inner city and give him a chance to succeed in life, but his coach sees things differently.
Box Out by John Coy (F COY)
High school sophomore Liam jeopardizes his new position on the varsity basketball team when he decides to take a stand against his coach who is leading prayers before games and enforcing teamwide participation.
Foul Lines: A Pro-Basketball Novel by Jack McCallum (F MAC)
Months after his graduation from Yale, Jamal Kelly joins the front office of the Los Angeles Lasers and finds himself thrown into the fast-paced sport's world, filled with big egos, fast cars, loose women, and high-stakes.
Hail Caesar by Thu-Huong Ha (F HA)
Basketball champ and ladies' man, seventeen-year-old Caesar is popular and conceited and doesn't care what anyone thinks of him, until a new girl arrives at his school and changes his attitude.
The Hoopster by Alan Lawrence Sitomer (F SIT)
Andre Anderson is a black teenager who loves to play basketball. When he is viciously attacked, it calls his whole world into question--even his deadly jumpshot.
The Perfect Shot by Elaine Alphin (F ALP)
Brian uses basketball to block out memories of his girlfriend and her family who were murdered; however, the upcoming trial and a high school history assignment forces him to face the past.
Rat by Jan Cheripko (F CHE)
A birth defect prevents 15-year-old Jeremy Handler from being able to compete. Still, he hangs out in the gym so much that his nickname is Rat--short for "gym rat." After Jeremy witnesses the basketball team's coach molesting a cheerleader and testifies against the coach in court, he finds himself shunned and tormented by the furious players.
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (F ALE)
Twins Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story's heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.
Nonfiction
Hoop Dreams: A True Story of Hardship and Triumph by Ben Joravsky (920 JOR)
A biography of Arthur Agee and William Gates, two promising high school basketball players in Chicago whose experiences were captured in the documentary film "Hoop Dreams."
The Punch : One Night, Two Lives, and the Fight That Changed Basketball Forever by John Feinstein
(796.323 FEI)
With unerring insight into the deeper truths of professional sports, John Feinstein explores in riveting detail what happened one night in December 1977 when, as a fistfight broke out on the court between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers, Kermit Washington delivered a punch that nearly killed All-Star Rudy Tomjanovich. The punch -- now legendary in the annals of American sports -- radically changed the trajectory of both men's lives and reverberates throughout the National Basketball Association to this day. Feinstein's compelling investigation of this single cataclysmic incident and its after-math casts a light on the NBA's darkest secrets, revealing the true price men pay when they choose a career in sports.
Longhorn Hoops: The History of Texas Basketball by Richard Pennington (796.323 PEN)
Provides year-by-year coverage of the men's basketball program at the University of Texas from 1906 to 1998 and the women's basketball program from 1900 to 1998.
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down : Kentucky, Texas Western, and the Game That Changed American Sports by Frank Fitzpatrick (796.323 FIT)
Late on the night of March 19, 1966, in the University of Maryland's Cole Field House, five unassuming black men from Texas Western stepped onto the court to face five white men from the University of Kentucky. On the surface, this was just another basketball game. But there were hidden forces at work. Kentucky's legendary coach, Adolph Rupp, had resisted the pleading of his president to recruit his first black player in thirty-six years. Meanwhile, Texas Western administrators were concerned that coach Don Haskins was playing too many blacks. Almost everyone believed the game's result was a foregone conclusion: There was no way Texas Western's unheralded blacks could beat Rupp's mighty Kentucky Wildcats, featuring All-America Pat Riley. Yet Texas Western did win and American sports embarked on a new era. Sociologically and historically it was the most significant game ever in college athletics.
To Hate Like This is to be Happy Forever : A Thoroughly Obsessive, Intermittently Uplifting, and Occasionally Unbiased Account of the Duke-North Carolina Basketball Rivalry by Will Blythe (796.323 BLY)
Chronicles the history of the intense basketball rivalry between Duke and North Carolina, and explains how the rivalry has led to deeper resentments and biases in the South.
Longshot: The Adventures of a Deaf Fundamentalist Mormon Kid and His Journey to the NBA
by Lance Allred (B ALL)
Lance Allred, a nearly seven-foot-tall basketball player who signed on as a rookie with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2008, shares the story of his life, telling how he overcame the challenges of obsessive-compulsive disorder, deafness, injury, and a childhood spent in a polygamist commune in Montana, to realize his dream of playing in the NBA.
Tip Off: How the 1984 NBA Draft Changed Basketball Forever by Filip Bondy (796.323 BON)
Offers a comprehensive overview of the 1984 NBA draft, explaining why it became one of the most controversial sporting draft's in history and how it made a lasting impact on the sport and its players.
Shooting Stars by LeBron James (796.323 JAM)
Provides an account of the Shooting Stars, a group of boys from Akron, Ohio, including NBA star LeBron James, who first met on a youth basketball team and formed lasting bonds of friendship while growing up and aspiring to win a national title in high school.
Biographies:
Tim Duncan, Steph Curry, Tony Parker, LeBron James, Grant Hill, Shaquille O'Neal, Phil Jackson, Jeremy Lin, Nicole Louden, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, David Robinson, Michael Jordan, Tyrone Bogues, Larry Bird, Allen Iverson, Jeremy Lin
Foul Trouble by John Feinstein (F FEI)
College recruiters are clambering to sign up Terrell Jamerson, the #1 high school basketball player in the country. But not all of these recruiters are straight shooters, and Terrell will have to think fast if he wants to stay in the game
Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery by John Feinstein (MYS FEI)
After winning a basketball reporting contest, eighth graders Stevie and Susan Carol are sent to cover the Final Four tournament where they discover that a player is being blackmailed.
Ball Don't Lie by Matt De La Pena (F PEN)
Seventeen-year-old Sticky lives to play basketball at school and at Lincoln Rec Center in Los Angeles and is headed for the pros, but he is unaware of the many dangers--including his own past--that threaten his dream.
Night Hoops and others by Carl Deuker (F DEU)
While trying to prove that he is good enough to play on his high school's varsity basketball team, Nick must also deal with his parents' divorce.
Slam and others by Walter Dean Myers (F MYE)
Sixteen-year-old "Slam" Harris is counting on his noteworthy basketball talents to get him out of the inner city and give him a chance to succeed in life, but his coach sees things differently.
Box Out by John Coy (F COY)
High school sophomore Liam jeopardizes his new position on the varsity basketball team when he decides to take a stand against his coach who is leading prayers before games and enforcing teamwide participation.
Foul Lines: A Pro-Basketball Novel by Jack McCallum (F MAC)
Months after his graduation from Yale, Jamal Kelly joins the front office of the Los Angeles Lasers and finds himself thrown into the fast-paced sport's world, filled with big egos, fast cars, loose women, and high-stakes.
Hail Caesar by Thu-Huong Ha (F HA)
Basketball champ and ladies' man, seventeen-year-old Caesar is popular and conceited and doesn't care what anyone thinks of him, until a new girl arrives at his school and changes his attitude.
The Hoopster by Alan Lawrence Sitomer (F SIT)
Andre Anderson is a black teenager who loves to play basketball. When he is viciously attacked, it calls his whole world into question--even his deadly jumpshot.
The Perfect Shot by Elaine Alphin (F ALP)
Brian uses basketball to block out memories of his girlfriend and her family who were murdered; however, the upcoming trial and a high school history assignment forces him to face the past.
Rat by Jan Cheripko (F CHE)
A birth defect prevents 15-year-old Jeremy Handler from being able to compete. Still, he hangs out in the gym so much that his nickname is Rat--short for "gym rat." After Jeremy witnesses the basketball team's coach molesting a cheerleader and testifies against the coach in court, he finds himself shunned and tormented by the furious players.
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (F ALE)
Twins Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story's heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.
Nonfiction
Hoop Dreams: A True Story of Hardship and Triumph by Ben Joravsky (920 JOR)
A biography of Arthur Agee and William Gates, two promising high school basketball players in Chicago whose experiences were captured in the documentary film "Hoop Dreams."
The Punch : One Night, Two Lives, and the Fight That Changed Basketball Forever by John Feinstein
(796.323 FEI)
With unerring insight into the deeper truths of professional sports, John Feinstein explores in riveting detail what happened one night in December 1977 when, as a fistfight broke out on the court between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers, Kermit Washington delivered a punch that nearly killed All-Star Rudy Tomjanovich. The punch -- now legendary in the annals of American sports -- radically changed the trajectory of both men's lives and reverberates throughout the National Basketball Association to this day. Feinstein's compelling investigation of this single cataclysmic incident and its after-math casts a light on the NBA's darkest secrets, revealing the true price men pay when they choose a career in sports.
Longhorn Hoops: The History of Texas Basketball by Richard Pennington (796.323 PEN)
Provides year-by-year coverage of the men's basketball program at the University of Texas from 1906 to 1998 and the women's basketball program from 1900 to 1998.
And the Walls Came Tumbling Down : Kentucky, Texas Western, and the Game That Changed American Sports by Frank Fitzpatrick (796.323 FIT)
Late on the night of March 19, 1966, in the University of Maryland's Cole Field House, five unassuming black men from Texas Western stepped onto the court to face five white men from the University of Kentucky. On the surface, this was just another basketball game. But there were hidden forces at work. Kentucky's legendary coach, Adolph Rupp, had resisted the pleading of his president to recruit his first black player in thirty-six years. Meanwhile, Texas Western administrators were concerned that coach Don Haskins was playing too many blacks. Almost everyone believed the game's result was a foregone conclusion: There was no way Texas Western's unheralded blacks could beat Rupp's mighty Kentucky Wildcats, featuring All-America Pat Riley. Yet Texas Western did win and American sports embarked on a new era. Sociologically and historically it was the most significant game ever in college athletics.
To Hate Like This is to be Happy Forever : A Thoroughly Obsessive, Intermittently Uplifting, and Occasionally Unbiased Account of the Duke-North Carolina Basketball Rivalry by Will Blythe (796.323 BLY)
Chronicles the history of the intense basketball rivalry between Duke and North Carolina, and explains how the rivalry has led to deeper resentments and biases in the South.
Longshot: The Adventures of a Deaf Fundamentalist Mormon Kid and His Journey to the NBA
by Lance Allred (B ALL)
Lance Allred, a nearly seven-foot-tall basketball player who signed on as a rookie with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2008, shares the story of his life, telling how he overcame the challenges of obsessive-compulsive disorder, deafness, injury, and a childhood spent in a polygamist commune in Montana, to realize his dream of playing in the NBA.
Tip Off: How the 1984 NBA Draft Changed Basketball Forever by Filip Bondy (796.323 BON)
Offers a comprehensive overview of the 1984 NBA draft, explaining why it became one of the most controversial sporting draft's in history and how it made a lasting impact on the sport and its players.
Shooting Stars by LeBron James (796.323 JAM)
Provides an account of the Shooting Stars, a group of boys from Akron, Ohio, including NBA star LeBron James, who first met on a youth basketball team and formed lasting bonds of friendship while growing up and aspiring to win a national title in high school.
Biographies:
Tim Duncan, Steph Curry, Tony Parker, LeBron James, Grant Hill, Shaquille O'Neal, Phil Jackson, Jeremy Lin, Nicole Louden, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, David Robinson, Michael Jordan, Tyrone Bogues, Larry Bird, Allen Iverson, Jeremy Lin