- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: Triumph Books (Sep 1 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1572434996
- ISBN-13: 978-1572434998
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.8 x 2.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 499 g
- Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#1,867,440 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #74 in Books > Sports > Basketball > College & University
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Product Details |
Product Description
Book Description
Tucked away in the corner of country, Gonzaga University, a small Jesuit college in Spokane, Washington, was maybe best known as the alma mater of Bing Crosby. In other words, it really wasn’t known at all.
That all changed in 1998. That year, Gonzaga’s men’s Division 1 basketball team won their first game in the NCAA tournament. Then they won their next game. And their next one. Suddenly, the funny sounding school with little basketball heritage and a fraction of the resources of most big time college basketball programs, was one game away from the Final Four. It stunned the college basketball world and made the once unpronounceable Gonzaga a household name.
Most remarkable of all, however, is that Gonzaga has continued to stun the college basketball world, making deep runs into the NCAA tournament almost every year since then—and without compromising on the small-school values that still separate it from the basketball factories in terrorizes each March.
Little Big Man is the inspirational and touching story of Gonzaga’s rise from college basketball obscurity to near mythic status as everyone’s favorite underdog. Acclaimed college basketball writer Bud Withers has covered the Zags since it all begin. In dramatic, and at times poignant, fashion he reanimates the events of the last few years, adding flesh to the personalities and summoning the details, great and small, that make up this unforgettable story. Readers will meet players such as big time high school recruit Blake Stepp, who chose Gonzaga because of what it wasn’t, a big time school. They’ll meet Dan Dickau, who transferred from the big state school to become an All American and cover boy at Gonzaga. They’ll meet former coach Dan Monson, who instilled a fearless attitude among the players, and Mark Few, the current coach who parlayed that into even greater success. Finally, they’ll meet Father Tony Lehmann, the longtime chaplain who died in March of 2002. The inspirational leader of the basketball team, Lehmann touched the lives of untold numbers of Gonzaga players, past and present, and his life and influence courses through the story.
About the Author
Bud Withers is the college basketball writer for the Seattle Times. He’s covered college basketball for 31 years and was president of the US Basketball Writers Association for two years (where he succeeded John Feinstein). He’s won numerous writing awards from several different organizations, including the USBWA, Associated Press Sports Editors, and the Football Writers Association of America
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
wow, what a bad book,
By Tom Kludt (harlem, ny) - See all my reviews
This review is from: BraveHearts: The Against-All-Odds Rise of Gonzaga Basketball (Hardcover)
seriously, probably one of the worst books i have ever read. in fact, i used it to wipe... i live in a shack, so i also used chapters 4, 5, and 6 as blankets.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Zag Fans in the Boonies,
By W. J. Rieger (Reno, NV USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: BraveHearts: The Against-All-Odds Rise of Gonzaga Basketball (Hardcover)
Zag Fans who live in the boondocks like I do (Reno, NV) have had to rely on the internet and the GU athletic department web-site for information on the Bulldogs' recent success. BraveHearts provides a succinct recap of the GU basketball program's up and downs over a longer period of time. I attended GU from Fall '75 to Spring '79 so much of what B. Withers covers in this enjoyable book was news to me. The chapter on ex-coach and athletic director Dan Fitzgerald was good reporting and while Withers may not be John Feinstein, he has certainly put in the time and research needed to portray the Bulldog basketball program in a complete fashion-- warts and all.If you're a Gonzaga alumni or related to one, this would make a nice gift.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good school, great team, so-so book,
By
This review is from: BraveHearts: The Against-All-Odds Rise of Gonzaga Basketball (Hardcover)
This was a light, fast, enjoyable read, but in the end, my pleasure stemmed from the subject moreso than the author's skill. Having read many of John Feinstein's works, I was expecting an "inside" look at the Gonzaga program: the story of a season through the eyes and words of players and coaches. Instead, Mr. Withers cobbles together a series of brief histories: of the school, of the coaching staff, of the team, of the WCC, etc. Although there are interviews with coaches, players and recruits, it seemed as though Withers spent most of his time compiling and recounting articles from newspaper achieves and school promotional literature.If you like college hoops, and have enjoyed Gonzaga's seeminingly improbable success in recent NCAA tournaments, then you'll enjoy this book. If, however, you want to know what it's like to be a student-athlete or coach campaigning towards the "big dance" next March, this book doesn't deliver.
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