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The Big East : inside the most entertaining and influential conference in college basketball history / Dana O'Neil.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Ballantine Books, 2021Description: xvi, 252 pages 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780593237939
  • 0593237935
Subject(s):
Contents:
Gavitt's folly: "There would never be a Big East without him" -- A rivalry ignites a conference: "Manley Field House is officially closed" -- Ewing arrives, and so does the Big East: "He's the most important player in the history of the league, period" -- The magic of Madison Square Garden: "I just knew that was the place to play" -- John Thompson, patriarch of Hoya Paranoia: "He wanted people to hate him so they wouldn't hate his kids" -- St. John's, a team even New Yorkers could love: "Eh, that's Louie being Louie" -- Pasta, family, and Massimino: "Who the hell is this little Italian dude?" -- Pitino and the 3-Point revolution: "Best coaching job I've ever witnessed" -- Out of the cellar and into the championship for the hall: "It was like witnessing something that seemed impossible happening" -- From Yukon to Uconn: The Huskies' rise from obscurity: "What the hell kind of league did I get myself into?" -- The last of the originals: Boeheim finally gets his ring "We're going to get it right this time" -- Six overtimes and the end of an era: "My final gift to you".
Summary: "The compulsively readable, definitive account of the greatest era of the most influential league in college basketball history, infused with the raucous spirit and roaring voices of the league's legendary coaches and players. There has never been, nor will there ever be, another league quite like the Big East. Five Big East schools have won national college basketball titles, and five coaches are enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Eight players have been named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. But the magic and mastery of the league cannot be quantified by trophies or plaques. During its golden era, the league's heart beat in its moments and personalities. Syracuse versus Georgetown, Patrick versus Chris, Allen versus Allen, the Pearl, Billy the Kid, P.J and six overtimes. Combustible, competitive, and, at times, maybe even a little crazy, they turned the Big East into must-watch TV just as cable television took off. The players, many products of the Northeast playgrounds, competed fiercely and physically, their talent mixing with their fire to produce unforgettable games and court battles. The coaches were each more of a caricature than the next-the wild mania of Rollie Massimino versus the stoic intimidation of John Thompson, Jr. Or sweet, lovable Louie Carnesecca going toe-to-toe against perpetually whiny Jim Boeheim. The rivalries were real, the Catholic tradition ran deep, and the loyalties went beyond fan fervor. These titans of athletic prowess and power fought over every recruit, every gameday advantage, every basket, and every conference title. On the court, down back hallways, in meeting rooms, and on golf courses, they bickered and postured, not willing to cede a competitive inch. From the formation of the league to the backstories of the people who shaped it, to inside the epic games and players that sealed its relevance and laid the groundwork for its eventual rebirth, The Big East tells the tale of the most powerful and entertaining league in college basketball history"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 796.323 O58 Available 33111010748453
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The definitive, compulsively readable story of the greatest era of the most iconic league in college basketball history-the Big East

"This book, full of long-standing rivalries, unmatched moments in the lives of coaches and players, and juicy insider gossip, is, like the game of basketball, a ton of fun."- Philadelphia magazine

The names need no introduction- Thompson and Patrick, Boeheim and the Pearl, and of course Gavitt. And the moments are part of college basketball lore- the Sweater Game, Villanova Beats Georgetown, and Six Overtimes. But this is the story of the Big East Conference that you haven't heard before-of how the Northeast, once an afterthought, became the epicenter of college basketball.

Before the league's founding, East Coast basketball had crowned just three national champions in forty years, and none since 1954. But in the Big East's first ten years, five of its teams played for a national championship. The league didn't merely inherit good teams; it created them. But how did this unlikely group of schools come to dominate college basketball so quickly and completely?

Including interviews with more than sixty of the key figures in the conference's history, The Big East charts the league's daring beginnings and its incredible rise. It transports fans inside packed arenas to epic wars fought between transcendent players, and behind locker-room doors where combustible coaches battled even more fiercely for a leg up.

Started on a handshake and a prayer, the Big East carved an improbable arc in sports history, an ensemble of Catholic schools banding together to not only improve their own stations but rewrite the geographic boundaries of basketball. As former UConn coach Jim Calhoun eloquently put it, "It was Camelot. Camelot with bad language."

Includes index.

Gavitt's folly: "There would never be a Big East without him" -- A rivalry ignites a conference: "Manley Field House is officially closed" -- Ewing arrives, and so does the Big East: "He's the most important player in the history of the league, period" -- The magic of Madison Square Garden: "I just knew that was the place to play" -- John Thompson, patriarch of Hoya Paranoia: "He wanted people to hate him so they wouldn't hate his kids" -- St. John's, a team even New Yorkers could love: "Eh, that's Louie being Louie" -- Pasta, family, and Massimino: "Who the hell is this little Italian dude?" -- Pitino and the 3-Point revolution: "Best coaching job I've ever witnessed" -- Out of the cellar and into the championship for the hall: "It was like witnessing something that seemed impossible happening" -- From Yukon to Uconn: The Huskies' rise from obscurity: "What the hell kind of league did I get myself into?" -- The last of the originals: Boeheim finally gets his ring "We're going to get it right this time" -- Six overtimes and the end of an era: "My final gift to you".

"The compulsively readable, definitive account of the greatest era of the most influential league in college basketball history, infused with the raucous spirit and roaring voices of the league's legendary coaches and players. There has never been, nor will there ever be, another league quite like the Big East. Five Big East schools have won national college basketball titles, and five coaches are enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Eight players have been named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. But the magic and mastery of the league cannot be quantified by trophies or plaques. During its golden era, the league's heart beat in its moments and personalities. Syracuse versus Georgetown, Patrick versus Chris, Allen versus Allen, the Pearl, Billy the Kid, P.J and six overtimes. Combustible, competitive, and, at times, maybe even a little crazy, they turned the Big East into must-watch TV just as cable television took off. The players, many products of the Northeast playgrounds, competed fiercely and physically, their talent mixing with their fire to produce unforgettable games and court battles. The coaches were each more of a caricature than the next-the wild mania of Rollie Massimino versus the stoic intimidation of John Thompson, Jr. Or sweet, lovable Louie Carnesecca going toe-to-toe against perpetually whiny Jim Boeheim. The rivalries were real, the Catholic tradition ran deep, and the loyalties went beyond fan fervor. These titans of athletic prowess and power fought over every recruit, every gameday advantage, every basket, and every conference title. On the court, down back hallways, in meeting rooms, and on golf courses, they bickered and postured, not willing to cede a competitive inch. From the formation of the league to the backstories of the people who shaped it, to inside the epic games and players that sealed its relevance and laid the groundwork for its eventual rebirth, The Big East tells the tale of the most powerful and entertaining league in college basketball history"-- Provided by publisher.

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