John B. McLendon was the last living protégé of basketball’s inventor, Dr. James Naismith, and one of the “top ten basketball coaches of the century” in Billy Packer’s opinion. Breaking Through, the first biography of this remarkable man, is the uplifting story of a champion’s struggle for equality in 1940s and ‘50s America, when one coach refused to accept that teams at traditionally black colleges like North Carolina College and Tennessee State were unable to achieve national prominence.
McLendon’s creative and courageous efforts to “break through” the color lines of institutional racism include the famous “secret game” between his North Carolina College players and the Duke University Medical School in 1944, ten years before the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. McLendon taught his players, including such NBA standouts as Sam Jones, Dick Barnett, and John Barnhill, that dignity and self-respect were more important than the numbers on a scoreboard, though he nonetheless achieved a 76 percent winning mark over a twenty-five-year collegiate coaching career. He was an early pioneer of game preparation, conditioning, the fast break, the full-court press, and a two corner offense that became the seed for Dean Smith’s famous four corners, and he won eight CIAA titles at North Carolina College between 1941 and 1952.
McLendon’s far-reaching list of firsts includes being the first coach to win three consecutive national titles (Tennessee State, 1957–59), the first black coach of an integrated professional team (the ABL’s Cleveland Pipers), the first black coach at a predominately white college (Cleveland State), the first black coach in the ABA, the first black coach to publish a basketball book, the first black coach on the Olympic staff, the first black coach inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame . . . the list goes on. McLendon’s amazing career culminated in his efforts as a basketball ambassador; he traveled to fifty-eight countries, teaching the fundamentals of the game and the value of sportsmanship, and many believe he contributed more to the proliferation of basketball worldwide than any other individual.
Breaking Through is both a history lesson and an inspiration to any player, coach, or spectator who has ever known the transcendent powers of a game.
McLendon’s creative and courageous efforts to “break through” the color lines of institutional racism include the famous “secret game” between his North Carolina College players and the Duke University Medical School in 1944, ten years before the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. McLendon taught his players, including such NBA standouts as Sam Jones, Dick Barnett, and John Barnhill, that dignity and self-respect were more important than the numbers on a scoreboard, though he nonetheless achieved a 76 percent winning mark over a twenty-five-year collegiate coaching career. He was an early pioneer of game preparation, conditioning, the fast break, the full-court press, and a two corner offense that became the seed for Dean Smith’s famous four corners, and he won eight CIAA titles at North Carolina College between 1941 and 1952.
McLendon’s far-reaching list of firsts includes being the first coach to win three consecutive national titles (Tennessee State, 1957–59), the first black coach of an integrated professional team (the ABL’s Cleveland Pipers), the first black coach at a predominately white college (Cleveland State), the first black coach in the ABA, the first black coach to publish a basketball book, the first black coach on the Olympic staff, the first black coach inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame . . . the list goes on. McLendon’s amazing career culminated in his efforts as a basketball ambassador; he traveled to fifty-eight countries, teaching the fundamentals of the game and the value of sportsmanship, and many believe he contributed more to the proliferation of basketball worldwide than any other individual.
Breaking Through is both a history lesson and an inspiration to any player, coach, or spectator who has ever known the transcendent powers of a game.
