Cinderella: Inside the Rise of Mid-Major College Basketball (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up—The remarkable 2006 NCAA tournament run of the little-known George Mason University men's basketball team sparked a national wake-up call on the quality and status of less-celebrated, "mid-major" Division I collegiate basketball programs. This sportswriter's account of the 2005–2006 season in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) focuses primarily on the roller-coaster wins, losses, rivalries, and aspirations of the top six teams in the league: Old Dominion, George Mason, UNC-Wilmington, Hofstra, VCU, and Northeastern. As they vie for more than one league bid to the NCAA tournament, dedicated coaches like Jim Larranaga, Tom Pecora, Jeff Capel, and Blaine Taylor; key players like T.J. Carter, Isaiah Hunter, Tony Skinn, and Lamar Butler; and League Commissioner, Tom Yeager, recognize the impact of RPI ratings, non-conference scheduling, TV exposure, and limited finances. Ultimately and fortuitously, two CAA teams got bids for the first time in 20 years. Both the league tournament winner, UNC-Wilmington, and conference champ, George Mason, entered the NCAA's storied and lucrative "March Madness" tournament. This title provides a valuable perspective on the economic and competitive struggles of mid-major teams to build their programs and to demonstrate their parity with perennial powers. Litos's insights on mid-major issues and dilemmas are embedded in a lively chronicle of CAA games, personalities, and traditions. Although basketball fans in general will gain a better understanding of the breadth of Division 1 basketball, this title will appeal primarily to fans who are already acquainted with the CAA teams.—Gerry Larson, Durham School of the Arts, NC
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

This chronicle of the rise of "mid-major college basketball" (teams in the middle strata of the NCAA) chronicles the historic and headline-grabbing Final Four drive of the George Mason Patriots during the 2005-06 season. The author writes with enormous enthusiasm, almost breathlessly, as though he's so excited about the story he is telling that he can barely contain himself. Litos was granted full access to the Colonial Athletic Association's teams--players, coaches, the works--and he stumbled into some major news stories along the way, such as the rape trial of one of the players and the shooting of another. Some readers may be reminded of the energetic 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams, which also captures the thrill of the game, and the dreams of its young players. The book fairly bubbles over with excitement, an underdog story so uplifting that readers will cheer--out loud, mind you--at the end. A must-read for college basketball fans. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc. (February 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402208677
• ISBN-13: 978-1402208676
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #500,676 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Way too many mistakes, December 24, 2008

By	Christopher Barat (Owings Mills, MD, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Cinderella (Paperback)

As a college basketball aficionado, I WANTED so badly to like this book. Sadly, there are a large number of painful errors of fact (e.g., referring to a well-known CBS broadcaster as "Greg Gumball") and, even more to the point, the writing is maladroit in far too many places. George Mason deserved a better chronicler for its 2006 Final Four run. Hopefully, the next mid-major team to break through the "glass ceiling" will be more fortunate.