She'S Got Handle Nicole Louden'S Triumph In Basket [Hardcover]

Adam Zagoria (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2001

She's Got Handle engagingly demonstrates what happens when a determined inner-city girl - supported by a dedicated, hardworking family - sidesteps the land mines of poverty, drug use, violent crime, and teenage pregnancy to pursue her dream of playing Division I basketball. She's Got Handle examines women's basketball at a critical juncture in history, when it can either mimic the mistakes of the men's game or pursue a more compassionate path. Nicole Louden is a determined, dedicated, intelligent, young African American woman with a powerful desire to succeed. Her story is as inspirational and hard driving as a full-court press.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Zagoria's debut book recounts young basketball superstar Nicole Louden's dramas and triumphs on the court and in the high school sections of East Coast sports pages. Beginning in medias res, the well-paced narrative moves from Nicole's time at Nike's camp through the moments when her star begins to rise in Paterson, N.J., with scenes reminiscent of Kotlowitz's There Are No Children Here. Zagoria, who covered Louden's team as a sports reporter for Passaic County's Herald News, details a story similar to the film Hoop Dreams, making the familiar point that athletic success is often the only American dream that thrives amid cycles of poverty and drug-addled neighborhoods. But the inchoate world of female team-sports stardom is relatively unexplored, and Zagoria, his passion for sports matched by his more recent compassion for female athletes' circumstances, deftly situates Nicole's experience in a broader context preceding and including the WNBA. Nicole, highly accomplished and full of WNBA dreams, rises above the nightly sirens and her own shortcomings namely, her insatiable hunger for playing time despite injuries and a fatigue. She endures three coaches in as many years, survives the death of her grandfather and plays round ball with a team more comfortable letting her have the ball than they are playing to win. Moreover, she is courted by dozens of colleges looking for "the next Michael." Readers will appreciate Zagoria's strong, clean writing and thoughtful enthusiasm for "the revolution in women's sports." A foreword by WNBA pioneer and Liberty guard Teresa Weatherspoon will attract attention. 16 pages b&w photos.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (September 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740718940
• ISBN-13: 978-0740718946
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #872,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars She's got handle is a winner., November 26, 2001

By 

Sean Federbusch (Santa Barbara, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: She'S Got Handle Nicole Louden'S Triumph In Basket (Hardcover)

Being in high school was never like this for me! I played sports but was never recruited from any colleges, much less a top ten Division I school. Its amazing to learn about what these kids go through while being recruited to play at that level. The story of Nicole Louden is the story of very bright and motivated young women making her way through her inner-city high school basketball career and the recruiting process.

This book is also a comment about the challenges that kids in America face today. Nicole grew up around kids selling drugs, gangs and violence. Without her families strong support its unlikely that she would have excelled as she did, both academically and athletically. Zagoria does a great job following Nicole and documenting all the details of the recruiting process. If have ever been interested in what it takes to play college sports, and the process of getting there this book is a fun page-turner.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A touching journery that makes you love basketball even more, November 26, 2001

By 

Susan Ann McKinley (Manhattan, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: She'S Got Handle Nicole Louden'S Triumph In Basket (Hardcover)

The author does a terrific job chronicling the journey of a young girl whose dream it is to play Division I college basketball and then the WNBA. The book takes you through the struggles, the victories, and everything in-between about a high school female basketball player attempting to beat some very long odds. Growing up in a violent, poverty stricken, drug-infested New Jersey neighborhood, SHE GOT HANDLE describes how an extremely ambitious girl uses her enormous basketball talents, overwhelming support from her family, and terrific smarts to get an athletic scholarship from a top educational university.

2.0 out of 5 stars I didn't love it, May 21, 2006

By 

Brigid - See all my reviews

This review is from: She'S Got Handle Nicole Louden'S Triumph In Basket (Hardcover)

She's Got Handle is an inspiring story. It conveys very important themes, including the idea of a strong family background, hard work, and love. However, I do not believe that the book was very well-written. It used a large amount of slang, and had several grammatical errors. The book also often went off on tangents about irrelevant information. This made the book difficult and tedious to finish.