Hard Work: A Life On and Off the Court [Hardcover]

Roy Williams (Author), Tim Crothers (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Williams, the men's basketball coach at the University of Kansas (1988–2003) and at the University of North Carolina (2003–present), describes his personal and professional path to a Hall of Fame coaching career and two national championships. Ignored by his abusive, drunken father and raised primarily by a cash-strapped, saintly single mother, Williams paid for his college education at UNC by officiating intramural sports. When Dean Smith, that school's legendary basketball coach, offered Williams a low-paying job on his coaching staff, Williams accepted and sold calendars and delivered videotapes to TV stations to feed his family. As a head coach, Williams's dedication extends to landing recruits and running organized, thorough practices. And he's done all this while maintaining a cohesive family life. (He's married to his college sweetheart.) Well-intentioned and upbeat, the book treads the familiar ground of glossy, inspirational sports biographies. Williams recalls passionate speeches, great players (i.e., Michael Jordan, James Worthy) and various anecdotes from the coaching life, but never delivers consistent insight on the workings of a successful coach at two legendary sports programs. However, the book is redeemed by Williams's genial (and borderline hokey) tone and the forthright revelations of his tumultuous childhood and early days coaching in high school and college. 16-page photo insert. (Nov.)
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From Booklist

Roy Williams is arguably the most successful active NCAA major-college basketball coach. A few more NCAA championships with North Carolina— he has two—and he inserts himself into the greatest-all-time discussion. His life story is a genuine rags-to-riches saga. Born poor in rural North Carolina and raised by a single mom, he was extraordinarily driven and self-sufficient as a child and young man. He received a basketball scholarship to North Carolina but was in over his head as a player. He worked his way through school refereeing intramural sports––eventually overseeing the entire program––keeping statistics for then head coach Dean Smith, and working summers at Smith’s basketball camp. After graduation, he became a high-school coach, married, and was moving along nicely with his career when the offer came to be a part-time assistant for Smith at a fraction of his salary as a teacher and coach. He took the gamble and supported his young family for years with a variety of side jobs, including selling UNC basketball calendars to local merchants. Eventually he became Smith’s top assistant and played a significant role in recruiting a skinny kid named Michael Jordan. Later he accepted the top job at Kansas and was very successful there before coming home to North Carolina. Fans view Williams today through the narrow prism of success, but they most likely have little concept of the sacrifice and hard work it took to get there. A thoroughly enjoyable memoir related with humor, compassion, and intelligence. --Wes Lukowsky

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books; 1 edition (November 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565129598
• ISBN-13: 978-1565129597
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #44,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #4 in	Books > Sports > Basketball > Coaching
  #4 in	Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Biographies > Basketball

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Right Kind of Hard Work, November 26, 2009

By	Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Hard Work: A Life On and Off the Court (Hardcover)

Hard Work traces the improbable story of Roy Williams, now legendary head coach of Kansas and North Carolina. Roy's family had no money but his mother instilled values that would serve him for a lifetime.

What made this story fascinating was the way Williams planned his career trajectory. Knowing he wanted to be a great basketball coach, he turned down a scholarship at Georgia Tech so he could apprentice with Dean Smith of UNC. He worked all sorts of jobs to get through college. Later he worked all sorts of jobs to be on the staff with Dean Smith first as a volunteer, then as a part-time assistant.

After becoming a full time assistant coach at UNC, Roy still thought carefully about his career moves. He turned down several well-paid jobs till the right athletic director came calling from Kansas. Once established at Kansas, Roy rejected UNC's first offer to return as head coach. .

I got a little bogged down in the details of some games, because I am not a follower of these teams. My only quibble is that we don't get a sense of Coach Williams's coaching personality. He talks a little about what he said to teams in specific situations. But we don't get the same sense of personality as we do with the stories of other coaches, such as the legendary Pat Summitt. She also talks about hard work and she shows how she integrates her philosophy into the teams.
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Williams's story can be viewed as a fable for career planning. Start early and stay fixed on your goal" is the message we get.

Williams found that his gambles paid off. Could he have become a big-time college coach another way? Possibly. But this path makes a great story. Recommended as a life story even if you're not a die-hard basketball fan.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Hard Work was reading it, April 11, 2010

By	L. Sandlin "pstw05a" (NC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Hard Work: A Life On and Off the Court (Hardcover)

First of all, I am a Tar Heel fan, Roy Williams is a wonderful head coach. I think that is his best work. I learned a lot from this book, I certainly learned Carolina should never have let him leave the campus after the first offer without a signed contract. He is very indecisive when it comes to changing jobs & really keeps schools & NBA teams waiting. I doubt he gets asked again...okay by UNC, I'm sure.

He thought the 2009 team was hard work, well, I wonder what he would say about the 2010 team, I think he should have waited another year to write Hard Work.

You have to admire him for having a dream, a goal and doing all it took to make it happen...and be a success at it and apparently at being a good husband and father, as well as son.

But the book is not a good read, it has details about recruiting that only a coach or asst coach would care about...there are way too many details about this player and that player and how much Roy loves them. Hey, it is very apparent that Roy loves everyone. Great... I'm for that, but he can't write, or tell and the writer couldn't write or make it interesting. I listened to every word cause I am a Tar Heel...but it was not easy. It was hard work.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Work!, December 6, 2009

By	Diane B. Wilkes "Diane Wilkes, Voracious Reader" (Oreland, PA USA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Hard Work: A Life On and Off the Court (Hardcover)

As a Tar Heels fan who reveres Dean Smith (Roy and I have that in common!), I can't help but note that in some ways Roy modelled his book after A Coach's Life--including his section on his philosophy and listing of all the boys who played for him. Frankly, there could be no better role model and, say what you want about Roy, he is smart enough to know it and wise enough to acknowledge it.

Roy's story is quite different than Dean's. Roy grew up in severe poverty and with a father who abused his mother continuously. Sweet as Roy (truly) is, he had to learn to be a fighter and he became one, first when he stood up for his mother at a young age and throughout his life. He learned independence early, taking a bus by himself to the Y to play sports. His mom worked several jobs to support him and his sister, yet always left a dime by his bedside for the Coca-Cola he so adored.

Roy repaid that love and devotion--not only to his mother but through the commitment he has shown to the young men who played for him at Kansas and UNC. Threaded through the book are stories of his relationships with many of these young men and you can tell that Williams is completely sincere and voluble on the subject. His warmth (and the heat of his temper) come through the pages of the book. He is such a people person!

Because of that, I was surprised that there was no mention of UNC mascot Jason Ray or UNC student Eve Carson in the retelling of the years in which they died so young; these deaths viscerally impacted the UNC teams.

That's just a comment of surprise--not a criticism. If you care about UNC basketball, you need to read this book. I am surprised that there are only three reviews of this book with as heated and opinionated a fan base as the University of North Carolina has--since they second guess him often enough!

Not me, though. I think Ol Roy knows what he's doing. He's not Dean Smith, but he doesn't have to be. Roy Williams is more than alright with me.