Hoops Nation : A Guide to America's Best Pick-Up Basketball [Paperback]

Chris Ballard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 1998

Find out where to play and what to expect in this street-smart and entertaining b-ball bible

For the millions of roundball junkies who are not in the NBA or the new WNBA, hoop dreams are lived out on playgrounds and in old gyms, in informal games that can be every bit as competitive as their big-league counterparts, no matter what the level of play. This is pick-up basketball, America's favorite way to play its favorite game.

Hoops Nation is the result of former college-basketball player Chris Ballard's six-month quest by van to find the best pick-up basketball games in the country. Entries from all forty-eight mainland states break down the key points of each game site, including level of play, number of hoops, playing surface, whether women play, average age of players, and whether night play is an option. Ballard also gives the entertaining low down on local basketball culture, lore, and etiquette. At-a-glance symbols for each court make for easy reference, and interspersed throughout are lively sections and sidebars on topics such as dunking technique, the pick-up court hall of fame, slang, and more. From the Venice Beach courts of White Men Can't Jump, through hallowed heartland hoops, to the legary rims rocked on New York City's West 4th Street, anyone who wants to lace up and play will find all they need to know about the court next door or across the country in Hoops Nation.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Here's the drill: hit the road in a van; crisscross the country in search of pick-up basketball, wherever it's played with passion and verve; then write a lively and informative guide to the Hoops Nation that is America. That's what former college player Chris Ballard did. His guide judges the five best pick-up courts in the country, then continues on its full-court press to critique pick-up hoops games in every region. With descriptions of more than 700 gyms, parks, and schoolyards in all 50 states, this is the most comprehensive look at neighborhood basketball ever undertaken. The ratings system, complete with graphic symbols, covers such criteria as type of court (indoor or outdoor), level of competition, court quality, rough play, dangerous areas (only exceptional pick-up games in dangerous areas are included), and the regularity of female players. But this is so much more than a field guide. Ballard relates basketball lore and myth from all over the country, profiles pick-up legends, and, for rookies, covers tips on etiquette and basic play. Whether looking for a good game when out of town or just curious about hoops in other places, this fun and useful guide will put visions of jump shots in your head and get the adrenaline pumping.

From Library Journal

If your neighborhood court isn't one of the nearly 700 visited by Ballard, then it just may remain undiscovered. Ballard, a magazine writer and former college player, toured 48 states sampling pickup games and customs?from Houston's MacGregor Park to the Mitchell, South Dakota, "Corn Palace," where the local Kernels play. On their six-month basketball odyssey, Ballard and his traveling companions learned a lot of regional court lingo and style, much of it contained in their fine glossary. That the guide's favorite court is New York's fabled West Fourth Street comes as little surprise, but it seems the journey was worthwhile anyway. Recommended for high school libraries and anywhere basketball books are popular.?Nathan Ward, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; 1st edition (March 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805048774
• ISBN-13: 978-0805048773
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,491,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Chris Ballard has had a lifelong affair with basketball. In 1998 he and three other former college basketball players piled into a used Chevy van and traveled 31,000 miles in seven months, playing at over a thousand courts in 166 cities in 48 states. The book resulting from that experience -- Hoops Nation -- was named one of Booklist's "Top Ten Sports Book of the Year." The Philadelphia Inquirer called it "a travelogue worthy of frequent rereading and a guidebook no hoopaholic should leave home without." Ballard is also the author of The Butterfly Hunter (2006) and his most recent book, The Art of a Beautiful Game, an examination of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and others who have mastered areas of the game.

Ballard joined SPORTS ILLUSTRATED in September 2000 and has since written 14 cover stories, as well as features on a wide array of subjects, from motocross star Ricky Carmichael to America's best sports bars to bass fisherman Mike Iaconelli. He has been nominated by SI for a National Magazine Award and his work has twice been cited in the Best American Sports Writing anthology (2005 and 2007) including The Game of the Year, a 2007 SI story which examined a Friday night high school game in Lepanto, Ark., with record-setting individual performances, exhausting swings of emotion and an unexpected dose of national fame. Since December 2007 Ballard has been part of a rotation of writers who have authored the Point After column and writes weekly online columns at SI.com.

Before joining SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, Ballard was an intern at the Courier-Post in Camden, NJ. He has written for The New York Times Magazine (where one of his stories was optioned for a film), The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Men's Health, and other publications. Ballard has appeared on The Charlie Rose Show, ABC News with Dick Schaap, and Outside the Lines. A native Californian, Ballard graduated from Pomona College, where he played basketball and was on the track and field team. He lives in Berkeley with his wife Alexandra and two daughters, Callie and Eliza.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/writers/chris_ballard/archive

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic book; great writing and pictures ...., March 30, 1998

By 

Russ Coward ([e-mail]) (Princeton, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hoops Nation : A Guide to America's Best Pick-Up Basketball (Paperback)

A must-buy for any basketball player. Hoops Nation does a great job of bringing out the local color of each court. Ballard brilliantly moves from stories about the players to comments on playgrounds, all the while expressing a true love for the game. The best part about this book is that the author doesnt romanticize his travels. He's just a guy who is looking for a good game, and his detachment succeeds in bringing out the unique flavor of each court he visits. BUY THIS BOOK!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An elegant and informed overview of America's greatest game., October 9, 1998

By 

Eric W. Kneedler (Jakarta, Indonesia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hoops Nation : A Guide to America's Best Pick-Up Basketball (Paperback)

Chris Ballard should be lauded for his wonderfully concise and sophisticated written journey through America's hoops heartland. Chris successfully boiled down a subject of extreme complexity into a an easy to use reference guide that has something for everybody. Of special interest is Chris' reasoned analysis of the changing nature of the sport and his expertise on the issue of basketball as a cultural and societal gap bridging mechanism. Hoops Nation is a rare jewel of humor, anecdotal variety, and thorough research. I'm quite pleased to have discovered this literary treasure and can be assured of Jordanesque status on Christmas day when my friends and relatives receive their own paperbacks. Anyway I can get an autograph?

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-own for every basketball fan, March 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hoops Nation : A Guide to America's Best Pick-Up Basketball (Paperback)

Here's the drill: hit the road in a van; crisscross the country in search of pick-up basketball,wherever it's played with passion and verve; then write a lively and informative guide to the Hoops Nation that is America. That's what former college player Chris Ballard did. His guide judges the five best pick-up courts in the country, then continues on its full-court press to critique pick-up hoops games in every region. With descriptions of more than 700 gyms, parks, and schoolyards in all 50 states, this is the most comprehensive look at neighborhood basketball ever undertaken. The ratings system, complete with graphic symbols, covers such criteria as type of court (indoor or outdoor), level of competition, court quality, rough play, dangerous areas (only exceptional pick-up games in dangerous areas are included), and the regularity of female players. But this is so much more than a field guide. Ballard relates basketball lore and myth from all over the country, profiles pick-up legends, and, for rookies, covers tips on etiquette and basic play. Whether looking for a good game when out of town or just curious about hoops in other places, this fun and useful guide will put visions of jump shots in your head and get the adrenaline pumping.