Players and Pretenders: The Basketball Team That Couldn't Shoot Straight [Paperback]

Charley Rosen (Author, Afterword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2007

Players and Pretenders tells the story of the flip side of basketball’s “March Madness,” where the game is played by average players for love, not for money. At the end of the 1970s at Bard College, where there was no pretense of institutional support, Charley Rosen gathered his hoops hopefuls and put together a basketball season whose impact reached far beyond the court.

 

Writing with a humorous touch, Rosen details the Running Red Devils’ season, simultaneously examining the lives of those who made it so memorable and providing a glimpse of how the team members existed off the courts as both players and pretenders. His book playfully depicts the 1979–80 basketball season at Bard College and the “sports for fun” side of the game.

(20070509)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“For those who enjoy light reading, excellent comic writing and some bizarre sports moments, this is the perfect book. Whether you understand the intricacies of basketball or not, have no fear—the Bard College team didn’t either, yet that didn’t stop them from playing a full season against an assortment of opponents and frustrated refs.”—Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times

(Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times )

“Rosen does a good job portraying the individual personalities of the Bard players, and he is also able to convey the almost mystical transformation that takes place as a basketball team develops its own persona. A warm, often humorous look into a locker room.”—Booklist

(Booklist )

“This book, recounting his year (1979–1980) as a coach, is a funny, tender Zen and the Art of Basketball Losing. . . . Every [player] becomes an extraordinary character in Rosen’s hands. He is a delightful writer, and for anyone who has ever tried to toss a basketball through a hoop, this book about a bunch of losers (season record: 1–16) is better than 20 nights in front of a TV set watching Doctor J slam-dunk his way through the NBA schedule.”—People

(People )

“This is a picture of college sports as they probably should be, the blending of divergent personalities, the clash of egos—bruised and otherwise—the struggle for a success that is not to be. . . . Rosen writes with a nice touch. He has a feeling for basketball and sports, but more than that, a feeling for people. This is more than a book about basketball or sports. It’s about what makes all of us the kind of people we are.”—Winston-Salem Journal

(Winston-Salem Journal )

“If you are into college sports and a well told humorous narrative, pick up this book.”—Harvey Frommer, Sportsology.net

(Sportsology.net )

About the Author

Charley Rosen is the author of thirteen sports books, including the novel The House of Moses All-Stars, plus The Pivotal Season: How the 1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers Changed the NBA and The Wizard of Odds: How Jack Molinas Almost Destroyed the Game of Basketball. Rosen is currently an NBA analyst for FOXSports.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 326 pages
• Publisher: Bison Books (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803259646
• ISBN-13: 978-0803259645
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,210,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a journal about how things used to be, June 15, 2004

By 

Jon Helfgott (Annandale-on-Hudson, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Players and pretenders: The basketball team that couldn't shoot straight (Hardcover)

I played ball for the Bard basketball team this past season, and upon hearing of my decision to sign up, my dad gave me this book to read. Charlie Rosen and Disco sought out a school like Bard to coach basketball at its purist, with no pretense of talent, no real shot at success, at a school that provided no institutional support whatsoever for athletics (just imagining playing ball in the building the school used as a gym when the book was written sends chills down my spine). The complexion of the Bard team has changed a bit, as the school recently built a multi-million dollar facility and began an ernest attempt to recruit athletes, but there were still a couple of throwbacks to the kind of players you would have seen on the "Players and Pretenders" squad. Experiencing small-school college hoops vicariously through Players and Pretenders gives the reader a glimpse of a world where sports at advanced levels can still be played with the reckless abandon and brevity of a 3rd grade basketball team. I'd have played for coaches Rosen and Disco Dodds' "ship of fools" any day.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars disco dodds 16 years later, November 26, 1997

By 

Gregory Dodge (Kingston, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Players and pretenders: The basketball team that couldn't shoot straight (Hardcover)

This is the true story of charlie rosen and myself (disco) (not my real name) coaching the Bard College basketball team. It is an amusing tale of a group of strangers that come together and touch each other's lives for a year, and then go their own way. Of the other central "characters" in the book, I have recently been in touch with Lance Lavender, full of life then and now, and Matt out in California, who calls to check in evry few years. I would certainly be interested in how our other team members are doing. Back to the book, other than being an amusing read, this tells the story of what its like to play on a small college team where you play because you love to play, knowing you are just an average player, and this is your one chance to be on a team. And the growth of this group of young men and two coaches, who learn what it takes to stick together. Highly recommended! And you get to read about me, disco!!!!