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Refuse to Lose [Hardcover]

John Calipari (Author)
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)


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Book Description

September 17, 1996
"Realistic people place roadblocks in front of themselves," says John Calipari, "I'm unrealistic in a positive way." And he gets results. As one of the hottest coaches in college basketball, John Calipari transformed the once-dispirited UMass Minutemen into a #1-ranked force to be reckoned with--taking them to the Final Four for the first time in history. Calipari did more than develop a phenomenal team. He built an outstanding program for success.
What is Calipari's winning philosophy? Develop a "Refuse to Lose" attitude. Though you play to win whatever the score, how you play the game counts. True, you will lose some games, but the way you deal with those losses is part of the attitude of refusing to lose. Calipari's rules: Stay within the rules. Don't blame others, take responsibility yourself. Review the tape and learn from it. These are the life skills he taught his players--and they resulted in both professional and personal victory. If you love your kids, Calipari believes, they'll go through walls for you. Now you can apply these winning strategies to your own life--with your family, your co-workers, and yourself--to any endeavor in which there's a goal to achieve.
The formula works. A man driven by competition and the desire to excel, John Calipari plays to win, rather than playing not to lose. In Refuse to Lose, he insists you step out of your comfort zone. When you're comfortable, you're not doing your best. But when you raise the bar above your comfort level, you can accomplish things you never thought possible. He will show you how mistakes can be powerful learning tools and how adversity can become opportunity.

In the bestselling tradition Rick Pitino's Full Court Pressure and Pat Riley's The Winner Within, John Calipari tells an amazing story of triumph and grit that is both universal and unique. Powerful, optimistic, and spirited, Refuse to Lose offers a dynamic philosophy that is contagious. Catch it and win!


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Having worked as an assistant at Kansas and Pitt, Calipari took over the basketball program at the University of Massachusetts in 1988, after the school had recorded 10 straight losing seasons. Adopting the motto that he and coauthor Weiss (Full Court Pressure) also use for this conventional autobiography, Calipari proved himself a fine motivator of young players and an astute manipulator of television to publicize UMass's increasingly successful organization. Each year, his teams improved on the record of the previous season, climaxing in 1996, when his players had a 35-2 record, were ranked first in the nation for much of the season and went to the NCAA's Final Four. The star, Marcus Camby, was judged the best in the nation, and Calipari himself was chosen coach of the year by at least four court groups. He is now poised to take over the NBA's hapless New Jersey Nets. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

If you've been following the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team religiously for the past few years, or if you're a devotee of the hapless New Jersey Nets and wish to learn about the coach who's been chosen to lead your team into the 21st century, then this is the book for you. If not, it might as well be titled Choose To Snooze. Calipari's anecdotal account details his highly successful career with UMass, concentrating on the last two seasons, in which the team cracked the "elite eight" and the "final four," respectively. Calipari gives his version of his highly publicized feud with Temple coach John Chaney and his controversial, late-season cut of star guard Mike Williams. Budding coaches will enjoy hearing about the ins and outs of recruiting and motivating players and building a competitive program from the ground up. Recommended for sports collections.?Adam Mazmanian, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 285 pages
  • Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st edition (September 17, 1996)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0345408012
  • ISBN-13: 978-0345408013
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #613,108 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
3.3 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfectly titled. You can feel his intensity., April 5, 2000
This review is from: Refuse to Lose (Hardcover)
As a University of Memphis booster involved in some of the details of his hiring, I looked forward to reading this book to see if the coach we hired was a facade or for real. You can't read this book without getting fired up. Obviously a great salesman who is dealing on a higher plain than just "basketball coach". I hope four years from now he writes another book on how he completed the dream by winning the NCAA championship in Memphis.

Learn a lot about the behind the scenes steps necessary to raise a basketball program from the pits to the promised land.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent portrayal of what a Coach's life is like..., April 24, 2000
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This review is from: Refuse to Lose (Hardcover)
I thought Calipari brought to life the trials that coaches in the ever expanding game of NCAA basketball go through on a daily basis. From recruiting to Final Four appearances, Calipari lets the reader in on what goes on inside the locker room and beyond.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Worst basketball book I've encountered, March 20, 2007
This review is from: Refuse to Lose (Hardcover)
The useful information in this book is very limited. I found it to be nothing more than 270 pages of ego and self aggrandizement. The text is full of errors that interrupt the reading and the writing is amateur at best. The book seemed more like bragging than actually presenting any meaningful theory or philosophy. This is by far the worst informational book I have ever read (yes, unfortunately I read the whole thing!) If you want to know how Calipari was the "savior" of UMass, this book is for you. If you are looking for information...look somewhere else!
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