Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Catching a Wonderful Coach at an Opportune Moment, February 27, 2001
Sports books that attempt to cash in on the immediate popularity of the author often suffer in quality due to the desire to strike while the iron is hot. I am glad to say that My Life on a Napkin does not suffer from this flaw. Gene Wojciechowski, contributor on this book, did an extremely good on format and finding and maintaining Majerus' voice. His previous work on Nothing But Net (Bill Walton's autobiography) has served him well. The most interesting technique used in the book is the interjection of short anecdotes culled from Majerus' friends and family. The juxtaposition between his view and the view of his friend/family member/player is humorous at times. This is a technique I haven't seen used before in this type of book and I find that it seems to work better than simple paraphrasing would. In short, the only reason this book doesn't deserve four stars is because it falls far short of the high standards set by autobiographies/biographies of individuals whose careers have already ended. I feel this book focuses too much on the recent to the detriment of the early years. For example, A Coach's Life by Dean Smith has an entirely different perspective because in many ways his story is finished. This allows him to devote equal time to all portions of his life and career. Additionally, it would have been nice to have an appendix containing information on every player who had ever lettered for Coach Majerus. If we could see the tremendous legacy that he has had on the lives of all the students who have passed through his programs it would reinforce hsi commitment to his players' well-being. To me, that would be an even greater testimony to his legacy than the stories presented in the preceding chapters.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Majerus' Unique Road to the 'Bigtime', May 5, 1999
Most people assume 'big time' college coaches were great players 'in their day.' Not true. Louie Carnesecca couldn't play a lick. Phog Allen didn't give Dean Smith many minutes. Roy Williams never went beyond the UNC JV (coached by Bill Guthridge at the time). Majerus never played high school ball at Marquette High in Milwaukee. Not because he didn't want to . . . man did he want to . . . he just didn't have the tools (or so the coach thought). This book shows that playing and coaching are two distinct endeavors. Wanna list the great players who flopped as coaches . . . me neither . . . it would take too long. From his earliest years Majerus was coaching, and he didn't even know it. He was putting together teams in Milwaukee so he could get a game. He was learningd how to 'put the pieces together', not to win a national championship, but to 'keep the court' for the next game . . . and the next . . . Majerus' Utes 'kept the court' for six marvelous games in 1998. It wasn't until Kentucky showed that 'sometimes the other team wins because they have better players' (al mcguire) that Majerus' Utes had to leave the court defeated. This book shows how a life's work, a life's passion, can culminate in a short span of time. It's a great read because Majerus made it happen himself. He was handed nothing. But he learned from everyone:McGuire, Raymonds, Nelson, Harris . . . probably even Butch Lee, Bo Ellis, and Lloyd Walton. Read the book. Majerus' tale is one of a kind.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The world through the eyes of one of college ball's most eccentric coaches., May 13, 2007
It's forty-five minutes before the WAC tournament championship game. Majerus has pulled into the parking lot in front of the gym only to discover that some nimrod has parked in his space, a space that costs him $2,000 a year to reserve. What does he do? He parks somewhere else, comes back and lets the air out of two of the guy's tires. When his friend asks him why he only selected two tires, Majerus says, "Because he only had one spare."
Such are the experiences that encompass 'My Life On A Napkin'. We see Majerus for what he is, the world traveling, food connoisseur, who values loyalty, a good massage, and an occasional fantasy involving Cindy Crawford. Covered in his book are some of the following:
* Majerus' discipleship under Al MacGuire while at Marquette, and Don Nelson while with the Golden State Warriors.
* Majerus' quick process of overtaking BYU as the team to beat in the WAC.
* The difficulties of recruiting, particularly in a place like Utah.
* Majerus' propensity for speeding. Upon accelerating to over 100 MPH, Majerus once told a concered friend, "Hey, if we crash, I'm you're airbag."
* His affinity with living in hotels.
* The 1998 NCAA tournament and his famous triangle and two defense that shut down number one seeded Arizona and North Carolina.
Also of note is Majerus' ceaseless wit and humor. A group of cheerleaders once came to do a promotional at Rick's hotel. He told them, "Don't worry if you see me staring at your belly buttons. It's mostly because I haven't seen mine in years."
Majerus shares truth about recruiting, the intense competition between other coaches, and how he took a bunch of non-sensational and mostly mormon kids and came within 5 minutes of being the 1998 national champions.
No coach is as openly eccentric as Majerus, and in 'My Life on a Napkin', you will find out why he is not only revered as a basketball mind, but also as a comedic juggernaut.
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