Thursday, October 28, 2010

Best Damn Sports Book I Read This Year

Play Their Hearts Out: A Coach, His Star Recruit and the Youth Basketball Machine  by George Dohrmann...

I realized that there are countless scandals in recruiting, both at the high school and the college levels. I did not fully realize that it extends to the AAU and middle school levels. Young kids are identified very early not only as high school or college prospects, but for the pro level as well.

They get used by their coaches, scouts, recruiters, agents and even their parents. This was an eye opening book for me.

Dohrmann tracked the rise and fall of Demetrius Walker, a basketball phenom from the age of 10 to his freshman year in college.

Well written and excellently researched...