A Good Man - by Bruce Jenkins (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Pete Newell is considered one of the finest basketball minds in the sport's history. His death in 2008 spawned tributes from around the country, including legendary UCLA coach John Wooden and Bob Knight, who considered Newell his mentor. Newell, Knight, and Dean Smith are the only men to coach championships at the Olympics, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), and of the three, only Newell won the NIT at a time when it was considered the nation's most prestigious tournament. He had a fiercely competitive rivalry with Wooden and won his last eight meetings against Wooden's UCLA teams before retiring in 1960. Although he retired for health reasons, he continued to teach the game, notably at the famed Big Man's Camp, for the rest of his life. Based on hundreds of interviews of veterans of the game, A Good Man is Bruce Jenkins's complete biography of Pete Newell. Bruce Jenkins is a sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and the author of Goodbye: In Search of Gordon Jenkins, North Shore Chronicles, and Inside Maverick's. Ron Fimrite is a sportswriter, enjoying a thirty-four-year career with Sports Illustrated, and the author or editor of several books, including Golden Bears: The History of Football at the U.C. Berkeley and Birth of a Fan.

Review Quotes

"An insightful look at one of the game's most renowned coaches."--Mal Florence, Los Angeles Times

"Enlightening and interesting on every page. . . . [Newell] has a wonderful basketball mind, and his story has been told by a wonderful writer."--Dan McGrath, Chicago Tribune

"Every fan of hoops and hoops history should get this book."--Jack McCallum, Sports Illustrated

"James Naismith invented basketball. He did so in order that Pete Newell would come along a few years later to perfect it. Newell operates what is called a 'Big Man's Camp' each year, but the biggest man of all runs it. Count me among the embarrassed legions who only now realize that the greatest unwritten story in basketball was Pete Newell's. Thanks to Bruce Jenkins, it is unwritten no longer."--Bob Ryan, Boston Globe

"Pete Newell is a basketball treasure, the game's guru, and he is needed now more than ever to educate a fundamentally deficient generation of basketball players. Bruce Jenkins has captured the man and the coach perfectly."--Dave Newhouse, Oakland Tribune

"The Pete Newell story, told with great detail and affection by Bruce Jenkins, is a portrayal of a great man who just happens to be a basketball lifer. It is about a coach from a much simpler time whose wisdom is as contemporary as it is old. . . . Get to know Pete Newell. He truly has had an amazing life."--Mike Wise, New York Times-- (9/29/2009 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Bruce Jenkins is a sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and the author of Goodbye: In Search of Gordon Jenkins, North Shore Chronicles, and Inside Maverick's. Ron Fimrite is a sportswriter, enjoying a thirty-four-year career with Sports Illustrated, and the author or editor of several books, including Golden Bears: The History of Football at the U.C. Berkeley and Birth of a Fan.