Basketballs fun--let's play! Find all the basics ion this lively guide. The markings on a basketball court What basketball players wear The three team positions The excitement of passing the ball The thrill of making a basket All these and more are included, with a useful glossary at the end.

The sports world according to Michael Rapaport—actor, Top 50 podcaster, award-winning film maker, and sports fanatic—from the greatest and downright worst athletes, players, teams, and jerseys, but minus statistics, analytics, or anything else that isn’t pure hustle in this “hell of a book” (Shaquille O'Neal). In 1979, nine-year-old Michael Rapaport decided he was going to do whatever it took to be a pro baller. He practiced and practiced, but by the time he was fifteen, he realized there was no place for a slow, white Jewish kid in the NBA. So, he found another way to channel his obsession with sports: talking trash. In the “crazy, passionate, funny and intense” (Colin Cowherd) This Book Has Balls, Rapaport uses his signature smack-talk style and in-your-face humor to discuss everything from why LeBron will never be like Mike, that Tiger needs the ladies to get his golf game back, and how he once thought Mary Lou Retton was his true love. And, of course, why next year will be the year the New York Knicks win the championship. This book is a series of rants—some controversial, some affectionate, but all incredibly hilarious. “Something is wrong with Michael Rapaport but that’s what makes him right,” (Charlamagne tha God).

Hiding in the Light is a young adult, action-adventure, coming of age story about the effects of bullying and the measures one takes to be accepted. Set in the South in the late 1960’s, it’s the journey of Joseph Graham’s efforts to find himself and accept himself while facing the injustices of adversaries. They mock his differences: His looks, his speech, and his thoughts are different from the other boys. This brings unwanted attention from the neighborhood bullies. The bullies and the affluent within his community all draw lines in the sand, and Joseph is pushed to the middle. He searches for a way to escape his life of lack. But poverty, anger, and abuse offer no open doors. So, he struggles to stand and fight the slings and arrows of his haters until his moral compass is shattered. Joseph becomes a pawn in the street game of thuggery. Trying hard to prove himself and fit in, he takes on the persona of his alter ego. Through this fictional character he’s able to hide his sorrows in the light. He pretends the hurt doesn’t hurt until he loses himself within his alter ego and spirals out of control; landing at death’s door. All while the bullies continue to sucker punch him with their verbal beat-downs. It wasn’t until he met the one he calls, “The Smartest Man Alive,” that his sun began to shine.

Warren Edward Armstrong Jabali was my hero. In the hearts of his family and friends across the country, he was a superstar. Known for his basketball feats at Central High School (1962-1964), Wichita State University (1964-1968), and in the American Basketball Association (ABA) 1968-1976, this book presents an uplifting story of how a man, labeled as "one of the two meanest men in the ABA," overcame the vilification of his character. By positively channeling his energy on the educational empowerment of African American youth, he became an extraordinary role model and father figure for many in South Florida. Divided into two sections, the first part of the book is Warren's incomplete manuscript. He described the wide ranging cultural attitudes, political environment and social conditions which motivated his actions and profoundly affected his basketball career. it is supplemented by newspaper articles and interviews in which he discussed various controversial topics and elaborated on the skills and legacies of his contemporaries. The last half is written by the "love of his life." A very complex and private person, the section illustrates multiple aspects of his personality which portray an intimate understanding of him that only someone he cherished could ever reveal. This narrative validates the strength of his character as he boldly faced personal challenges. It demonstrates his unwavering commitment to education as he persevered in his lifelong pursuit for equality. Additionally, it highlights how benevolent his interpersonal relationships were as he journeyed along the road less traveled

Looking for a game? Here's your guided tour of the country's best pickup basketball courts, from the blacktops of Brooklyn to the asphalt of Anchorage to the gyms of Jackson, Mississippi. It's all inside: where the pros play, the most scenic runs in the land, and a ranking of the top five courts. ø Chris Ballard and three other former college players piled into a used Chevy van and traveled thirty-one thousand miles in seven months, playing at over a thousand courts in 166 cities in forty-eight states. This is the story of their roundball road trip and a guide to the places, people, and communities they encountered. ø More than a travel guide, Hoops Nation is "a celebration of the game of basketball as it is played in America." It includes guides to streetball fashion, the lingo of the courts, the etiquette of the pickup world, the tricks of old-guy basketball, and tips for the dunking impaired. Also included are profiles of playground legends and dispatches from the legions of basketball lifers who populate the country's courts. ø This book can tell you where they?re running today, all over America. Who?s got next?

The possibilities for using the patterns and templates in Ready Reproducibles are endless! This 352-page book includes awards, certificates, decorative stationery, calendar and newsletter templates, literature selections, and various themes. This comprehensive book is an ideal source for cross-curricular activities, bulletin board displays, classroom decorations, parent letters, and crafts for grades K–1.

A pioneer in the field of basketball analytics, Dean Oliver introduced a framework to understand basketball through the use of statistics in his book Basketball on Paper. In his follow-up, Basketball beyond Paper, Oliver lays out both the technical and personal aspects of his twenty-year experience in the NBA as he helped build the analytics that changed the game. He also looks at the people and technology that pushed those analytics forward. Oliver tells stories of how the insights came about, whether studying other teams or witnessing events with players, coaches, and management of his own teams. He highlights how great LeBron James and Steph Curry have been but also how critical “middle-class” or “glue” players such as Shane Battier, Andre Iguodala, and JJ Redick were to their teams. Oliver illustrates the paths taken by Most Improved Player Award winners such as Lauri Markkanen, Julius Randle, and Brandon Ingram. Basketball beyond Paper tells the stories of how analytics have helped basketball players, coaches, and management—and changed the game.