For almost forty years, Dean Smith coached the University of North Carolina basketball team with unsurpassed success, having an impact both on the court and in the lives of countless young men. In A Coach’s Life, he looks back on the great games, teams, players, strategies, and rivalries that defined his career and, in a new final chapter, discusses his retirement from the game. The fundamentals of good basketball are the fundamentals of character—passion, discipline, focus, selflessness, and responsibility—and superlative mentor and coach Dean Smith imparts them all with equal authority.

The story of Elgin Baylor, basketball icon and civil rights advocate, from an all-star team Hall-of-famer Elgin Baylor was one of basketball’s all-time-greatest players—an innovative athlete, team player, and quiet force for change. One of the first professional African-American players, he inspired others on and off the court. But when traveling for away games, many hotels and restaurants turned Elgin away because he was black. One night, Elgin had enough and staged a one-man protest that captured the attention of the press, the public, and the NBA. Above the Rim is a poetic, exquisitely illustrated telling of the life of an underrecognized athlete and a celebration of standing up for what is right.

May tells the absorbing story of the hopes and struggles of one high school basketball team, the Northeast High School Knights in Northeast, Georgia, and the powerful role that a basketball team can play in keeping young African American kids straight, away from street-life, focused on completing high school, and possibly even attending college.

Michael Jordan is considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He was born on February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York, but grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina. Jordan played college basketball at the University of North Carolina, where he won a national championship in 1982. He then entered the NBA draft in 1984 and was drafted third overall by the Chicago Bulls. Jordan quickly established himself as a dominant force in the NBA, winning Rookie of the Year in his first season. He would go on to lead the Bulls to six NBA championships, winning five Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards along the way. Jordan retired from basketball three times, but each time he would return to the court and continue to dazzle fans with his skills. Jordan's legacy extends beyond basketball, as he is also known for his entrepreneurial ventures, such as his Jordan brand sneakers and ownership of the Charlotte Hornets NBA team.

Boys' Life is the official youth magazine for the Boy Scouts of America. Published since 1911, it contains a proven mix of news, nature, sports, history, fiction, science, comics, and Scouting.

Boys' Life is the official youth magazine for the Boy Scouts of America. Published since 1911, it contains a proven mix of news, nature, sports, history, fiction, science, comics, and Scouting.