Dick Vitale's Fabulous 50 Players and Moments in College Basketball: From the Best Seat in the House During My 30 Years at ESPN - Hardcover

Dick Vitale With Dick Weiss

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0981716628 ISBN 13: 9780981716626

Publisher: Ascend Books, 2008

Synopsis

In Dick Vitale's Fabulous 50 Players and Moments in College Basketball: From the Best Seat in the House During My 30 Years at ESPN, America's self-confessed number one college basketball junkie will go on the record, ranking his players and moments from 1 to 50. His personal pantheon might surprise you. The legends are here, of course. And they deserve to be. Consensus is that these are the greatest of the great. But some of his rankings may be unexpected. Kansas guard Mario Chalmers' three-point shot to force overtime against Memphis in the 2008 national championship game. Ralph Sampson of Virginia vs. Patrick Ewing of Georgetown in a 1983 reprise of the great showdown between Lew Alcindor and Elvin Hayes in the '60s. UCLA guard Tyus Edney's length-of-the-floor dash to glory against Missouri in the 1995 tournament. Michael Jordan's game winning shot against Georgetown in 1982 during his freshman year at North Carolina. Kentucky's 31point comeback against LSU in 1994. Cinderella George Mason upsetting Connecticut to make the Final Four in 2006. Every basketball fan has his or her favorites: the perfect player, the magical moments. But only Dick Vitale will go on the record, ranking them 1 through 50, and he'll do it as much as a fan as a commentator. This is from his heart, naming the top 50 players and moments in the wonderful world of college hoops. It's awesome, baby.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

It's hard to believe, but Dick Vitale, ESPN's perennially youthful basketball analyst, is 75. And this is his awesome story.From his blue-collar roots in New Jersey, his first college coaching job at Rutgers, his ultimate dream job with the Pistons (where he got the Ziggy!), to his 35 years at ESPN as a “Prime-time Performahhh,” this is Vitale as you've never seen him—an inside look at America's favorite basketball fan.More than the personal memories,“Dickie V” provides the die-hard hoops fan with his outspoken opinions on a range of topics including: the most intriguing coaches, players, and owners in the sport like Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kevin Ollie, and Donald Sterling; the growth of “one-and-dones” leaving for the NBA draft;the increase in playertransfers; out-of-controlfan behavior;recruiting top notch players; the changing landscape of college sports followingconference realignment; and his favorite moments from the history of the college game.From 1939 to 2014, you'll get to know 75 years worth of history, facts, and opinions, as well as his thoughts on family, the game of basketball, and his passionate fight against childhood cancer. is book will give you new insights intoDick Vitale—both the sportscaster andthe humanitarian.And best of all, everything is written in his infectious, inimitable“Vitalese.”

About the Author:

Dick Vitale has been an integral part of ESPN since the network's early days in 1979. He has served as a head coach on the scholastic, collegiate and professional level and was enshrined as a member of the Class of 2008 in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor, the highest honor in the sport. He was previously honor by the Hall with its Curt Gowdy Media Award, the Hall's highest honor for a journalist outside enshrinement. Vitale was also inducted this year in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. All told, he is a member of nine halls of fame for his outstanding contributions to the game he loves. Among his numerous other prestigious awards are the Black Coaches Association honor award and the NABC Cliff Wells' Appreciation Award for outstanding service to college basketball. Vitale and his wife Lorraine reside in Florida and have two daughters, two granddaughters and three grandsons.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ascend Books
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0981716628
• ISBN 13: 9780981716626
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224