Items related to A ROCKET AT HEART: My Life and My Team
Synopsis
The coach of the NBA's Houston Rockets recounts his life story, speaking out not only on the challenges of coaching a great player like Hakeem Olajuwon but also on the strategies that have led his team to two NBA titles
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About the Author
Rudy Tomjanovich is in his fifth full season as head coach of the Houston Rockets.
Reviews
This quiet, almost bland memoir of the Houston Rockets coach plays low-key counterpoint to the more raucous basketball bios of recent vintage. Tomjanovich has been with the Rockets his entire career: He was the second pick in the 1970 draft. Following a disappointing rookie season, which saw the team's relocation from San Diego to Houston, the 6'8" Tomjanovich became the starting small forward. Always a good offensive player, he scored 28 points in his first starting role, relying on a mid-range bankshot that ``became a trademark'' of his game. When he retired after the 198081 season, he had a respectable 17.4 career average, shooting .501 from the field. He spent six seasons as a Rockets scout before becoming an assistant coach under Don Chaney in 1988, and replaced Chaney in February 1992. The team was wildly unpredictable: They lost seven games in a row, then won eight straight. A 15-game winning streak led the Rockets to the playoffs for the first time in years. Tomjanovich has led the team to consecutive NBA titles, the first in 1994 when they won an emotional seventh game against a physical New York Knicks team. The 199495 season, marked by controversy (which he affably plays down), injuries, and the defection of the unhappy Vernon Maxwell, saw the team win a mere 47 games. It was enough to get them into the playoffs, though, culminating in a shocking four-game sweep of Shaquille O'Neal and the Orlando Magic. A few of the coach's asides bear some interest: his argument for Hakeem Olajuwon as the best center in history; a passage on how he learned ``to deal with the egos of the players'' by listening. But this is less an autobiography than a mildly entertaining, season-by-season commentary on his career. (8 pages b&w photos, not seen) (Radio satellite tour) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Quick now, basketball fans: name three current National Basketball Association coaches. Yes, Pat Riley. No, Red Auerbach is long retired. Casual basketball fans often know little about NBA coaches, and therein lies the problem with this book. Most people outside the core of serious and regional fans have no idea who Tomjanovich is and, for the most part, may not care. This may seem harsh, but the life story of "Rudy T" doesn't seem to have the hook that will cause a casual reader?or even a casual fan?to pick it up. Although Tomjanovich's two NBA championships place him among the elite, he and his collaborator have written a standard athlete's biography: success as a player, barely described, followed by success as a professional coach. In fact, He describes his two championship seasons with the Houston Rockets in some detail, but overall his life just seemed a blur to this reader. Clearly, a more in-depth look at the author's championship years might have been in order. Recommended for only the most complete basketball collections.?William O. Scheeren, Hempfield Area H.S. Lib., Greensburg, Pa.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Tomjanovich, or Rudy T as he's always been known to basketball fans, is the head coach of the NBA's Houston Rockets. Definitely an organization man, he spent his entire playing career with the team, moved into scouting, then to assistant coach, and finally to the top spot, guiding the team to a pair of championships when Michael Jordan was on hiatus from the Chicago Bulls. In this workmanlike autobiography, he reflects perceptively on today's unique thoroughbred players and the pressures with which they're forced to contend, such as profound wealth and suffocating media scrutiny. He also footnotes his coaching style carefully, noting techniques borrowed from other coaches and then filtered through his own coaching philosophy. Lots of anecdotes from his playing days will appeal to veteran fans, while younger readers will enjoy the account of Rocket star Hakeem Olajuwon's selfless dedication. There's nothing flashy in Rudy T's story, but hoop fans will pay attention. Wes Lukowsky
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A Rocket at Heart
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Hardback. Condition: Very Good. In A Rocket at Heart, Rudy Tomjanovich tells the story of how the son of hardworking Croatian parents from Hamtramck, Michigan, helped the city of Houston change its image from Choke City to Clutch City. With unusual insight and unsparing honesty, Rudy talks about the doubts, the fears, and the obstacles he's overcome in becoming such a successful and well-respected coach. He tells how he learned to be a coach while standing in the spotlight; how he developed his theories of offense and defense that helped the Rockets reach the pinnacle; how he learned when to teach with praise and when to be forceful; and how he learned valuable lessons from Bill Fitch about preparation, from Don Chaney about dignity, and from Del Harris about handling adversity. He also talks, for the first time, about the adversity he himself had to learn from: the devastating punch thrown by Kermit Washington that cost Rudy a season in his prime, and could have cost him his life. Along the way, Rudy shares great stories about all the people he's known and the fun he's had in a life in basketball. He talks about his old roommate Calvin Murphy, and how this seemingly mismatched pair became the closest of friends; about watching Hakeem Olajuwon develop into one of the most extraordinary players ever to play the game; about the enormous challenge of changing a championship team in midseason by making the Clyde Drexler trade, and the satisfaction of beating the odds by winning four straight playoff series without homecourt advantage (and then, a year and a half later, trying that transition game again by adding the always entertaining Charles Barkley to the mix). With remarkable candor and self-deprecating wit, Rudy T. shows us the roads he's traveled and the good times and high points along the way. Seller Inventory # CIN0684834286VG