Basketball Junkie: A Memoir - Softcover

Herren, Chris; Reynolds, Bill

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1250006899 ISBN 13: 9781250006899

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, 2012

Synopsis

In his own words, former NBA and overseas pro Chris Herren tells how he nearly lost everything and everyone he loved, and how he found a way back to life. Powerful, honest, and dramatic, this remarkable memoir, Basketball Junkie, is harrowing in its descent, and heartening in its return.

I was dead for thirty seconds.

That's what the cop in Fall River told me.

When the EMTs found me, there was a needle in my arm and a packet of heroin in the front seat.

At basketball-crazy Durfee High School in Fall River, Massachusetts, junior guard Chris Herren carried his family's and the city's dreams on his skinny frame. His grandfather, father, and older brother had created their own sports legends in a declining city; he was the last, best hope for a career beyond the shuttered mills and factories. Herren was heavily recruited by major universities, chosen as a McDonald's All-American, featured in a Sports Illustrated cover story, and at just seventeen years old became the central figure in Fall River Dreams, an acclaimed book about the 1994 Durfee team's quest for the state championship.

Leaving Fall River for college, Herren starred on Jerry Tarkanian's Fresno State Bulldogs team of talented misfits, which included future NBA players as well as future convicted felons. His gritty, tattooed, hip-hop persona drew the ire of rival fans and more national attention: Rolling Stone profiled him, 60 Minutes interviewed him, and the Denver Nuggets drafted him. When the Boston Celtics acquired his contract, he lived the dream of every Massachusetts kid―but off the court Herren was secretly crumbling, as his alcohol and drug use escalated and his life spiraled out of control.

Twenty years later, Chris Herren was married to his high-school sweetheart, the father of three young children, and a heroin junkie. His basketball career was over, consumed by addictions; he had no job, no skills, and was a sadly familiar figure to those in Fall River who remembered him as a boy, now prowling the streets he once ruled, looking for a fix. One day, for a time he cannot remember, he would die.

About this title

About the Authors

Chris Herren is a former NBA basketball player for the Denver Nuggets and the Boston Celtics. His company, Hoop Dreams with Chris Herren, Inc., provides basketball training for young players as well as educational talks. He is the author of Basketball Junkie and a public speaker with the American Program Bureau. He lives in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

Bill Reynolds is a sports columnist for The Providence Journal and the author of several books, including Fall River Dreams and (with Rick Pitino) the #1 New York Times bestseller Success Is a Choice. He lives in Rhode Island.

Edition details

• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1250006899
• ISBN 13: 9781250006899
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 308