Cinderella: Inside the Rise of Mid-Major College Basketball - Hardcover

Litos, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1402208677 ISBN 13: 9781402208676

Publisher: Sourcebooks Inc, 2007

Synopsis

An account of the 2005 2006 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) season focuses primarily on the accomplishments of the top six teams in the league: Old Dominion, George Mason, UNC-Wilmington, Hofstra, VCU, and Northeastern.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Litos spent the first eight years of his career as a magazine writer and editor for several sports and sports memorabilia titles with Landmark Communications. He has interviewed sports celebrities from Mickey Mantle to Alex Rodriguez to Brett Favre. He lives in Richmond, Virginia.

From the Back Cover

Praise for Cinderella

Inside the Rise of Mid-Major
College Basketball


"If you want a real feel for mid-major basketball, read Michael Litos's book, as it depicts in detail life at that level."
-Dick Vitale




"George Mason captured the nation's imagination when it embarked on its miraculous run to the 2006 Final Four. It's a story that should be preserved and told in great detail, which is why college basketball is so fortunate that Michael Litos was on hand to do just that."
-Seth Davis, Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports




"All mid-major basketball programs want is proper recognition for their accomplishments...George Mason's magical run, and Litos's carefully crafted chronicle...are important steps towards the respect and honor they deserve."
-Kyle Whelliston, ESPN.com




"Michael Litos must be some sort of prophet as well as a terrific reporter of the college basketball scene. He started work on this book a year before George Mason embarked on its magical run to the Final Four. And, luckily for college basketball fans, Litos was there to chronicle every
history-making second. Compelling reading."
-Chris Dortch, Editor, Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook

From the Inside Flap

The NCAA tournament has always been an enormous spotlight for the underdog. Bracket-clenching fans root for long shots to upset the elite squads and score an unexpected win on their tournament sheetà if they picked them, that is.

And normally thatís all the fans expectóone or two incredible upsets. But these days, the underdogs are breaking throughÃ

Cinderella is an inside look at the NCAAís mid-major basketball programs, which fight for their shot to battle the elite teams for the national championship. The rise of mid-majors has been one of the most thrilling sports stories in recent years, and itís only getting bigger.

Michael Litos spent the 2005ñ06 season on the frontlines of the Colonial Athletic Association, home of such mid-major standouts as Old Dominion, Hofstra, VCU and George Mason. With complete access to coaches and players, he found incredible tales of pressure and passion. He saw coaches and players struggling to put together a championship drive in spite of uncompromising schedules and half-filled arenas. And he was there when the ultimate underdog turned the world of college basketball upside-downóGeorge Masonís historic run to the Final Four.

In what was dubbed ìThe Year of the Mid-Major,î Cinderella delivers the ultimate look at what it means to be an underdog and how the sport of college basketball is being transformed.

In the last great league of amateur athletes, this is the story of those who play for the love of the gameà and the thrill of achieving the unbelievable.

Michael Litos spent the first eight years of his career as a magazine writer and editor for several sports and sports memorabilia titles with Landmark Communications. He has interviewed sports celebrities from Mickey Mantle to Alex Rodriguez to Brett Favre.

Reviews

Grade 8 Up—The remarkable 2006 NCAA tournament run of the little-known George Mason University men's basketball team sparked a national wake-up call on the quality and status of less-celebrated, "mid-major" Division I collegiate basketball programs. This sportswriter's account of the 2005–2006 season in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) focuses primarily on the roller-coaster wins, losses, rivalries, and aspirations of the top six teams in the league: Old Dominion, George Mason, UNC-Wilmington, Hofstra, VCU, and Northeastern. As they vie for more than one league bid to the NCAA tournament, dedicated coaches like Jim Larranaga, Tom Pecora, Jeff Capel, and Blaine Taylor; key players like T.J. Carter, Isaiah Hunter, Tony Skinn, and Lamar Butler; and League Commissioner, Tom Yeager, recognize the impact of RPI ratings, non-conference scheduling, TV exposure, and limited finances. Ultimately and fortuitously, two CAA teams got bids for the first time in 20 years. Both the league tournament winner, UNC-Wilmington, and conference champ, George Mason, entered the NCAA's storied and lucrative "March Madness" tournament. This title provides a valuable perspective on the economic and competitive struggles of mid-major teams to build their programs and to demonstrate their parity with perennial powers. Litos's insights on mid-major issues and dilemmas are embedded in a lively chronicle of CAA games, personalities, and traditions. Although basketball fans in general will gain a better understanding of the breadth of Division 1 basketball, this title will appeal primarily to fans who are already acquainted with the CAA teams.—Gerry Larson, Durham School of the Arts, NC
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

This chronicle of the rise of "mid-major college basketball" (teams in the middle strata of the NCAA) chronicles the historic and headline-grabbing Final Four drive of the George Mason Patriots during the 2005-06 season. The author writes with enormous enthusiasm, almost breathlessly, as though he's so excited about the story he is telling that he can barely contain himself. Litos was granted full access to the Colonial Athletic Association's teams--players, coaches, the works--and he stumbled into some major news stories along the way, such as the rape trial of one of the players and the shooting of another. Some readers may be reminded of the energetic 1994 documentary Hoop Dreams, which also captures the thrill of the game, and the dreams of its young players. The book fairly bubbles over with excitement, an underdog story so uplifting that readers will cheer--out loud, mind you--at the end. A must-read for college basketball fans. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Sourcebooks Inc
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1402208677
• ISBN 13: 9781402208676
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 275