Phog: The Most Influential Man in Basketball - Hardcover

Johnson, Scott Morrow

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 080328571X ISBN 13: 9780803285712

Publisher: University of Nebraska Press, 2016

Synopsis

Remembered in name but underappreciated in legacy, Forrest “Phog” Allen arguably influenced the game of basketball more than anyone else. 

In the first half of the twentieth century Allen took basketball from a gentlemanly, indoor recreation to the competitive game that would become a worldwide sport. Succeeding James Naismith as the University of Kansas’s basketball coach in 1907, Allen led the Jayhawks for thirty-nine seasons and holds the record for most wins at that school, with 590. He also helped create the NCAA tournament and brought basketball to the Olympics. Allen changed the way the game is played, coached, marketed, and presented.
Scott Morrow Johnson reveals Allen as a master recruiter, a transformative coach, and a visionary basketball mind. Adolph Rupp, Dean Smith, Wilt Chamberlain, and many others benefited from Allen’s knowledge of and passion for the game. But Johnson also delves into Allen’s occasionally tumultuous relationships with Naismith, the NCAA, and University of Kansas administrators.

Phog: The Most Influential Man in Basketball chronicles this complex man’s life, telling for the first time the full story of the man whose name is synonymous with Kansas basketball and with the game itself.
 
 

About this title

About the Author:

Scott Morrow Johnson is an award-winning sportswriter whose work has appeared in numerous publications, including Sports Illustrated, the Washington Post, USA Today, and the Chicago Tribune.
 

Review:

"Phog is perfect for the general reader, and supplants Blair Kerkoff's 1996 biography of Allen as the best book about Phog Allen available."—Andrew McGregor, Sport in American History (Andrew McGregor Sport in American History 2017-01-06)

“Phog Allen was a tireless worker who was ahead of his time. Coach Allen’s teachings of the game created the philosophies of today. He knew that education and the game of basketball together were going to be an avenue for the world we embrace today. Phog is certainly a great read, showing the impact he has had.”—Danny Manning, KU basketball legend and head coach at Wake Forest University
  (Danny Manning 2016-04-28)

“You can’t tell the history of basketball without delving deeply into the influence of Phog Allen—and Scott Johnson does it artfully and thoroughly.”—Michael Silver, author of Golden Girl: How Natalie Coughlin Fought Back, Challenged Conventional Wisdom, and Became America’s Olympic Champion (Michael Silver 2016-02-23)

“Scott Morrow Johnson's Phog captures the booming voice and nimble mind of the midwesterner who spread the gospel of basketball from the University of Kansas to the world.”—Steve Marantz, author of The Rhythm Boys of Omaha Central: High School Basketball at the ’68 Racial Divide
 
  (Steve Marantz 2016-06-16)

“Coach Allen was a visionary who changed the landscape of college basketball. His influence on collegiate athletics, including on my mentors, made an immeasurable impact on me both personally and professionally. His photo hangs on my office wall as a sign of my great respect and gratitude for the many contributions he made to the game that I love.”—Mark Turgeon, men’s basketball coach at the University of Maryland
  (Mark Turgeon 2016-07-19)

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 080328571X
• ISBN 13: 9780803285712
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 376