Paddy on the Hardwood: A Journey in Irish Hoops - Hardcover

Bradburd, Rus

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0826340261 ISBN 13: 9780826340269

Publisher: University of New Mexico Press, 2006

Synopsis

Why would a successful college basketball coach walk away from a lucrative job in America's most glamorous sport? The burned out Rus Bradburd, enamored with Ireland and its music, took a job coaching in the lowly Irish Super League, but was unprepared for what he found. Perplexed by the small town Tralee's Frosties Tigers--a cast of misfits and underachievers more concerned with their day jobs, Gaelic Football, and Guinness--he turned to traditional Irish music for wisdom and solace.

Paddy on the Hardwood is partly Rus Bradburd's story of his struggle to transform Tralee's Tigers. But it is also the tale of a man making peace with his own life and career.

"No reader will come away from this irresistible, honest, and deeply human account without a profound appreciation for Ireland and the beguiling power of its people and culture. Paddy on the Hardwood is a basketball book, to be sure, but also one about questing and, ultimately, finding. And it's all the richer for how it engages things that seem distant from sports, but in the end aren't so unrelated at all."--Alexander Wolff, Sports Illustrated senior writer and author of Big Game, Small World: A Basketball Adventure

"Paddy on the Hardwood is hilarious, heartbreaking, and touching--I couldn't put it down. I'm an avid reader, and it's the best sports book I've read in a long while."--Jerry West

About this title

From the Back Cover:

A burned out basketball coach takes a job in Ireland and is surprised by what he finds.

About the Author:

Rus Bradburd coached at UTEP and New Mexico State University for fourteen seasons. He teaches writing classes in NMSU's MFA program.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0826340261
• ISBN 13: 9780826340269
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 247