Cinderella: Inside the Rise of Mid-Major College Basketball

By Michael Litos

Book Overview

The NCAA tournament has always been an enormous spotlight for the underdog. Bracket-clenching fans root for teams from smaller schools to upset the elite squads and score an unexpected win on their tournament sheet'if they picked them, that is. And normally that's all the fans expect-one or two incredible upsets. But in 2006, the underdogs broke through? Cinderella is an inside look at the NCAA's mid-major basketball programs, which fight for one shot to battle the elite teams for the national championship. The rise of mid-majors has been one of the most thrilling sport stories of the past few years, and it's only getting bigger. Michael Litos spent the 2005-06 season on the frontlines of the Colonial Athletic Association, home of such mid-major standouts as Old Dominion, Hofstra, 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-down-George Mason's historic run to the Final Four. In what was dubbed The Year of the Mid-major, 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 those who play for the love of the game'and the thrill of achieving the unbelieveable

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1402208677
• ISBN13: 9781402208676
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Inc
• Length: 275 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.0" x 6.3"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 and higher

Customer Reviews

Reminiscent of Feinstein at his best!

I thought this was a very enjoyable book and an easy read. The style/format is reminiscent of the better Feinstein basketball books (i.e. Season on the Brink, A Season Inside, The Last Amateurs, etc.). The book opens at the 2006 CAA tournament (which I attended), then spends several chapters talking about the major issues surrounding the mid-majors (such as the difficulties scheduling games with BCS schools). These chapters tended to drag a little but were informative. The remainder of the book follows the 2005-06 CAA season in-depth in the style of the aforementioned Feinstein books. This book will be especially enjoyed by fans, students, and alumni of the CAA schools. I admit to being biased in that I am a graduate of VCU. As someone who really enjoys this genre of writing; however, I believe the average fan of college basketball will enjoy this book as well.