An amazing book that I would highly recommend. It gives you so much history on the game and insight to so many things that brought the game to what it is today. Here are Mike Krzyzewski’s comments on the book:
“The true story behind this extraordinary, long buried game goes beyond any one school or any one state. The Secret Game is a triumphant look at how basketball has broken down barriers and helped create a new kind of America. Every citizen needs to know this story—and to know it now.”
I just want to share one paragraph from the book I found interesting and yet also sad in regards to Dr. James Naismith.
“The game had in fact passed him by. While basketball steadily grew in stature, not just in Lawrence but also around the world, Naismith held fast to his own beliefs about how the game should be played. He never cared about winning–as his losing record coaching the Jayhawks basketball team from 1898-1907 attested–and he felt that the game should be played for its own sake. Naismith detested the increasing physical contact and commercialism of the sport and still held to his belief that nine or more players on a team was just fine. While he dutifully attended KU home basketball games, he sat quietly in the stands, never cheering. And even though Naismith and Allen were on cordial terms with each other, on a philosophical level they were polar opposites.”
Curious to know if you have read the book?