Hoop News: Fiction and Non-Fiction about Basketball
List Compiled by Cathy Belben, Librarian, Burlington-Edison High School
Updated January 2004
Bird, Larry. Drive: The Story of My Life.
Bird discusses his feelings on all things, basketball and the work ethic or drive that makes him who he is. Also looks at his past, present, and future.
Blais, Madeleine. In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle. (796.323 BLA)
Chronicles one basketball season of a girls' high school team in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Colton, Larry. Counting Coup: A True Story of Basketball and Honor on the Little Big Horn. (796.323 COL).
Author Larry Colton spent a year on the Crow Reservation in Southern Montana, examining the lives of the girls on the Hardin High School basketball, who were from both Caucasian and Native American families. He becomes particularly fascinated with the team's star, Crow Indian Sharon LaForge, whose talent could be her escape from the poverty and alcoholism which plague her family.
Conroy, Pat. My Losing Season. (BIO CON)
The author reflects on his days at a South Carolina military college. He recalls his love of basketball and its value to him as a means of self-expression, and shares experiences that shed new light on his novel "The Great Santini."
Cooper, Cynthia. She Got Game: A Personal Odyssey. (796.323 COO)
Cynthia Cooper tells her story of growing up in poverty and hungering for dreams that seemed out of reach, but sticking it out to achieve them.
Feinstein, John. The Last Amateurs. (796 FEI)
A detailed account of a season of college basketball, full of insider's jargon, the drama of personal rivalries, the melodrama of hard fought contests.
Greene, Bob. Rebound: The Odyssey of Michael Jordan. (921 JOR)
Follows NBA star Michael Jordan for two years, beginning with the murder of his father, continuing through his retirement from basketball, his short baseball career, and his shaky return to the Chicago Bulls.
Jackson, Phil. Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior. (796.323 JAC)
Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson shares his philosophy of basketball and team play, which has led his team to multiple championships.
Jordan, Michael. For Love of the Game: My Story. (796.323 JOR)
Basketball star Michael Jordan discusses his career, family, beliefs, and dreams.
Reynolds, Bill. Fall River Dreams: A Team’s Quest for Glory, a Town’s Search for Its Soul. (796.323 REY)
The story of the Fall River, Massachusetts, basketball team and how the team is expected to revive the dying town's dreams of success.
Rivers, Glen. Those Who Love the Game. (796.353 RIV).
Rivers talks about his life as a basketball player, and the determination and brains he needed to succeed.
Shields, David. Black Planet: Facing Race During an NBA Season. (796.323 SHI)
Explores how white basketball fans think about and talk about African-American heroes, scapegoats, and bodies.
Walker, Paul Robert. Hoop Dreams. (PB WAL)
Adapted from the award-winning documentary film, Hoop Dreams tracks these two young men for almost five years as they struggle to turn their playground skills into the kind of basketball mastery that could earn them college scholarships and maybe even a place in the pros. A story of hardship and determination, Hoop Dreams is as fastmoving, exciting and suspenseful as a hard-fought, down to the buzzer championship game.
Wideman, John Edgar. Hoop Roots: Basketball, Race and Love. (813.54 WID)
Bennett, James. Blue Star Rapture. (F BEN)
While attending a high-profile basketball camp, T.J. begins to re-think both his motivations and his actions in guiding his learning-disabled but athletically-gifted friend through the college recruitment process.
Bennett, James. The Squared Circle. (F BEN)
Sonny, a university freshman and star basketball player, finds that the pressures of college life, NCAA competition, and an unsettling relationship with his feminist cousin bring up painful memories that he must face before he can decide what is important in his life.
Deuker, Carl. Night Hoops. (F DEU)
While try to prove that he is good enough to play on his high school's varsity basketball team, Nick must also deal with his parents' divorce and erratic behavior of a troubled classmate who lives across the street.
Deuker, Carl. On the Devil’s Court. (PB DEU)
Struggling with his feelings of inadequacy and his failure to make the basketball team in his new school, seventeen-year-old Joe Faust finds himself willing to trade his soul for one perfect season of basketball.
Draper, Sharon. Tears of a Tiger. (PB DRA)
The death of high school basketball star Rob Washington in an automobile accident affects the lives of his close friend Andy, who was driving the car, and many others in the school.
Dygard, Thomas. Outside Shooter. (PB DYG)
A high school basketball star's personality problems threaten not only his own career but the success of the whole team.
Dygard, Thomas. Tournament Upstart. (F DYG)
Under the leadership of their new young coach, a Class B high school basketball team from the Ozark foothills challenges big-city schools for the state championship.
Glenn, Mel. Jump Ball: A Basketball Season in Poems. (F GLE)
Tells the story of a high school basketball team's season through a series of poems reflecting the feelings of students, their families, teachers, and coaches.
Klass, David. Danger Zone. (F KLA)
When he joins a predominantly black "Teen Dream Team" that will be representing the United States in an international basketball tournament in Rome, Jimmy Doyle makes some unexpected discoveries about prejudice, racism, and politics.
Myers, Walter Dean. Hoops. (PB MYE)
A teenage basketball player from Harlem is befriended by a former professional player who, after being forced to quit because of a point shaving scandal, hopes to prevent other young athletes from repeating his mistake.
Myers, Walter Dean. The Outside Shot. (PB MYE)
Recruited by a small midwestern college to play basketball, a Harlem boy has many new experiences, including working with a child who needs physical therapy and dealing with corruption in college sports.
Myers, Walter Dean. Slam! (F MYE)
Sixteen-year-old "Slam" Harris is counting on his noteworthy basketball talents to get him out of the inner city and give him a chance to succeed in life, but his coach sees things differently.
Reilly, Rick. Slo Mo. (PB REI)
Growing up in a bizarre cave-dwelling cult in Colorado, seven-foot, eight inch Maurice "Slo-Mo" Finsternick knows nothing about the NBA-that is until the day he's discovered and becomes the hottest sports icon in the country.
Revoyr, Nina. The Necessary Hunger. (F REV)
The story of two high school senior who must negotiate the pressures of being star athletes, the complicated terrain of their home situation, and the ambiguities of their own intense, cometitive friendship.
Soto, Gary. Taking Sides. (PB SOT)
Fourteen-year-old Lincoln Mendoza, an aspiring basketball player, must come to terms with his divided loyalties when he moves from the Hispanic inner city to a white suburban neighborhood.
Sweeney, Joyce. Players. (F SWE)
Eighteen-year-old Corey sees a threat to his dream of winning the basketball championship when he discovers that the new player on his team is a girl-stealing, friend-framing, team-destroying force of evil.
Wallace, Rich. Playing Without the Ball. (F WAL)
When his father leaves him alone for his senior year, Jay tries to cope with his loneliness. When he tries out for the varsity basketball team, he hopes he will enjoy a successful senior year. He must revise his plans, however, and he finds happiness playing with schoolmates in a church basketball league.