Off the Shelf: American Hoops by Carson Cunningham

Read from the introduction of American Hoops: U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball from Berlin to Beijing by Carson Cunningham:

"Over the past eighty years, basketball’s sweeping international growth has come about because of the creativity and acumen of individuals on and off the court. The history of the U.S. men’s basketball team at the Olympic Games shows this in striking fashion.

The U.S. team’s history makes for a dynamic tale as it takes us from Olympic basketball’s humble beginnings as a full-medal sport at the 1936 Games in Berlin, where the tournament took place outdoors in the rain, to Bill Russell’s marvelous play in Melbourne, to the controversial 1972 U.S. versus Soviet Union gold medal matchup in Munich, where the final seconds of the game were replayed three times. It takes us to Michael Jordan’s wondrous performances in Los Angeles and Barcelona, and it takes us to Beijing, where in a basketball-loving nation of over one billion, the 2008 U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team made a valiant effort to return the United States to the pinnacle of the basketball world.

Drama packs this tale. So too do victory, loss, and redemption. Major issues arise, such as the impact of basketball and its superstars on popular culture in a world where free, socialist, and authoritarian countries compete for people’s hearts and minds. The tale resonates on personal levels as well. Take U.S. Olympic basketball players Joe Fortenberry and Sam Balter at the original 1936 tournament. Not too long after coming back from those Games, Fortenberry would serve in the U.S. military in its effort to turn back Hitler. And Balter, a Jewish American basketball player, would decide that because of Hitler’s horrificness he should not have even attended those Games.

Tracing the story of U.S. Olympic men’s basketball reveals how hard the players work, the simple joy to be found in playing, coaching, or watching the sport, and much as well about the dynamic relationship basketball fosters between individuality and teamwork. The tale highlights the pride players have felt in representing the United States but also the racism that some of those very same players have had to confront in their home country."

Carson Cunningham played basketball at Purdue University and professionally in the Continental Basketball Association and in two leagues overseas. He currently teaches history at DePaul University.

To read a longer excerpt or to purchase American Hoops, visit http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/product/American-Hoops,674141.aspx.

Comments

[Hawaiian Shirt John]

Cunningham does an admirable job covering US olympic basketball, but could spend a little more effort covering the opening of the olympic qualifications of athletes from purely amateur to include professional atheletes. The US was among the last to allow professional US atheletes to reperesent the US in the games; how many gold, silver and bronze medals we forfeited under playing fair we may never know.