I’m really in to basketball books, and I feel like Tony’s story, philosophy, experiences, and beyond would make one hell of a book. It would be an instant read for me. Hoo’s with me? Leave some title suggestion below
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I would love to read a book by TB. Honestly I’d like to read one about his philosophy and life advice much more than his basketball story.
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I agree, this would be amazing. There was a book written about Dick Bennett over 20 years ago that documents a lot of his philosophy that’s a really good read if you haven’t already come across it! Amazon.com
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Definitely
Wow that’s super awesome! I’ll have to check it out
A mixture of both would be great since he coaches the team while at the same time teaching them his values and life lessons
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Im not much for celebrities, but for me Tony Bennett is my personal hero. I look forward to a book one day, a 30 for 30 documentary, and a movie!
Title for for book? how about Nothing But benNett. 
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Agree I’ve been an athlete and coach for most of my life at every level and rarely am taken aback by someone. Tony Bennett is that one person. I have the 5 pillars on 2 different pictures in my office and he is someone I have so much respect for that I would actually be star struck if I met him.
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Thanks @shaza_od for this book recommendation. It was really good for missing basketball during March reading.
There were a lot of neat connections between late 90’s Wisconsin and Virginia today. Tony Bennett was hanging around the team for at least part of that season, Brad Soderberg was on the staff. Pete Gillen even made a cameo, coaching Providence in an out of conference game.
The foundations of Dick Bennett’s Wisconsin teams sounded really familiar. One thing that cracked me up was that they had the same five pillars, but they weren’t called the five pillars. They were the five … “intangible concepts”. I think Virginia won the branding campaign on that one!
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Getting this message made my day @stoke! It’s such a fascinating look into the world of college basketball during that 1996-97 season told through observations and interviews with Dick Bennett, the rest of the staff, and the players on that UW team, isn’t it? I mean, the amount of access the author had and the composition and commentary of everything is just amazing.
I loved it for all of the those little connections that mirror the foundation that Virginia basketball has today too, so it’s really cool to hear what stood out to you as well. And I agree! The way that the five “intangible concepts” was able to be rebranded to also be a distinctive reflection of UVA as the five pillars is brilliant!
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@Benrekosh in your original post to start this topic, you said you’re really into basketball books — do you (or anyone else) have other good book recommendations? (Could be any sport, not just basketball necessarily) And why you would recommend them?
I recently read Eleven Rings by the great nba coach Phil Knight. He coached the Bulls during their historic run in the 90s, Shaq and Kobe in the early 2000s, and some great more. He has had some really unique experiences, and he has a great philosophy, perspective, and outlook on life. Similar to if CTB wrote a book, it’s more about philosophy and how basketball experiences can apply to life. Not sure his life either, the readers life. Great read, and it’s relatively short, also.
Other than that, there are about 3 or 4 great books on UVAs championship run last year by various people. Those are good too. My favorite one is the one by Jerry Ratcliffe cause it goes beyond basketball and is just really interesting.
It all depends on what you like. Find something you’re very interested in and google books, and I assure you there will be at least a couple.
If you want more advice, I can go look at my shelf and give more recommendations.
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I think you’re confusing Phils! Phil Knight is the NIKE magnate. The Bulls/Lakers coach who wrote ELEVEN RINGS is Phil Jackson.
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My bad. you’re right. I read the other Phil’s book also, so that’s why I got them mixed up. That was a good book too
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Yeah, there was a pretty interesting dynamic going on. I was honestly amazed that the author had the level of access to the staff and players that he did, and some of the comments Dick Bennett made about players knowing they’d be printed, not smart, not tough, not my kind of player. I had forgotten how little success Wisconsin had for decades before Bennett got there. They won ugly that year.
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Thanks Ben! With the number of good books out there, I was just curious to know what others have read, so this is great! Sacred Hoops was another good one by Phil Jackson - unique experiences is a good way to describe his life! But the sports book I’ve read in the last few years that I remember most fondly is InsideOut Coaching: How Sports Can Transform Lives by Joe Ehrmann. I don’t have it with me to say exactly what I took from it, but it is one of those books that I would read again to revisit all of the notes I took in the margins when I was in my first couple years working for education non-profits out of college.
I’ve heard that about Jerry Ratcliffe’s book about UVA’s championship run too! Learning from the stuff beyond sports makes following so many of these Virginia programs like basketball all the more meaningful. Thanks again!
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