Ed Pinckney's Tales from the Villanova Hardwood: The Story of the 1985 NCAA Champs

Description

Take a bunch of nice kids, dump in gobs of fiery Italian seasoning, mix in copious measures of robust Augustinian teaching, and stir gently for four years. That's the winning recipe that transformed April Fool's Day 1985 into a feast for underdogs and everymen everywhere. March Madness maddened to the max that year with the crowning of perhaps the NCAA Tournament's most unlikely champion, the Villanova Wildcats. The most unlikely and perhaps the most liked team to ever win the championship, the Villanova kids won the nation over with courtesy and class more than jump shots and slam dunks. The NCAA final was supposed to be a slam dunk for Georgetown, the defending national champions. But 'Nova never buckled under Hoya Paranoia, the fear factor that paralyzed most Georgetown opponents in the John Thompson era. Paternal coach Rollie Massimino drilled commitment, loyalty, and honor into his family as much as Xs and Os. The result was a poised, disciplined, and undaunted quintet who played what some have called the perfect basketball game where they sizzled the cords with unprecedented 78.6 percent shooting accuracy. Wildcat icon Ed Pinckney, along with teammates and other members of Coach Mass's family, relate the tale of how Villa-nowhere, as the 'Cats were dubbed before April 1, fooled the whole world.

Get the book

Amazon.com

Search the book

eBay.com

Search the book

Similar books

• 

  University of Maryland Men's Basketball 2002 National Champions

  By Michael Ashley, Bill Wagner, Keith Cavanaugh

  University of Maryland Men's Basketball 2002 National Champions

• 

  March to the Finals: The History of College Basketball's Illustrious Finale

  By Alan Minsky

  NCAA Division I Champions Year Champion Coach 1939 Oregon Howard Hobson 1940 Indiana Branch McCracken Most Valuable Player Site None Evanston , IL Marvin Huffman , Indiana 1941 Wisconsin Harold Foster John Kotz , Wisconsin Kansas City ...

• 

  Tourney Time

  By Mike Douchant

  ... Louisville 1982 # 1 Memphis State 73 , # 2 Louisville 62 Keith Lee , Memphis State 1983 # 1 Louisville 66 , # 2 Tulane 51 Rodney McCray , Louisville 1984 # 2 Memphis State 78 , # 4 Virginia Tech 65 Keith Lee , Memphis State 1985 # 1 ...

• 

  Maryland Terrapins Men's Basketball

  By Stephen Moore, Johnny Holliday

  A lively, compact history of the important players, astonishing games, and rich traditions of the University of Maryland men's basketball program, this book includes candid observations from coaches, players, officials, and fans.

• 

  Jimmy Black's Tales from the Tar Heels

  By Scott Fowler, Jimmy Black

  Through exclusive interviews with key players and coaches as well as his own personal insights, Black, the senior point guard and undisputed leader of the 1981-82 North Carolina national champion basketball team, celebrates the Tar Heels' ...