winter sports

This book is a 300-page testimonial to why Tex Winter should be fast-tracked into the basketball Hall of Fame. NBA fans need this book right now. Tex Winter is the antithesis to the Glamour Coaches of today. His Depression-era frugality, gratitude, and humility provide some balance for the Superstar mentality, and he clearly demonstrates that even professionals like Jordan and Pippen still need a true basketball educator like himself.

This book is a 300-page testimonial to why Tex Winter should be fast-tracked into the basketball Hall of Fame. NBA fans need this book right now. Tex Winter is the antithesis to the Glamour Coaches of today. His Depression-era frugality, gratitude, and humility provide some balance for the Superstar mentality, and he clearly demonstrates that even professionals like Jordan and Pippen still need a true basketball educator like himself.

Bender's succinct, edgy style carries the reader through Winter's life while racing down the court with Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, and other NBA giants. Bender tells it like it was--no holds barred. Winter's coaching philosophy of discipline, hard work, fairness and individual intergrity comes alive as we watch him lead individual players to become not only the best players they can be, but also the best men that they can be. Bender brings basketball personalities to life as we watch them struggle to learn Winter's famous "triangle offence" and to balance their individual desires for achievement and glory with Winter's emphasis on the ultimate good of the whole team.

The pace is fast, and the anecdotes and behind-the-scenes tidbits entertain as we go with the teams through Winter's unprecedented 53 year professional career as a coach. From Kansas State, Washington, and the Houston Rockets to fourteen years with the Chicago Bulls, and the current LA Lakers, we travel the backroads of behind the scene basketball. Bender gives us the inside story on the conflicts, the joys, and the frustrations of coaching mega-stars with mega-egos while trying to teach them values of character and integrity.

This book would be a perfct gift for any high school athlete. Bender gives the reader deep insights into not only the sports psychology that Winter uses, but into the secrets of what it really takes to be able to uphold personal values in the rip-roaring jungle of professional sports.

I loved every minute of this great ride, and if you love basketball, you will too!