Last Amateurs: Playing for Glory and Honor in Division I College Basketball

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If there's any doubt about John Feinstein being one of sport's true believers, The Last Amateurs readily dispels it. After years of smartly dissecting our games at their highest levels in bestsellers like The Majors, A Good Walk Spoiled, and A Season on the Brink, he returns to dissecting our games at their purest level, ground he first staked out quite stirringly in A Civil War, his chronicle of Army-Navy football.

In The Last Amateurs, he mines the 1999-2000 season of Patriot League basketball. Given the high-stakes, high-profile, and often dirty world of college hoops these days, Feinstein comes up with a remarkably refreshing place to visit, a sporting environment short on scandals, prima donnas, and sneaker contracts, but long on a pure passion for the game that complements achievement in the classroom. In the league's seven schools--Bucknell, Lehigh, Lafayette, Colgate, Holy Cross, Army, and Navy--academics come first, the hardwood second. These are campuses populated by students who happen to be athletes, not athletes stopping off on the way to lucrative careers in professional sports. Indeed, these are young athletes who have their post-college focus on the rest of their lives, not the NBA. Sports, for them, builds character, not bank accounts.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Our Review
A Rare Breed, Indeed
John Feinstein -- author of the basketball bestsellers A Season on the Brink (Hoosier mania under Bob Knight) and A March to Madness (AAC hyperhoops) -- reveals college basketball's calmer realm in The Last Amateurs. Rarely meriting mention on SportsCenter, the Patriot League is one of the weakest Division I basketball conferences. But, as Feinstein ably illustrates, the character strength of the players and the drama quotient of their contests are legitimate and compelling. And while unlikely to produce a Final Four entrant soon, the student-athlete Patriot League stands resolute, a humble standard-bearer in an age of semipro "collegians."

Unlike Division I powerhouses who graduate less than half their players, the Patriot League schools -- Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Bucknell, Army, and Navy -- do not alter admissions standards for basketball players. And it shows: From the 1999-2000 basketball season, all 17 Patriot League seniors graduated. Basketball scholarships are doled out parsimoniously in the Patriot League. Though the talent level is far inferior to that of the major conferences, the competition itself is no less intense.

Early in the season, the Patriot League is feasted upon by Division I's elite in "guarantee games." Last season, for example, Duke thumped Army, 100-42. Colgate submitted to its annual spanking by Syracuse. These games provide a "guaranteed" win for the big conference power and guaranteed money for the visiting Patriot League cream puff. Feinstein deftly shows how coaches motivate their players for these games beforehand and console the players afterward. The heartbreakers are the "guarantee games" that are closer than anyone expects.

After the guarantee games and holiday tournaments, the regular season begins with heightened intensity. Army-Navy is the bitterest in-league rivalry, though last season's most incendiary showdowns were those between Navy and Lafayette -- two teams that ended the regular season with identical 11-1 league records. Even skirmishes between stragglers, however, are gutted out with honest effort and competitive fire. In January, Army beat Colgate before 681 screaming spectators in a battle between two of the worst teams in the conference. The game would receive scant coverage outside the gymnasium. "None of that mattered to the Army players," writes Feinstein. "For them, it wasn't about the glory. It was about the moment. There would be few that would match this one."

The actors of the Patriot League drama are coaches and players whose problems are far removed from Bob Knight's. Coaches need a fresh supply of motivational and consolation speeches before and after guarantee games. Balancing athletics and academics is a real issue for players without a future in basketball. Getting over basketball after the final game of senior year is its own challenge, as is indicated by the sobbing at Senior Nights across the league. However much they love the game, Patriot League players possess a healthy sense of perspective often lacking in the stronger conferences. Chris Spitler, a scrappy walk-on at Holy Cross, was able to leave his heart on the court and land happily in a lucrative banking job months later.

Year after year, the winner of the Patriot League tournament is granted a 15th-seed slot in the NCAA tournament to play what amounts to one last "guarantee game." By refusing to lower academic standards for basketball talent, the Patriot League has ensured that it will always be quickly swept aside by a big-conference bouncer at the Big Dance. In keeping basketball honest, though, the Patriot League has shown that a big loss at the Big Dance is a very small loss indeed.

Brenn Jones is a freelance writer in New York City and a frequent contributor to Barnes & Noble.com.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

One sport. One league. One season. In this widely praised and bestselling book, America's favorite sportswriter takes us on a thrilling and unforgettable journey into the world of college basketball, revealing the integrity and skill with which the sport is played in one of the NCAA's smallest Division I conferences, and capturing the passion of players for whom sports are neither pastime nor profession, but something more.

FROM THE CRITICS

Entertainment Weekly

...makes you care about the little-known players of the Patriot League...you'll be glued to the page...

Bookpage - (11/00)

Throughout this book, you'll get a glimpse of an often neglected side of college basketball...and you'll enjoy the view...

Publishers Weekly

Army, Navy, Lafayette, Lehigh, Bucknell, Holy Cross and Colgate: these seven colleges make up the Patriot League, basketball's smallest Division I conference. In this book, NPR commentator and bestselling sportswriter Feinstein (A Season on the Brink, The Majors, etc.) gives an exhaustive account of the Patriot League's 1999-2000 season. He illustrates that exciting basketball can be played in front of crowds that can be as small as 1,000 and that rivalries such as Lafayette-Lehigh can be just as intense as those played by colleges in major conferences on national television. But Feinstein's intent is to do more than just provide details about the year's important games; he uses the Patriot League as an example of "what college sports are supposed to be about." Feinstein maintains that the conference's members are among the few colleges that can call their players `student-athletes' with a straight face. Patriot League colleges hold athletes to rigorous entrance and academic standards and most scholarships are offered on a need-basis (although some schools are giving a limited number of basketball scholarships). Moreover, players regularly attend class since they are smart enough to know that there is little chance they will be playing ball at the professional level after graduation. Feinstein's portraits of these players and their coaches, his exploration of why they stay in the game and their encounters playing against soon-to-be-pro athletes of other teams bring an unusual emotional depth to this account--which, like Feinstein's earlier books, should make a run toward, or on, the lists. (Nov.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

KLIATT - Tom Adamich

Everybody cheers for the underdog! Dating back to Biblical times, when David fought Goliath, there's a special feeling associated with witnessing someone successfully accomplish something thought to be impossible. The concept of the underdog is particularly important in the world of sports. Basketball is no exception, and the underdog concept takes "center court" in John Feinstein's excellent profile of the collegiate Patriot League in The Last Amateurs. While most college basketball fans (and the general public as well) are familiar with the major collegiate leagues (Big 10, PAC 10, Big East, Mid-American, etc.) few are aware of the Patriot League. Composed of Bucknell, Colgate, College of the Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, U.S. Military Academy (West Point), and U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis), the Patriot League�according to Feinstein's detailed analysis of players, coaches and games�is a league with "heart" that places academics before basketball. The detail in this book (a credit to Feinstein, a sports writer who has written several best-selling golf books and is a frequent contributor to Golf Magazine, the Washington Post, and National Public Radio) and its comprehensive index make it a great resource for use in a sports literature, social science, or physical education class. However, The Last Amateurs would be best used as a teacher resource or in a group/class project setting for senior high students with excellent reading comprehension skills. KLIATT Codes: SA�Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2000, Little, Brown, Back Bay Books, 442p.,

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