Williams, the men's basketball coach at the University of Kansas (1988–2003) and at the University of North Carolina (2003–present), describes his personal and professional path to a Hall of Fame coaching career and two national championships. Ignored by his abusive, drunken father and raised primarily by a cash-strapped, saintly single mother, Williams paid for his college education at UNC by officiating intramural sports. When Dean Smith, that school's legendary basketball coach, offered Williams a low-paying job on his coaching staff, Williams accepted and sold calendars and delivered videotapes to TV stations to feed his family. As a head coach, Williams's dedication extends to landing recruits and running organized, thorough practices. And he's done all this while maintaining a cohesive family life. (He's married to his college sweetheart.) Well-intentioned and upbeat, the book treads the familiar ground of glossy, inspirational sports biographies. Williams recalls passionate speeches, great players (i.e., Michael Jordan, James Worthy) and various anecdotes from the coaching life, but never delivers consistent insight on the workings of a successful coach at two legendary sports programs. However, the book is redeemed by Williams's genial (and borderline hokey) tone and the forthright revelations of his tumultuous childhood and early days coaching in high school and college. 16-page photo insert. (Nov.)
Roy Williams, head coach of the University of North Carolina men's basketball team, the Tar Heels, has the highest winning percentage in NCAA history. Over the last seven years, the 58-year-old Asheville, N.C., native-who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007-has won 205 games, including 24 in the NCAA Tournament. That's more Final Fours, more wins, and more NCAA Tournament victories than any basketball coach in the nation.
Hard Work tells the story of Roy Williams' life that few people know, in Williams' own distinct and colorful way-his troubled upbringing, his college years, his years of trying to make ends meet before becoming a head coach. It reveals how determination took him from an impoverished home in the mountains of North Carolina to the very pinnacle of coaching success, culminating in the 2009 NCAA National Championship (his second in five years). And it pulls back the curtain on one of college basketball's most guarded programs as witnessed by one of the most successful, dominant coaches, at the prime of his power.
Coach Williams describes himself as the most competitive person on earth, admitting that he once got into a game of pool with Michael Jordan that nearly ended in a fistfight. In addition to providing a fresh look at Jordan, Hard Work will chronicle Williams' connection with such basketball luminaries as Paul Pierce, Kirk Hinrich, Jacque Vaughn, Phil Ford, James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Sean May, and Rashad McCants, along with Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson, all of whom Williams credits with having earned him the highest winning percentage in NCAA history.
Hard Work is an inspirational story of what can be achieve by* anyone who commits to a dream.
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Hard Work tells the story of Roy Williams' life that few people know, in Williams' own distinct and colorful way-his troubled upbringing, his college years, his years of trying to make ends meet before becoming a head coach. It reveals how determination took him from an impoverished home in the mountains of North Carolina to the very pinnacle of coaching success, culminating in the 2009 NCAA National Championship (his second in five years). And it pulls back the curtain on one of college basketball's most guarded programs as witnessed by one of the most successful, dominant coaches, at the prime of his power.
Coach Williams describes himself as the most competitive person on earth, admitting that he once got into a game of pool with Michael Jordan that nearly ended in a fistfight. In addition to providing a fresh look at Jordan, Hard Work will chronicle Williams' connection with such basketball luminaries as Paul Pierce, Kirk Hinrich, Jacque Vaughn, Phil Ford, James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Sean May, and Rashad McCants, along with Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson, all of whom Williams credits with having earned him the highest winning percentage in NCAA history.
Hard Work is an inspirational story of what can be achieve by* anyone who commits to a dream.
Hard Work: A Life On and Off the Court
Roy Williams, head coach of the University of North Carolina men's basketball team, the Tar Heels, has the highest winning percentage in NCAA history. Over the last seven years, the 58-year-old Asheville, N.C., native-who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007-has won 205 games, including 24 in the NCAA Tournament. That's more Final Fours, more wins, and more NCAA Tournament victories than any basketball coach in the nation.
Hard Work tells the story of Roy Williams' life that few people know, in Williams' own distinct and colorful way-his troubled upbringing, his college years, his years of trying to make ends meet before becoming a head coach. It reveals how determination took him from an impoverished home in the mountains of North Carolina to the very pinnacle of coaching success, culminating in the 2009 NCAA National Championship (his second in five years). And it pulls back the curtain on one of college basketball's most guarded programs as witnessed by one of the most successful, dominant coaches, at the prime of his power.
Coach Williams describes himself as the most competitive person on earth, admitting that he once got into a game of pool with Michael Jordan that nearly ended in a fistfight. In addition to providing a fresh look at Jordan, Hard Work will chronicle Williams' connection with such basketball luminaries as Paul Pierce, Kirk Hinrich, Jacque Vaughn, Phil Ford, James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Sean May, and Rashad McCants, along with Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson, all of whom Williams credits with having earned him the highest winning percentage in NCAA history.
Hard Work is an inspirational story of what can be achieve by* anyone who commits to a dream.
Hard Work tells the story of Roy Williams' life that few people know, in Williams' own distinct and colorful way-his troubled upbringing, his college years, his years of trying to make ends meet before becoming a head coach. It reveals how determination took him from an impoverished home in the mountains of North Carolina to the very pinnacle of coaching success, culminating in the 2009 NCAA National Championship (his second in five years). And it pulls back the curtain on one of college basketball's most guarded programs as witnessed by one of the most successful, dominant coaches, at the prime of his power.
Coach Williams describes himself as the most competitive person on earth, admitting that he once got into a game of pool with Michael Jordan that nearly ended in a fistfight. In addition to providing a fresh look at Jordan, Hard Work will chronicle Williams' connection with such basketball luminaries as Paul Pierce, Kirk Hinrich, Jacque Vaughn, Phil Ford, James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Sean May, and Rashad McCants, along with Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson, all of whom Williams credits with having earned him the highest winning percentage in NCAA history.
Hard Work is an inspirational story of what can be achieve by* anyone who commits to a dream.
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Hard Work: A Life On and Off the Court
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Editorial Reviews
Product Details
BN ID: | 2940171648329 |
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Publisher: | HighBridge Company |
Publication date: | 11/10/2009 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
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