The Last Amateurs
Author: John Feinstein
Release: November 1, 2000
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
Genre: Athletics, History, Basketball, College
ISBN-10: 0316277010
ISBN-13: 978-0316277013
Synopsis: A (dated but) revealing inside look at the world of college basketball by one of the nation’s most beloved sportswriters looks at the coaches, players, teams, and schools that have made Division I basketball so compelling, without the million-dollar professional contracts.
Declassified by Agent Palmer: The Last Amateurs is a slam-dunk look at the formation of the Patriot League
Quotes and Lines
“I have to admit, though, there are times when I think I’d like to give broadcasting some kind of shot,” he said. “The hardest thing about being an athlete at a school like this is knowing realistically that college is the end of the road for you, that you’re here training to do something completely different, and yet you’ve been an athlete all your life and the thought of life without sports is a little bit scary.” – Steve Aylsworth, Lehigh Point Guard
Only the Palestra has a small plaque in its front lobby that, in a few words, sums up what amateur athletics ought to be about:
To play the game is great…
To win the game is greater…
But to love the game is the greatest of all…
That’s often the trouble with competition: the other guy has a script he wants to follow, too.
This was college basketball. It wasn’t pros-n-training. There were real students on the floor, many of whom had actually been in a class a few hours earlier. Try to imagine a coach in one of the big-time leagues being told that one of his players had to be in class a few hours before the biggest game of the season. Do not imagine too vividly – you might not be able to stop laughing.