Summer Book Club: "Tales From the Villanova Wildcats Locker Room"
For college hoops fans, the summer can leave a bit of a void. Sure, there’s the summer evaluation periods, the occasional recruiting news, and the never-to-early prognosticating about the next season. But sometimes that’s not enough, and a good book is a great way to feed your college basketball craving.
Granted, we’re a little late here as summer begins to wind down. But as nice as it is to sit on the porch or the beach and use some of that vacation time to catch up on your reading, long, cold winter nights offer just as much of an opportunity as the summer does.
And there’s still plenty of down time before practice finally kicks off in October. So the goal here is to run a little series recommending and reviewing some books that can help sooth that itch for college hoops.
We’ll kick things off with “Tales From the Villanova Wildcats Locker Room” by Ed Pinckney and Bob Gordon.
The book is a quick, easy read. Pinckney offers firsthand accounts of his time at Villanova and the Wildcats’ run to the 1985 National Championship. It also contains quotes, commentary, and anecdotes from other players and people who were close to the program during that special time. The book also offers an inside glimpse at Rollie Massimino and how he ran the program.
For those who experienced the joy of watching the program during that era and the incredible run to the championship, the book offers a great opportunity to reminisce while adding some interesting insight into what it was like for those who were making it happen.
For fans of the program who may not be able to recall those times, the book provides an opportunity to get familiar with the rich history of the Villanova basketball program.
In addition to details surrounding the 1985 championship run, the book touches on other important milestones in the program’s history, and it contains tidbits on the accomplishments of Villanova athletics as a whole.
From important dates, milestones, and a plethora of stats, “Tales From the Villanova Wildcats Locker Room” is a great primer on the long, rich history of Villanova basketball. It provides an inside look at the workings of the program during a very important era, while helping readers get more familiar with the people who played such important roles in it.
As current Villanova fans enjoy watching the program during one of its most dominating periods, “Tales From the Villanova Wildcats Locker Room” allows them to re-live another magical time in the program’s history. Whether you’re a long-time fan looking for an inside look at that special time, or a newer fan interested in the program’s history, this is a great book that highlights the people and stories that make Villanova basketball so special. It’s worth a read for anyone interested in Villanova basketball.
