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CBA's Glory Days
Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 8:38 am
by RickMartel
Just finished the "Life on the Rim" book by David Levine. Still a great read after 20 years. I just wondering what some of you CBA diehards thought of the book? I saw that Tim Wilkin still writes for the Albany newspaper, Gerald Oliver is still coaching (at a college in Tennessee) and that guard Steve Shurina coached in colleges for a few years. Wonder whatever happened to Greg Grissom or Clint Smith? Would be great to hear you longtime Patroon patrons have to say about that team, season and book? The Armory must have been an awesome place to watch some CBA ball.
I loved it
Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 8:35 am
by oregonbri
It really delved into the minor-league nature of life in the CBA, punctuated by George Karl's occasional rants. Oliver comes across as a bit more hickish than he probably is; he's obviously a good basketball mind, given his long career in coaching. I'd love to see a where-are-they-now update of this. I also would be curious to know how much money the book made, if any. Let's face it; people aren't clamoring to read about minor-league hoops. But for those of us who are, this was great.
Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 7:18 pm
by turbocamyes
[quote=""oregonbri""]It really delved into the minor-league nature of life in the CBA, punctuated by George Karl's occasional rants. Oliver comes across as a bit more hickish than he probably is; he's obviously a good basketball mind, given his long career in coaching. I'd love to see a where-are-they-now update of this. I also would be curious to know how much money the book made, if any. Let's face it; people aren't clamoring to read about minor-league hoops. But for those of us who are, this was great.[/quote]
Agreed. Two more books to look for are:
Obsession:Timberwolves Stalk the NBA Bill Musselman's Relentless Quest to Beat the Best (Bill Heller) While it spends too much time repeating itself, there are a couple of chapters concerning his time coaching in the CBA.
and just for fun:
The Cockroach Basketball League (Charley Rosen) A novel, but I read it after the Levine book.
Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 2:13 am
by TEN
I was in the CBA when this book was written as was in the vicinity of some of the stuff....I was with the Topeka Sizzlers and drove Gerald Oliver around town....he bought me a sandwich...Drove some Patroons to a place in North Topeka to get a haircut. The dude was well known in the CBA as THE place to get a cut.
Me and Jim Rowinski hit a strip joint with some of those guys...
Good times...
Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 11:02 pm
by bectond
With the Skyforce waiving Holmes, Millsap and Smith today I've noticed a lot of former CBA players are not making the cut in D-league camps. It sure is getting harder and harder to make a D-league roster.
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2011 9:31 pm
by JAKMAN
[quote=""bectond""]With the Skyforce waiving Holmes, Millsap and Smith today I've noticed a lot of former CBA players are not making the cut in D-league camps. It sure is getting harder and harder to make a D-league roster.[/quote]
Good. that means the talent level is going up, and that hopefully means the level of play is better.
