3.35

1

Aug 29, 2017

While this book is packed with information about UA basketball and it's programs history, it's formatting leaves so much to be desired. The book jumps around and is filled with useless information that has no real need to be in the book. Overall it has the feel of a lazy writer who took a bunch of news paper clipping and mismashed them together into a book. I was super disappointed as a huge fan I thought I was in for a treat, that was not the case.

4

Dec 11, 2014

In Tales from the Arizona Wildcat Hardwood, author Steve Rivera takes readers on an amusing trip back to the beginning of Arizona Wildcat basketball. They will learn about the down years in the 50s and 60s, how racial tensions were high and how Arizona's first black player, Hadie Redd dealt with them. Readers will also experience the better years, like the journey to the championship UofA won in 1997 under coach Lute Olson.

The book is filled with entertaining stories. For example, UofA player In Tales from the Arizona Wildcat Hardwood, author Steve Rivera takes readers on an amusing trip back to the beginning of Arizona Wildcat basketball. They will learn about the down years in the 50’s and 60’s, how racial tensions were high and how Arizona's first black player, Hadie Redd dealt with them. Readers will also experience the better years, like the journey to the championship UofA won in 1997 under coach Lute Olson.

The book is filled with entertaining stories. For example, UofA player Khalid Reeves who scored the most points in a season ever for UofA was notorious for being afraid of water. Othick said "He was standing in it and was still scared. He wasn't going to get in, but there were four or five good-looking girls in there so he decided to do it.” All the players were amused at the fact he couldn’t swim.

Any true UofA fan like me would enjoy this book. It's great to see the ups and downs of the program throughout the years and its establishment as a powerhouse in the NCAA. For example in the 50’s UofA had a 4 win season. in the 90’s they had an astonishing season with more than 25 wins. Many of the best UofA players are highlighted throughout the book as well as their memorable moments. Not many books can compare to this one, it has stories that almost nobody’s heard before. Although, the book can be compared to Tales from the Arizona Wildcats Locker Room: A Collection of the Greatest Wildcat Basketball Stories Ever Told (Tales from the Team). Both these books are written by Steve Rivera and are very similar. They both are about stories about the players but the Locker room edition is written from a players perspective.

Tales from the Arizona Wildcat Hardwood is a great read and I recommend it to any UofA sports fan. Steve Rivera tells many stories, funny and sad, that help you understand many of the players backgrounds. It’s a must read! ...more