Product Details
- Author: Rus Bradburd
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- Binding: Hardcover
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- Dewey Decimal Number: 796.323092
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- EAN: 9780826340269
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- ISBN: 0826340261
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- Label: University of New Mexico Press
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- Manufacturer: University of New Mexico Press
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- Number of Items: 1
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- Number of Pages: 247
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- Product Group: Book
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- Publication Date: 2006-08-15
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- Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
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- Studio: University of New Mexico Press
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- Title: Paddy on the Hardwood: A Journey in Irish Hoops
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Avg Customer Rating: 
Product Description: Why would a successful college basketball coach walk away from a lucrative job in America's most glamorous sport? The burned out Rus Bradburd, enamored with Ireland and its music, took a job coaching in the lowly Irish Super League, but was unprepared for what he found. Perplexed by the small town Tralee's Frosties Tigers--a cast of misfits and underachievers more concerned with their day jobs, Gaelic Football, and Guinness--he turned to traditional Irish music for wisdom and solace. Paddy on the Hardwood is partly Rus Bradburd's story of his struggle to transform Tralee's Tigers. But it is also the tale of a man making peace with his own life and career. "No reader will come away from this irresistible, honest, and deeply human account without a profound appreciation for Ireland and the beguiling power of its people and culture. Paddy on the Hardwood is a basketball book, to be sure, but also one about questing and, ultimately, finding. And it's all the richer for how it engages things that seem distant from sports, but in the end aren't so unrelated at all."--Alexander Wolff, Sports Illustrated senior writer and author of Big Game, Small World: A Basketball Adventure "Paddy on the Hardwood is hilarious, heartbreaking, and touching—I couldn't put it down. I'm an avid reader, and it's the best sports book I've read in a long while."--Jerry West
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Customer Reviews
Irish Pro Basketball
A very well written journey of what its like to coach and live in an Irish community. Many life lessons to be learned. Overall I would recommend to all to read., Not just basketball.
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Very Enjoyable, Sports Fan or Not
I passed this around to several friends. One had played high school basketball and the other didn't know a zone press from a printing press. Both loved the book. You get a real sense of the country and some of its people, as well as joining the author on a personal journey. Great read!
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Life, Music & Sports with Humor
If you like sports from a spectator or participant viewpoint, chances are you will like this book. You will love the book if you have ever coached, are Irish, play or listen to Celtic music or simply have a great sense of humor. The book is well-written, a quick and delightful journey into an idividual's dream that is lived out in a real-life way. I visited Ireland for the first time shortly after reading the book. The accounts are accurate and added an additional dimension to my visit.
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A True Hero's Journey
As an aspiring writer and former hoops coach, I was very interested in reading this book after getting re-acquainted with Coach Rus (we first met at Don Haskins' summer camp in 1989) at a local book signing. I couldn't put it down once I started reading it. There were many times when I would find myself laughing out loud at his witty observations about the basketball-challenged Irish culture or his players' quirks. Coach Rus' story transcends the sport of basketball, but will entertain the best hoops junkie. His journeys to the Irish pubs and eventual fiddling sessions made me want to book a tour of Ireland. And true to any hero's journey, Coach Rus gets rewarded for his perserverance.
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If it's a great story
He's not Ernie Hemingway, but if you have a great story to tell, it doesn't matter. And he has a terrific story to tell.
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