Product Description
The Lenny Wilkens Legacy CD-ROM Series is a unique and different way to teach or learn basketball skills from one of the most respected coaches in the game.In "The Basics CD-ROM Series", coach Wilkens and Dick Helm take you through core principles of Ball Handling, Passing, Shooting and Defense.

This CD-ROM series utilizes multiple camera angles, a video chalk board, and telestration technology.It also offers extensive interactive controls including a coaches cut or "directors cut" that allows the viewer to change camera angles, slow program speed, zoom in/out, and print personal notes pertaining to each drill and exercise.This series is the interactive version of the Lenny Wilkens Video Series that is also available at Amazon.com.There is a workbook that you can print from this program via either Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat Reader. ... Read more

Product Description
John Robert Wooden (born October 14, 1910) is a retired American basketball coach. He is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player (class of 1961) and as a coach (class of 1973). He was the first person ever enshrined in both categories; only Lenny Wilkens and Bill Sharman have since been so honored. His 10 NCAA National Championships in 12 years while at UCLA are unmatched by any other college basketball coach. ... Read more

Product Description
Put more power, strength, and quickness into your game! Now you can, with expert training information from 10 top NBA conditioning coaches—the same people who get Penny Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, Gary Payton, and many other all-stars into great shape.

The book’s 122 exercises and drills are designed specifically to improve basketball performance. Coaches and players can use the special Basketball Conditioning Power Rating System to test conditioning levels for

• power,

• agility,

• conditioning,

• muscle strength and endurance,

• flexibility, and

• percentage of body fat.

Work out like the pros and play at the highest level possible. NBA Power Conditioning will help you reach your potential. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Outstanding
I was the skinny white kid from maryland i wanted to be good but i
was a bum.So i bought this book.Before the 12 week program ihad a 10 inch vertical leap, iwas 5'2 and weighed 70 pounds after using the program i know way 97 pounds am 5'4 have a 28 inch vertical leap.ia m also a real dominant player on the court with my 8% body fat.i also worked on shooting during the program and went from barely being able to shoot form the free throw line to shooting threes whit an unblockable form.i recomend this book to anyone.All you need is a goo weight set or not it dosen't matter.

This one is good, really good!!!
Well, as a college basketball player, I can say this book is somethin' special. Every new bball player should read it, cause it will change your thinkin' about this game, well it changed for me. Stretching section is realy good, cause not many of the players or coaches attend their attention to stretching these days. Strenght training exercises are specialy designed for bball players, and you don't have to think anymore what to do in the gym, what to train in order to become better bball player, everythin' is in this book. Ok, one thing is clear for sure, if you wanna train and play pro, read this book!!!

Great Bok for anyone who wants to be good at Basketball
This book is terrific.It has lots of great exercises that will help you get an edge on your friends.The exercise are well planned out and the test system helps see how well you are progressing.This books a must buyfor anyone who wants to be physically trained for basketball!!!

Great Bok for anyone who wants to be good at Basketball
This book is terrific.It has lots of great exercises that will help you get an edge on your friends.The exercise are well planned out and the test system helps see how well you are progressing.This books a must buyfor anyone who wants to be physically trained for basketball!!!

Becoming a Better Basketball Player is a book away!!
This book has it all! From Stretching, to Strength Training, to Plyometrics Power Training, to Agility Training, to Speed Training.This book delivers motivation because it is the same source the NBA players use to get in top basketball condition.This book will get you to the highest level, and more..... ... Read more

Product Description

For forty years, he has been the Quiet Man of the NBA. As a rookie, he was overshadowed by two pretty fair guards who entered the league

at the same time: Jerry West and Oscar Robertson.As a veteran, he was -- both figuratively and literally -- a coach on the floor, but he had the misfortune to play for several struggling teams.As a general manager, he won a championship and made back-to-back Finals appearances -- but he did it without superstars, a year before Magic Johnson and Larry Bird revitalized the league. And as a coach, he has won more games than anyone in NBA history -- but spent his best years locked in the same division as Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls.

Basketball connoisseurs have long appreciated the style and intelligence with which Lenny Wilkens played and the unflappability and class he's brought to coaching. The respect he has earned resulted in his joining the legendary John Wooden as the only men to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame twice -- first as a player, and then as a coach.

Now, in Unguarded, Lenny Wilkens steps out from behind his placid demeanor to speak plainly and unequivocally on the enormous social and athletic changes he's seen in his career.

Wilkens sounds off about the challenges he had to overcome in the course of his journey: the racism that left him off the 1960 Olympic basketball team and kept him from being chosen as head coach of the first Dream Team; the fatal miscalculation that kept his Cleveland Cavaliers from getting past Michael Jordan to the NBA Finals; the painful, frustrating task of coaching a troubled and troublesome J.R. Rider, a player who contributed to his departure from Atlanta. And he credits those who went out of their way to help him: the priests and nuns who taught him the value of discipline and reinforced his faith; the coaches who pushed him to develop his talents to the fullest; the selfless players such as John Johnson, Hot Rod Williams, Larry Nance, Steve Smith, and many others who sacrificed individual glory for the good of their teams; his mother, Henrietta, and his wife, Marilyn, who stood beside him in many trying times.

Unguarded reveals the Lenny Wilkens we have never seen before, the tough, strong, thoughtful, and analytical man who has spent a life in basketball making his teammates and players better than they knew they could be. Thought-provoking, candid, always honest, Wilkens shares all the secrets he's learned in his four decades surviving in the NBA storm. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Super(sonic) tale
Because Lenny Wilkens had such a varied pro basketball experience both as a player and coach is what makes this book so compelling. Being a Sonics fan I loved reading about his days there and how the team came together in '78 and '79 and then fell apart.

The stuff on JR Rider's days in Atlanta is a great cautionary tale for any team who think talent trumps unselfishness and hard work on the basketball court. I also was pleasantly surprised to hear about Wilkens's time with the '92 and '96 Dream Teams at the Olympics.

Although this is a very honest portrayal of his life the first few chapters were a bit of a grind especially when he went on about "today's" players vs. those in the past. That sort of comparison strikes me as shooting fish in a barrel which is why I was more drawn towards how Wilkens' teams in both Cleveland and Atlanta were good but not quite great and how fate (also known as Michael Jordan) can derail any teams' championship hopes.

A fine man and a fine coach who aided by the outstanding Terry Pluto put together a pretty good book on a part of the NBA most fans would be grateful to known about. In other words, there are just as good stories when teams come up short as when they go all the way.

A Great Book
In 1960, when Lenny Wilkens graduated from Providence, he honestly didn't expect to be playing in the NBA - his idea was to go into teaching or another job - he barely even played a season of high school ball.A player like Wilt Chamberlain was coveted by the NBA probably when he was in junior high - a player like Bill Russell was coveted coming out of USF. Lenny Wilkens lasted alot longer than any of them in the NBA becoz he had to work for everything he got - that's the kind of player, the kind of athlete that is missing nowadays and the kind of athlete we will never see again - that's what makes this low key book a great read.Yes, he does play the race angle a little but not being in his shoes, I had no idea what he went through either.You won't go wrong with his book.

A GOOD EXAMPLE OF DIGNITY AND CLASS
LENNY WILKENS DOES A GOOD JOB RELAYING HIS LIFE AND CAREER. HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN EXAMOLE OF CLASS AND GOOD WORK ETHICS. I REMEMBER HIM WITH CAVALIERS IN THEIR EARLY YEARS TRYING TO MAKE THE TRANSITION FROM THE BOTTOM TO CONTENDER. HE HELPED ADD SOME LEADERSHIP AND EXPERIENCE FOR ALOT OF YOUNG PLAYERS. LATER ON HE WOULD BE THE MOST SUCESSFUL COACH IN CAVALIER HISTORY. I LIKED HIS BOOK AND AGREE HE WAS OVER LOOKED AS A PLAYER AND COACH. A VERY CLASSY INDIVIDUAL AND INTELLIGENT. RECOMMENDED FOR YOUNG AND OLD SCHOOL PLAYERS.

A classy memoir from a classy individual
I was drawn to "Unguarded" primarily because I grew up with the Sonics coached by Lenny Wilkens. I remember the championship season he guided the team to, and have always rued the day he left the Sonics for other coaching endeavors.

This book isn't verbose, and doesn't go into tremendous detail about every aspect of his career, but this style works for Mr. Wilkens. What the reader gets is a nice, classy snapshot of a career that has - as player and coach - encompassed the rise and current decline of the NBA.

I was particularly fascinated with his descriptions of the NBA he played in during the 1960's. The murky arenas, low pay, poor treatment of players in general, the caste system between rookies and veterans, and subtle bigotry were all things Mr. Wilkens highlighted. Most NBA fans would no doubt imagine the league as always being the "showtime", glamorous atmosphere of the Magic-Bird-Jordan era. Mr. Wilkens' description would probably be as surprising to the hard-core fan as it would be to the non-fan.

I also found his opinions on the current state of the game to be fascinating. He laments the "SportsCenter" style of play where everyone's playing for highlight reel material, the "me-first" attitude among players, and the general loss of the art of the game he played. These are all things that have prompted me to quit watching NBA basketball in recent years, so I couldn't help but say a quiet "amen" as I read the book.

One of the troublesome areas I found with the book were when he addressed the topic of racism. In the very first chapter he tackles it head-on, saying that he saw it and experienced it, but then alluding that he doesn't dwell on it or hold grudges. However, when it arises in later chapters - notably in his being left off the Olympic team as a player or when up for coaching the original "Dream Team" - Mr. Wilkens comes off as definitely holding grudges and letting racism play a big factor in his life. It is a paradox I couldn't grapple with personally. I certainly don't deny he was treated horribly in situations based on his race, but I found that it was almost as if he was trying too hard to walk the tightrope between being bitter and handling the issue with class. It was an area of the book that just didn't work, because you couldn't tell whether he had indeed let it go or was still holding grudges on many an situation.

All in all, though, this was a nice memoir. There is nothing scandalous revealed, and he doesn't attack anyone - even in his descriptions of the aforementioned racial treatment or in his criticism of the modern game. Perhaps this also accounts for the puzzling, clumsy way he addresses racism, because while he does criticize a few, he writes very well of those who fired him or cut him over the years.

There is no doubt Mr. Wilkens has led an extraordinary career, and has done so with dignity, modesty, and class. We get our best glimpse of this tremendous man with this book, and I recommend it to fans and non-fans of basketball. The fan will be interested in the history of the game; the non-fan will see that there are still a few class individuals in an otherwise horrendous NBA. Mr. Wilkens has penned a nice book here, and it further confers upon him the status that Seattle and the Northwest is STILL "Lenny's Country".

A classic (and classy) point guard
Along with John Wooden, who practically invented basketball, Lenny Wilkens is the only man to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.In one or both of these capacities he has competed against giants of the game from Bill Russell to Michael Jordan to today's superstars such as Allen Iverson.He has experienced the evolution of the NBA from the shoestring operation it was in the 1950s to the global phenomenon that it is today.Wilkens was a publicly prominent African-American during one of this country's most racially turbulent periods.He has risen from childhood poverty to almost incomprehensible wealth.

It is not hard to see why Lenny Wilkens has been so successful as a point guard or coach.In these memoirs he comes across as perceptive and self-effacing - just the qualities that one wants in a point guard or a coach.No chair-thrower, he. And with veteran basketball writer Terry Pluto handling the prose the book is an easy read.Yet herein lies the problem:I would have been happy to read twice as much.The book is weirdly uneven in its treatment of Wilkens' life both on an off the court.One feels like there are huge things going on both in the NBA and in the world that pass by unnoticed or with only cursory mention.

Perhaps this is unfair:afterall the subtitle of the book is"My forty years of surviving in the NBA," not "what it was like to be a public figure in turbulent times."Even the basketball aspects of the book have some of this unevenness, however.To give one example:Wilkens goes into a fair amount of detail describing his first contract negotiation (he received less than $15,000 and had to take a summer job) and a subsequent salary dispute later in his career.Yet late in the book he mentions almost in passing that one of his coaching contracts was for millions.What is it like to have one's income rise like that?What does it do to your family and others around you?

In the end these are quibbles, I suppose.The book is unguarded and revealing in certain aspects, but one gets the sense that the extreme self-discipline necessary to accomplish what Wilkens has also lends itself to a certain degree of self-censorship.I have no reason to believe that Wilkens is anything other than the thoroughly decent man that he appears to be from this book, and if he chooses to emphasize some aspects of his life over others in his memoirs, well, that's his prerogative.

As another reviewer mentioned, Lenny Wilkens does come across as an admirable role model in this book without being a goody two-shoes or a candidate for sainthood.This book would make an excellent gift for young people interested in basketball or simply the life of one remarkable American individual.It might also be a good antidote for fans who believe the key to winning basketball games is throwing chairs. ... Read more

Product Description
Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Lenny Wilkens, List of Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coaches, Chuck Daly, George Karl, Mike Brown (Basketball, Born 1970), John Lucas Ii, Paul Silas, Bill Fitch, Keith Smart, Brendan Malone. Excerpt:William Fitch (born May 19, 1934 in Davenport, Iowa ) is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) coach who has been successful in making teams playoff contenders throughout his coaching career. Before entering the professional ranks he coached college ball at the University of Minnesota , Bowling Green State University , the University of North Dakota , and his alma mater, Coe College . Fitch's teams twice qualified for the NCAA tournament. Fitch was a U.S. Marine Corps drill instructor , a fact that Larry Bird credited in his book Drive: The Story of My Life as an important reason for Bird's own strong work ethic. During his 25-year pro coaching career Fitch repeatedly was hired in an attempt to improve failing teams. As of 2004 Fitch ranked fifth among all NBA coaches in all-time number of victories (with 944) but also ranked second in all-time losses (with 1,106) behind Lenny Wilkens . He was awarded as the NBA's Coach of the Year Award twice and he guided Bird, Kevin McHale , Robert Parish and the rest of the Boston Celtics to the 1981 NBA championship, defeating the Houston Rockets 4 games to 2 in the finals. From Boston, Fitch went on to coach the Rockets where he led a team featuring Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson to the 1986 NBA Finals where they were defeated once again by Bird's Celtics, 4 games to 2, for the NBA championship. Fitch also coached the Cleveland Cavaliers , New Jersey Nets and Los Angeles Clippers . During his first year with the Cavaliers, the team lost its first 15 games. Notes Websites (URLs online) Preceded by Bob Shulz : Coe College Men's... ... Read more

Product Description
Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Selected by St. Louis Hawks Leonard Randolph "Lenny" Wilkens (born October 28, 1937, in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.) is a retired American basketball player and coach in the NBA. He was inducted twice into the Basketball Hall of Fame, first in 1989 as a player and then later as a coach in 1998. On November 29, 2006 he was hired as vice chairman of the Seattle SuperSonics' ownership group, and was later named the Sonics' President of Basketball Operations on April 27, 2007. On July 6, 2007 Wilkens resigned from the Sonics organization. Wilkens currently is seen on Northwest FSN Studio as a College Hoops analyst and occasionally appears on Northwest College Hoops at game nights. Wilkens grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. His father was African American and his mother was Irish. Wilkens was raised in the Roman Catholic faith. At Boys High School, Wilkens was a basketball teammate of longtime Major League Baseball star Tommy Davis. Wilkens was a two-time All-American (1959 and 1960) at Providence College. He led the team to their first NIT appearance in 1959, and to the NIT finals in 1960. When he graduated, Wilkens was, with 1,193 points, the second-ranked scorer in Friar history (he has since dropped to twentieth as of 2005). In 1996, Wilkens' #14 jersey was retired by the college, the first alumnus to receive such an honor. Wilkens was drafted sixth overall by the St. Louis Hawks in the 1960 NBA Draft. He played for the Hawks (1960-1968), Seattle SuperSonics (1968-1972), Cleveland Cavaliers (1972-1974) and Portland Trail Blazers (19741975). Wilkens placed second to Wilt Chamberlain in the 19671968 MVP balloting. Wilkens was a nine-time NBA All-Star, and was named the 1971 NBA All-Star Game MVP in 1971. He led the league i... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=859537 ... Read more

Product Description
Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Selected by St. Louis Hawks Leonard Randolph "Lenny" Wilkens (born October 28, 1937, in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.) is a retired American basketball player and coach in the NBA. He was inducted twice into the Basketball Hall of Fame, first in 1989 as a player and then later as a coach in 1998. On November 29, 2006 he was hired as vice chairman of the Seattle SuperSonics' ownership group, and was later named the Sonics' President of Basketball Operations on April 27, 2007. On July 6, 2007 Wilkens resigned from the Sonics organization. Wilkens currently is seen on Northwest FSN Studio as a College Hoops analyst and occasionally appears on Northwest College Hoops at game nights. Wilkens grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. His father was African American and his mother was Irish. Wilkens was raised in the Roman Catholic faith. At Boys High School, Wilkens was a basketball teammate of longtime Major League Baseball star Tommy Davis. Wilkens was a two-time All-American (1959 and 1960) at Providence College. He led the team to their first NIT appearance in 1959, and to the NIT finals in 1960. When he graduated, Wilkens was, with 1,193 points, the second-ranked scorer in Friar history (he has since dropped to twentieth as of 2005). In 1996, Wilkens' #14 jersey was retired by the college, the first alumnus to receive such an honor. Wilkens was drafted sixth overall by the St. Louis Hawks in the 1960 NBA Draft. He played for the Hawks (1960-1968), Seattle SuperSonics (1968-1972), Cleveland Cavaliers (1972-1974) and Portland Trail Blazers (19741975). Wilkens placed second to Wilt Chamberlain in the 19671968 MVP balloting. Wilkens was a nine-time NBA All-Star, and was named the 1971 NBA All-Star Game MVP in 1971. He led the league i... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=859537 ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Notable Sports Figures, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 2581 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Takes a close look at the people in sports who have captured attention because of success on the playing field, or controversy off the playing field. This work features biographies on more than 600 people from around the world and throughout history who have had an impact not only on their sport, but also on the society and culture of their times. It also includes not only the record-breakers that dominated and changed their sport, but also the controversial figures that made headlines even apart from athletic events. ... Read more

Product Description
Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Bill Russell, Lenny Wilkens, Paul Westphal, George Karl, Nate Mcmillan, Bob Hill, Bob Weiss. Excerpt:Bill Russell item Career stats (NBA) item Points : 14,522 item Rebounds : 21,620 item Assists : 4,100 item Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com item Career highlights and awards item item Basketball Hall of Fame as player item Coaching item Olympic medal record William Felton " Bill " Russell (born February 12, 1934) is a retired American professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A five-time winner of the NBA Most Valuable Player Award and a twelve-time All-Star , Russell was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that won eleven NBA Championships during Russell's thirteen-year career. Along with Henri Richard of the National Hockey League 's Montreal Canadiens , Russell holds the record for the most championships won by an athlete in a North American sports league. Before his professional career, Russell led the University of San Francisco to two consecutive NCAA championships (1955, 1956). He also won a gold medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics as captain of the U.S. national basketball team . Russell is widely considered one of the best players in NBA history. Listed as between 6'9" (2.06 m) and 6'10" (2.08 m), Russell's shot-blocking and man-to-man defense were major reasons for the Celtics' success. He also inspired his teammates to elevate their own defensive play. Russell was equally notable for his rebounding abilities. He led the NBA in rebounds four times and tallied 21,620 total rebounds in his career. He is one of just two NBA players (the other being prominent rival Wilt Chamberlain ) to have grabbed more than fifty rebounds in a game. Though never the focal point of the Celtics' offense , Russell... ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: John Thompson, Billy Donovan, Jim Larranaga, Lenny Wilkens, Austin Croshere, Ryan Gomes, Jimmy Walker, Raymond Flynn, God Shammgod, Otis Thorpe, Eric Murdock, Dickey Simpkins, Marvin Barnes, Eric Williams (Basketball, Born 1972), John Linehan, Ernie Digregorio, Rubén Garcés, Ken Mcdonald, Jamel Thomas, Joe Hassett, Jonathan Kale, Marty Conlon, Ira Bowman, Herbert Hill, Johnny Egan, Marques Bragg, Jeff Xavier, Michael Smith (Basketball, Born 1972), Sharaud Curry, Mike Riordan, Kevin Stacom, Troy Brown, Marcus Douthit. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 111. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: John R. Thompson, Jr. (born September 2, 1941) is an American former basketball coach for the Georgetown University Hoyas. He is now a professional radio and TV sports commentator. In 1984, he became the first African American head coach to win a major collegiate championship, capturing the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship when Georgetown defeated the University of Houston 8475. Thompson was born and raised in Washington, D.C., and is a practicing Catholic. As a child, his mother insisted on sending him to Catholic schools for the educational opportunities and academic challenges. At Archbishop Carroll High School, Thompson emerged as a standout center, playing in three consecutive City Championship games (195860). In 1959, Carroll All-Mets Thompson, Monk Molloy, George Leftwich and Tom Hoover won over Cardozo 79-52. The next year, Thompson and Leftwich led the Lions over the Ollie Johnson/Dave Bing led Spingarn, 69-54. During his senior year, Thompson led Carroll to a 24-0 record, preserving their 48-game winning streak along the way. Carroll capped off the undefeated '60 season with a thrilling 57-55 win over St Catherine's in the Knights of Columbus Tournament with Thompson...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=780756 ... Read more