Starred review from October 18, 2021
Herring, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, takes a warts-and-all deep dive into the New York Knicks teams of the 1990s, “the league’s most fascinating decade,” in his spirited debut. Armed with behind-the-scenes knowledge culled from more than 200 interviews with players, coaches, and executives, Herring delivers a thrilling narrative that skillfully evokes the intensity and tension of pro basketball. Under the guidance of coaches Pat Riley and Jeff Van Gundy—and players including Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason—the Knicks made the playoffs routinely, and the finals twice, nearly capturing their first title since 1973. Taking into account the team’s post-’90s record of failure—“No franchise has burned through more coaches, lost more games, or tallied fewer playoff wins”—Herring probes what worked and what didn’t for the team during their last sustained run of success, citing Riley’s success in creating the “NBA’s nastiest defense” and the fallout sparked by Van Gundy’s resignation in 2001. The result yields humanizing portraits of all involved, including Ewing, who faced horrific racist taunts before entering the NBA; Riley, a strict martinet who survived a difficult childhood; and Van Gundy, who risked his own safety to protect his players during a brawl with the Miami Heat. Hoops fans will relish this riveting ride. Agent: Daniel Greenberg, Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary.
January 1, 2022
In this book, Herring, a writer for Sports Illustrated, has assembled a detailed, painstakingly researched account of the NBA's New York Knicks teams of the 1990s. In the summer of 1991, the Knicks hired former Lakers championship coach Pat Riley, who promptly and radically changed the culture of the team. He demanded that his players be tough and brutal; that they use force and intimidation to outplay and outwit their opponents. Consequently, the Knicks had winning records and qualified for the playoffs in each of Riley's four years as head coach, becoming division champions twice and Conference Champions in 1994. Riley left abruptly in 1995 and was followed by Don Nelson and, shortly thereafter, Jeff Van Gundy, who had been an assistant coach with the Knicks. Although the Knicks never achieved a championship, even casual basketball fans will respect the team's important place in and contribution to NBA history. Thanks to Herring's incredible talent for telling stories, readers might feel like they personally know the major characters and the events involved in the story. VERDICT Knicks fans will flock to and devour this book. Highly recommended for all libraries in and around the greater New York area.--Steve Dixon
Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
January 1, 2022
An account of the 1990s-era New York Knicks, who left a trail of mayhem in their wake. It was a flash in the historical pan, but a memorable one, the confluence of a take-no-prisoners coach, Pat Riley, with a squad of talented, hard-nosed players that included Patrick Ewing, Anthony Mason, John Starks, Latrell Sprewell, and others. It helped matters, notes Sports Illustrated senior writer Herring, that as the Knicks were coming together, archnemesis Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls had decided to retire--at least to play baseball. The Knicks were lean, mean, and ready to brawl if necessary. In the memorable opening section, Herring recounts how Riley, 20 minutes into his five-year stint as coach, had to break up a fight between Mason and forward Xavier McDonald in a team practice. "Mason was nothing if not enigmatic," the author writes later; he was hard to pin down but also hard to beat. There are some wonderful set pieces, including a 1994 NBA Finals game that no one, commentator Bob Costas included, paid much attention to, given that O.J. Simpson was then barreling down a Los Angeles highway, the police in close pursuit. But the author is at his best with on-the-court, you-are-there accounts of the game in action and its players, including Starks, who "had been the Knicks' most reliable option, hitting 49 percent of his shots--and 45 percent of his threes--averaging a team-best 21 points and seven assists per contest." Still, as Herring knows, all the stars in the world won't make a real team, and throughout the decade of the 1990s, the Knicks came together, as in 1999, when "they displayed heart and resolve, showing they could sidestep distractions to sneak into the playoffs with their beloved coach's back against the wall." A fond look back at a once-great basketball franchise that, now hapless, fans have "longed for...ever since."
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