“Floor Burns” captures the NAIA’s New England essence with many anecdotes, stories & photos
Ball603’s Mike Whaley, a veteran New Hampshire sportswriter, has written a colorful, intimate and sprawling book that celebrates small-college basketball in New England, centered around the lesser-known college sports organization – the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Whaley’s book (620 pages, more than 190 photos) highlights all six New England states, starting in New Britain, Connecticut, in the 1940s and wrapping up in present-day Boston at tiny Fisher College.
“Floor Burns: A Wild Journey Across the Forgotten Backroads of NAIA Basketball in New England” has been published by Bondcliff Books in Littleton for $29.95 (plus S&H).
Whaley was a college player himself in Vermont, so the book is part memoir. Mostly, however, it’s a definitive chronicle of the NAIA in New England, rich with stories and anecdotes from 120-plus interviews, mostly with former and current players and coaches.
For New Hampshire hoop junkies there are stories on players and/or coaches from Franklin Pierce University, Keene State College and New England College, as well as defunct Nathaniel Hawthorne and Notre Dame colleges. It will be a stroll down memory lane recalling Bruce Kirsh, Greg Trotman, Bob Witts, Paul Trocki, Al Hicks, Glenn Theulen, Joe Yaris, Dave Morissette, Josh Lee, Phil Rowe, and others.
The book’s cover has some Granite State flavor. Featured is Franklin Pierce’s Larry Leach, who starred for the Ravens during their NAIA era from 1978 to 1982. He still holds the men’s career scoring record with 2,226 points.
There are National Basketball Association (NBA) connections with Stan Van Gundy, the former NBA coach with Miami, Orlando, Detroit and New Orleans who got his start as a head coach in Vermont at Castleton State; as well as ex-coach and current NBA executive, Steve Clifford, who cut his teeth as a player in the NAIA at the University of Maine at Farmington. The popular “Jungle Jim” Loscutoff retired from the pro ranks in 1964 after nine seasons and six NBA championships with the Boston Celtics. He quickly segued into coaching at old Boston State College (1964 to 1976), building the program into a regional NAIA power.
“Floor Burns” can be ordered online at www.shopball603.com or purchased at select bookstore locations (coming soon).
Whaley has been an award-winning sportswriter in Maine and New Hampshire since 1987, and has written for Ball603 since its inception in 2021. A two-time New Hampshire Sportswriter of the Year, he played basketball at Lyndon State College (now VTSU-Lyndon) in northern Vermont from 1979 to 1983 in the era of short shorts with no 3-pointer or shot clock. This is his second book. Whaley lives in Portland, Maine, with his wife, Jill Rosenblum. You may contact him via email (whaleym25@gmail.com).
