Ball 603 writer Mike Whaley will be discussing his new book about small college basketball in New England (Floor Burns) during an event in the Rochester Public Library’s Community Room on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 5:30 p.m. Former newspaper and cable TV colleague Kevin Connelly will moderate the event.
The book is specifically about the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). There are stories covering all of New England. The New Hampshire stories feature Franklin Pierce University, Keene State College, New England College, and old Notre Dame and Nathaniel Hawthorne colleges. Whaley played basketball in the NAIA at Lyndon State College in Vermont, so the book is part memoir.
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.
Copies of the book will be available for sale and signing.
Floor Burns is available for sale online: shopball603.com, bondcliffbooks.com, and Amazon, as well as at the following N.H. locations: Water Street Bookstore (Exeter), Collins Sports Center (Rochester), Balin Books (Nashua), Toadstool Bookstores (Keene and Peterborough), White Mountain Cafe & Bookstore (Gorham), White Birch Books (North Conway), and Little Village Toys and Books (Littleton).