The Last Amateurs : Playing for Glory and Honor in Division I College Basketball

**America's favorite sportswriter takes readers on a thrilling and unforgettable journey into the world of college basketball in this national bestseller.** Like millions who love college basketball, John Feinstein was first drawn to the game because of its intensity, speed and intelligence. Like many others, he felt that the vast sums of money involved in NCAA basketball had turned the sport into a division of the NBA, rather than the beloved amateur sport it once was. He went in search of college basketball played with the passion and integrity it once inspired, and found the Patriot League. As one of the NCAA's smallest leagues, none of these teams leaves college early to join the NBA and none of these coaches gets national recognition or endorsement contracts. The young men on these teams are playing for the love of the sport, of competition and of their schools. John Feinstein spent a season with these players, uncovering the drama of their daily lives and the passions that drive them to commit hundreds of hours to basketball even when there is no chance of a professional future. He offers a look at American sport at its purest. In the Patriot League, which includes Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Bucknell, Army and Navy, the author finds college basketball is still played with passion and integrity ON a frigid March day, in the quiet of a near-empty field house, the members of the Lafayette College basketball team went through the routine one last time.