Lapchick
From Hoopedia
Lapchick: The Life of a Legendary Player and Coach in the Glory Days of Basketball
by Gus Alfieri
Joe Lapchick is a legendary figure in the history of basketball: a member of the Original Celtics barnstorming team and a Hall of Fame inductee, as a player; as a coach of four national championship teams at St. John's University; and the first coach of the New York Knicks. But this book - the first dedicated to Lapchick’s life and career - transcends mere biography. Gus Alfieri, who played point guard under Lapchick for St. John's 1959 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) Championship team, chronicles key moments in the history of basketball: early rule changes and the era of barnstorming teams, dramatic NIT Championship games (when the NIT was the tournament in the nation), the point shaving scandals in college basketball, the formation of the NBA, and the integration of professional black players (including Sweetwater Clifton, who played for Lapchick and became the first black player for the Knicks).
