Lapchick: the life of a legendary player and coach in the glory days of basketball - Paperback

by Gus Alfieri (Author)

LAPCHICK encapsulates Joe Lapchick's fifty-year career that mirrors the framework of basketball in America. Coach Lapchick, twice enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame, experienced a life in basketball that places him with a handful of the pioneers of the game. The book uses Joe Lapchick as a lens through which the rise and development of basketball is clearly understood. Lapchick began a professional career that led him in the 1920s to the famous Original Celtics where he became the game's most successful big man. After a successful professional career, he turned to coaching where he spent more than twenty years coaching at St. John's University 1936-1947, 1956-1965] only separated by nine years with the New York Knickerbockers. His record was among the nation's best, both as a collegiate and professional coach, winning four NITs. During his second stint at St. John's, Gus had the pleasure of playing for Coach Lapchick. The experience was so riveting that he later was motivated to write his coach's biography. Alfieri conducted more than 250 interviews, including ones with Lou Carnesecca, Wilt Chamberlain, Bobby Knight, and John Wooden.

Author Biography

Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Gus Alfieri was the point guard on Hall-of-Fame coach, Joe Lapchick's 1959 St. John's NIT Championship Team. He received his BA & Masters in Education from St. John's and taught high school social studies for over 35 years on Long Island. Gus Alfieri coached 2 state championship teams and earned national recognition for St. Anthony's High School which inspired his second book, The Heart of a Champion. Gus returned to school for his Ph.D. in American Cultural History at Stony Brook University. With this foundation, he taught for 14 years in Stony Brook's graduate school while also writing a syndicated sports column in Suffolk County newspapers. Gus started the first sports book club in the country; this concept has struck a nerve and has gained national publicity. In 2006, he accomplished his lifelong goal of writing a book when the biography of his coach, Joe Lapchick was published (LAPCHICK). He is the director of the All-American Basketball Camp, which he has maintained for the past forty years; it is his legacy. Gus lives in Smithtown with his wife, Janet & his golden retriever, Jake. He has four children & nine grandchildren. He loves to write & ride his bike.