THE BOOKS
I'm the author of two books. My latest, Rise and Fire: The Origins, Science, and Evolution of the Jump Shot--And How It Transformed Basketball Forever, which was published in February 2016 from Flatiron Books. My first, Keeping the Faith: In the Trenches With College Football's Worst Team, was published in 2005 by Lyons Press.
Rise and Fire
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The jump shot is the most important play in basketball and its inception revolutionized the game, spearheading an increase in scoring and bolstering the sport's popularity. Rise and Fire celebrates this crucial shot while tracing its history and shedding light on all corners of the basketball world, from the biggest NBA arenas to the playgrounds of New York City and the barns of Indiana.
Analyzing the techniques and re-creating legendary plays from the greats-like Larry Bird, Pistol Pete, and Kobe Bryant-as well as lesser-known talents, Fury creates a technical, personal, historical, and even spiritual examination of the shot. This is not a dry how-to textbook of basketball mechanics-this is a lively tour of basketball history and a love letter to the sport and the shot that changed it forever.
Keeping the Faith
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Every loser has a story. And few teams have lost quite like the Trinity Bible College football team. Located in Ellendale, North Dakota-population 1,559-Trinity produces preachers and missionaries, but with an enrollment of only 310 students, struggles to find quality athletes. Keeping the Faith tells the remarkable story of the 2004 Trinity Bible College Lions, the worst college team in the country-a team fighting for victory and, more importantly, dignity.
Countless sports books have been written about championship teams and grand traditions. But what about teams on the other side of the scoreboard? How do those players and coaches fight through ridicule, adversity, and defeat? Trinity's players keep taking the field week after week, loss after loss. They keep playing, always believing the next game will bring victory. Keeping the Faith is about football, faith, and finding small victories amidst big defeats.