"Play their hearts out"

[LoboJoe5]

Who has read this book? I just finished reading this book and thought it was very interesting, especially since it centered around Demetrius Walker. I want every Lobo to succeed on and off the court, but after reading this book I'm rooting for him even more now. I'm so glad he ended up here. I think it was the best move for him. Also I really hate Tim Floyd more now. For those of you who have read this book you all know why.

[DruidPack]

Great read, all Lobo fans should read it.

[loborick]

It definitely will change your outlook on Walker and root that much more for him. Even the author of the book is following him and is very happy how things have worked out for him here at UNM.

[brooklyn_esq]

Required reading. If you can read and call yourself a lobo fan failure to know this story makes you a total 8-ball.
Well written, direct from the trenches of AAU sleaze, this page turner made D-Walker my guy after I learned where this kid came from.

[MichLobo]

I just finished reading this book not even 3 days ago. I couldn't put it down. Its amazing how many people had a hand in using Demetrius and screwing him over. most namely Joe Keller, Sonny Vaccaro and Tim Floyd. Those three are all going to be roommates in hell pretty sure.

Its also amazing how good of a guy Demetrius turned out to be considering much of his impressionable youth was spent with scumbags.

[MacLobo]

Required reading. If you can read and call yourself a lobo fan failure to know this story makes you a total 8-ball.
Well written, direct from the trenches of AAU sleaze, this page turner made D-Walker my guy after I learned where this kid came from.

Since I can't read, does that mean I'm not a total 8-ball if I haven't read it?

[abqpianist]

Its also amazing how good of a guy Demetrius turned out to be considering much of his impressionable youth was spent with scumbags.

Wow! I just finished this book and it left me with so many different emotions that spanned the gamut: SO proud of Demetrius for what he has accomplished ; SO angry at so many who abused him; SO upset that this could happen to 11 year old kids; SO glad that he and Kendall are LOBOS!!!

I find it quite unbelievable that D-Walk is where he is today. It's through his own pure determination, his mother's love, and a few lucky happenstances....just thrilled that he's a Lobo and can't wait to watch him again this year!

Also found it interesting that he hasn't read the book and doesn't intend to (at least for quite a few years). He is only interested in moving on, getting his education, and getting better at BBall. I'm extremely PROUD to call him a Lobo! He exemplifies the lobo!

I'm recommending this book to everyone I know.

[Burro lobo]

This kid needed a helping hand and all he got were people who wanted to help their own hand and Walker was left in the lurch! If you read this and don't get a little choked up over how he has achieved in spite of others using him, this young man finally got to a place where he matters and teammates love him, not to mention coaches who actually care about him!

[nauj_lobo]

Last night I just finished the book. I could not put it down either! I learned so much about AAU and more importantly about Demetrius's and his fellow teammate's roller coaster ride life in the youth basketball machine. It discussed how the shoe companies (Nike, Addidas, and Reebok) and greedy coaches manipulate vulnerable children and parents to their advantage. Joe Keller was such a horrible coach and an evil opportunist. I will be rooting more for Demetrius now that I read this book.

[msalgado]

Just bought it. Kindle instant delivery - yeah buddy.

[Martin]

If anyone wants to read it, I have a hard cover copy of it just sitting on the shelf.

[Zimbo]

Read the book before the season started last year. Great book! Helped understand why D Walk played last year at times. When he was used as the stud since he was 10-11 years, hard to get that out of his system. I am a big fan and will continue to be a supporter of D. Walk until his BB career ends. He will be much more consistant this year. Go DW!!

[nickgallegos]

How much is it on Kindle?

[msalgado]

11 bucks

[GiJoeRay]

The author has been on the TV scene recently, and specifically talked about the lack of coach DW recieved as a youth because of his athleticsm and size. He has spoken that the funky hitch in DW's jumper is directly correlated to a lack of coaching in AAU.

[Burro lobo]

Any of you in Albq. should take up 49lobo on his offer, Datildame got the book to me all the way down here in Mexico and I read it reluctantly since I had seen so much hype and it was before we really got to see anything of his game before last season, it's a must read, I changed my view of Walker 180 degrees and will always try and keep up with him wherever he winds up, this young man is a survivor and I'm glad we have him even more afte reading this story mainly about him!

[judas_priest]

I read most of it last year. I had a great deal of difficulty getting through it - I got so angry at the scumbags who were using him that I kept having to put it down. After a while I figured I had gotten the meat of it and did a bit of skimming - in order to keep my blood pressure down.

[WeAreNM]

Read this book a couple years ago, it was hard to read. I've been around Div. 1 college bball for many years and sadly there are so so many AAU coaches out there like some of these men. The system is broken in AAU, this book is just the tip of the iceberg regarding the crap that is below the surface.

D-Walk is a testament to keeping focused and moving on, Coach Alford and Noodles are also men that have come alongside this young man to help and guide not use and throw away.

[abqpianist]

I read most of it last year. I had a great deal of difficulty getting through it - I got so angry at the scumbags who were using him that I kept having to put it down. After a while I figured I had gotten the meat of it and did a bit of skimming - in order to keep my blood pressure down.

I totally agree; I struggled with it, but pushed myself because I felt it important for me to get the whole story. That's why I said my emotions went from one end of the spectrum to the other. Many times when I put it down I was depressed, angry, frustrated, and every other negative emotion.

But getting to the end and seeing now how far D has come is the redeeming factor for me. Love the kid!

[datildame]

Speaking of kids, where has your kid Ridic been? He is always an interesting read.

[abqpianist]

Speaking of kids, where has your kid Ridic been? He is always an interesting read.

He certainly can be an entertaining sort. LOL! Between school and (asst) coaching his son's little league FB team he's a bit busy. But I told him you asked about him. I try to keep him up-to-date on what's happening (or not) on this board.

I'm sure as BBall draws nearer, you'll hear a little more from him. Thanks for asking about him.

[RIDIC]

Speaking of kids, where has your kid Ridic been? He is always an interesting read.

Lurking... Momma would let me borrow a hard copy of any book, but she doesn't trust me with her kindle for some reason...

Ah, well... Financial aid check comes soon. I'm more than willing to spend 10 or 20 bucks to get a copy of this book. I already know some of the story, but I'm sure I'll get more upset by the details of it all. DWalk has already made an impact on a very good team, and was humble enough to do it off the bench. That says quite a bit considering the fact that he was "the next LeBron." The fact that he didn't learn to hate basketball after all he's been through is amazing. I've got nothing but respect for the kid and I need to know his whole story.

Thanks for the kind words, datil. I've become accustomed to offending people on facebook. It is election season, after all, and it's quite easy to piss people off from my phone. I've never been able to properly offend people on TLL for two reasons: 1. 99.9% of the people that read this board are die-hard Lobo fans and I don't want to offend them anyway. 2. If I get outta hand Mark, Roob, Bloo, rick, etc. are quick to put me in my place. It's been awhile. I was almost afraid I might get banned for my first post in 5 months. I think I did alright.

PS. I'm writing-in my dog's name on my 2012 ballot. He's got more common sense and leadership ability than either of those morons. (whoops!)

[datildame]

He's back!!

[judas_priest]

Lurking... Momma would let me borrow a hard copy of any book, but she doesn't trust me with her kindle for some reason...

Ah, well... Financial aid check comes soon. I'm more than willing to spend 10 or 20 bucks to get a copy of this book. I already know some of the story, but I'm sure I'll get more upset by the details of it all. DWalk has already made an impact on a very good team, and was humble enough to do it off the bench. That says quite a bit considering the fact that he was "the next LeBron." The fact that he didn't learn to hate basketball after all he's been through is amazing. I've got nothing but respect for the kid and I need to know his whole story.

Thanks for the kind words, datil. I've become accustomed to offending people on facebook. It is election season, after all, and it's quite easy to piss people off from my phone. I've never been able to properly offend people on TLL for two reasons: 1. 99.9% of the people that read this board are die-hard Lobo fans and I don't want to offend them anyway. 2. If I get outta hand Mark, Roob, Bloo, rick, etc. are quick to put me in my place. It's been awhile. I was almost afraid I might get banned for my first post in 5 months. I think I did alright.

PS. I'm writing-in my dog's name on my 2012 ballot. He's got more common sense and leadership ability than either of those morons. (whoops!)

Save yourself some money and get it from the library.

A general rule in politics: It's not always easy to figure out who to vote for, but it's generally easier to figure out who to vote against.

In case anyone wants to follow the race, try fivethirtyeight.com. The proprietor is Nate Sliver (former editor of Baseball Prospectus and the creator - I believe - of the PECOTA system of player evaluation) - right now he's calling Obama a 4-1 favorite to win. The site is math heavy, but you can read it without dealing with the formulas and the reasoning behind them.

It used to be a an entirely separate blog but the NY Times is paying him (I would imagine) big bucks to run it on their site.

[msalgado]

Let me second the Nate Silver reccomendation. He's very good with stats (I first encountered him on a poker website back in the online poker heyday - he's a smart dude).

Anyway, yesterday afternoon I was about a third of the way through the book. Well, I only got about 3 hours of sleep last night because I couldn't put it down and I finished it just a few minutes ago. I'm pretty floored. I thought I knew what to expect after reading the comments in this thread but it still comes at you hard and makes your jaw drop. Its just flat out stunning.

I'm glad that last year Demtrius found a place on our Lobo team and that he excelled. I know that I posted on this site several times that I saw more improvement out of him from the start of the season to the end of the season than in any other player. I also still believe that due to his athleticism Walker has the greatest chance to become a lock down defender on this team but now I also understand why he hasn't necessarily found that role yet. I hope that under the guidance of Coach Alford he is able to continue to grow and man I really hope he makes it into the NBA now. He's got two years to really become a force on this team and I hope he's able to accomplish that.

PS On the Kindle Version there was a sort of second epilogue. I'm not sure if this is available on all the versions people have in here but it was written after Dwalk had transfered to the Lobos but before the previous season started. It also contained the transcript of an interview with the author. If many of you don't have it I can try to copy and paste it here as its a pretty good few extra pages of insight.

PPS I hated reading about how Siva felt upon his first encounter with Keller's team but it made me wonder what went through his mind this past March when he helped eliminate the Lobos.

[2inchvert]

Required reading. If you can read and call yourself a lobo fan failure to know this story makes you a total 8-ball.
Well written, direct from the trenches of AAU sleaze, this page turner made D-Walker my guy after I learned where this kid came from.

IMO, the author is just one more person who made money off of these kids.