Akron Public Library

After seventeen-year-old Samuel "Sooley" Sooleymon receives a college scholarship to play basketball for North Carolina Central, he moves to Durham from his native, war-torn South Sudan, enrolls in classes, joins the team, and prepares to sit out his freshman season, but Sooley has a fierce determination to succeed so he can bring his family to America, working tirelessly on his game until he dominates everyone in practice, and when Sooley is called...

"At the height of the Great Depression, Sam Babb, the charismatic basketball coach of tiny Oklahoma Presbyterian College, began dreaming. Like so many others, he wanted a reason to have hope. Traveling from farm to farm, he recruited talented, hardworking young women and offered them a chance at a better life: a free college education if they would come play for his basketball team, the Cardinals. Despite their fears of leaving home and the sacrifices...

"Isaac and Marco already know sixth grade is going to change their lives. But it won't change things at home--not without each other's help. This year, star basketball player Isaac plans on finally keeping up with his schoolwork. Better grades will surely stop Isaac's parents from arguing all the time. Meanwhile, straight-A Marco vows on finally winning his father's approval by earning a spot on the school's basketball team. But will their friendship...

"When LeBron and his young son Dom are trapped in a digital space by a rogue A.I., LeBron must get them home safe by leading Bugs, Lola Bunny, and the whole gang of notoriously undisciplined Looney Tunes to victory over the A.I.'s digitized champions on the court--a powered-up roster of basketball stars as you've never seen them before! It's Tunes versus Goons in the highest-stakes challenge of his life, one that will redefine LeBron's bond with his...

For sports agent Myron Bolitar, the disappearance of a man he'd once competed against was bringing back memories--of the sport he and Greg Downing had both played and the woman they both loved. Now, among the stars, the wanna-bes, the gamblers and groupies, Myron is unraveling the strange, violent life of a sports hero gone wrong, and coming face-to-face with a past he can't relive, and a present he may not survive.

"Kobe Bryant was just an eighteen-year-old high-school basketball player when he decided to enter the National Basketball Association's draft. Though he was the thirteenth overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets, he would never play a single game for them. Instead, Kobe was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he would spend his entire twenty-season career, winning five championships and numerous awards. Author Ellen Labreque takes readers through...

The definitive biography of Charles Barkley, exploring his early childhood, his storied NBA career, and his enduring legacy as a provocative voice in American pop culture He’s one of the most interesting American athletes in the past fifty years. Passionate, candid, iconoclastic, and gifted both on and off the court, Charles Barkley has made a lasting impact on not only the world of basketball but pop culture at large. Yet few people know the...

A history of some notable basketball shots and players.

"The story of the Lakers dynasty from 1996 through 2004, when Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal combined-and collided-to help bring the Lakers three straight championships and restore the franchise as a powerhouse"--

"Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan. These basketball legends rule the record books. But who will fans still be talking about years from now? Find out which of your favorite basketball players are legends in the making. Produced in partnership with Sports Illustrated KIDS"--From the publisher's web site.