From Booklist
Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski ("Coach K") is a legend-in-progress. He is respected by his peers, revered by his players, and has become an embodiment of the positive aspects of big-time college sports. A serious back problem a few years ago forced him to sit out a year, providing perspective. He's still a passionate competitor but doesn't measure his success solely in wins and losses. Understanding all that, he's still a helluva basketball coach, as evidenced by last season's national championship with an injury-riddled roster. This is an account of that championship season, with Coach K's insights complemented by those of the players and other coaches. It begins with preseason assessments of the players, noting their physical and mental readiness for the six-month grind ahead. It's fascinating to read Coach K's take on an athlete, then learn the player's perspective, and finally see how it all turned out. Watching how Coach K thinks, the reader gains a tangible understanding of the truism that coaching is more about teaching and counseling than it is about drawing plays on a chalkboard. This is an enriching glimpse into the dynamics of a basketball dynasty that values integrity as much as it does hang time. Wes Lukowsky
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Book Description
A young, inexperienced team. Insurmountable odds. And the visionary coach that brought them to victory. During the 2000-2001 college basketball year, Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K) guided a very young and inexperienced Duke University team through a turbulent season filled with unexpected turns. Faced with everything from broken bones to humiliating losses, Coach K still managed to revamp his dispirited team and win the national championship. FIVE POINT PLAY is the story behind the winning season-the players, coaches, and motivational techniques utilized by Coach K, along with the players' feelings throughout this challenging time. Coach K proves that hard work, honesty, courage, and true teamwork can lead to the ultimate triumph. With his record of back-to-back NCAA championships, seven Final Fours, and one of the most successful basketball programs in the nation, Coach Krzyzewski is easily one of the most respected and recognized figures in all of sports.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Relive the Blue Devils' spectacular championship season in Five Point Play, Coach K's account of his team's roller-coaster ride to victory in 2001. Leading Duke through injuries, devastating losses, and low morale to take the championship, Coach K proves time and again why he is one of basketball's top leaders.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Since 1986, Mike Krzyzewski's Duke basketball team has made nine Final Four appearances and won three national championships. Five-Point Play is the story of Duke's latest triumph, as told by the man whose leadership has inspired hundreds of young athletes and people from all walks of life.

He shows how one player, a transfer student named Dahntay Jones, helped the team succeed without ever playing a minute of any game. And as he describes the injuries and inconsistencies of the season, he returns again and again to his dynamic trio of Shane Battier, Jason Williams, and Nate James, as well as the development of such players as Carlos Boozer, Chris Duhon, and Mike Dunleavy, all of whom would play crucial roles during March Madness.

By the time Duke enters the tournament, the young team is growing more and more confident in itself and in Coach K's vision. Five-Point Play offers a thrilling courtside seat to excellence in the making -- and some bruising basketball action. As this story builds to a thrilling conclusion, we realize that we are reading more than a sports story. Five-Point Play is living proof that adversity and triumph often go hand in hand, and that when it comes to leadership -- from the hardwood to the boardroom -- no one ever does it alone.

With the thrilling 2001 basketball season as a backdrop, Coach K takes the reader behind the scenes -- into the locker room, into team meetings, into his office and his home, speaking one-on-one with individual players -- all the while, teaching, guiding, motivating, and inspiring. The main focus of Five-Point Play is the human story behind the championship season -- the players, the coaches, the motivational techniques utilized by Coach K -- and the players' reactions and responses: A group of individuals, each talented in his own right, transformed into a true team. No jealousy. No fear. Love.

A team brought together by the five points of THE FIST: communication, trust, collective responsibility, caring, and pride. In short, a thrilling season.

SYNOPSIS