The Back Roads to March

One of my favorite memories at New Trier is being able to watch March Madness – college basketball playoffs -- on the big screens in the library during those years when the first rounds are scheduled for the Thursday and Friday afternoons before Spring Break. It is such a fun, community bonding event.  Sadly, we were not at school this year, but anyone who is missing an annual basketball “fix” should pick up the newly published THE BACK ROADS TO MARCH by John Feinstein.  His name should be a familiar one both for his middle school sports mysteries (Last Shot) and his many other non-fiction titles like The Legends Club or Where Nobody Knows Your Name.  In this latest text, Feinstein (Duke University, class of 1977) chronicles events from the 2018-2019 college basketball season, focusing on “The Unsung, Unheralded, and Unknown Heroes.” In three dozen chapters, he shares stories and insights about players and coaches at smaller schools like Iona, UMBC (first 16 seed to ever beat a number one seed), and Chicago’s Loyola Ramblers.  If there is any negative about this book, it’s his inclusion of numerous stats and propensity for name-dropping.  Throughout it all, however, Feinstein’s love of the game and of venerable locations like the Palestra in Philadelphia are more than evident. He is a wonderful storyteller as shown in the clip below.

You can listen to Feinstein here (uploaded by the Free Library of Philadelphia):

THE BACK ROADS TO MARCH received starred reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly. When you have finished this, look for sports classics to read like Paper Lion by George Plimpton or others profiled in this Chicago Tribune article.  Prefer to watch sports stories?  Check out the movies recommended by The Washington Post.