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Rating: 
Summary: Informative
Review: As a pretty dedicated fan of college basketball, I had heard coaches rail on about summer recruiting, AAU middle men and shoe companies. Now I know why. I encourage anyone who cares about the game to read this. It details not only how things have gotten corrupt, but why. Instead of using broad strokes to declare summer recruiting as a bad development, Sole Influence shows why in detail. Myron Piggie stuff alone is worth the read. The solutions are complex, but given the amount athletic directors and college coaches are working on it, something is inevitable. After reading this, fans will know why the sooner the better. The best basketball book I've read in years. Authors make a complicated story very readable and easy to follow.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful and Eye Opening
Review: As a pretty dedicated fan of college basketball, I had heard coaches rail on about summer recruiting, AAU middle men and shoe companies. Now I know why. I encourage anyone who cares about the game to read this. It details not only how things have gotten corrupt, but why. Instead of using broad strokes to declare summer recruiting as a bad development, Sole Influence shows why in detail. Myron Piggie stuff alone is worth the read. The solutions are complex, but given the amount athletic directors and college coaches are working on it, something is inevitable. After reading this, fans will know why the sooner the better. The best basketball book I've read in years. Authors make a complicated story very readable and easy to follow.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic Hoops Book!!!
Review: Buy this book. Love it.A great look at how the big corporate money of the shoe industry has tainted high school level and college basketball, not to mention all of those who are involved in it. A surprising aspect of the book is the names of villians who you would not believe; Billy Packer, Dickie V, George Raveling, and Roy Williams are a few who are found "guilty" of killing the game that I love. This book will expose you to the negative underworkings of the great game of college basketball.
Rating: 
Summary: i dont like what they say about my friend myron piggie
Review: Hi my name is quin and I live in Missouri. I dont like what they say about myron piggie. he is a good man. otherwise the book was pretty good. i recommend it for college basketball fans.
Rating:
Summary: i dont like what they say about my friend myron piggie
Review: However not always balanced, SOLE is a page turner for sports fans that enjoy the stories off the playing arena. Wetzel and Yaeger provide interesting cases and a great work of journalism, however the line between reporting and storytelling is often blurred. The best way to enjoy this book is to come away entertained, informed, but not disillusioned.
Rating:
Summary: It explores the seamier side of sports.
Review: I knew that high school and in some cases elementary school athletes in sports like basketball and football that are extremely gifted can get free perks, but I didn't think it would go as far as it did. The fact is there is a lot of fingerpointing at the athletes, but very little at the others involved in the game. Let's face it, no one would care about these sports if there wasn't a relatively high standard of quality players available. Everyone involved in the game makes money off the players, from the coaches,universities,athletic apparel companies,broadcasters, etcetera, you name it. It's about time that college athletes and high school athletes receive fair market value for the money they generate. The point is many schools would be probably be in a lot worse financial shape if it weren't for basketball and football. Yes, it exposes the greed behind the players, but it's human nature at work. I don't agree with the tactics employed by the agents and companies involved to get players, but I do understand the motivation for doing so. If they don't get these players, some other competing agent or company likely will get their services. It's no different than when univerisities engage in recruiting practices, and some of these universities can get put on probation for recruiting violations. All in all, this was a realistic look at what goes on in youth basketball. I enjoyed it, and would recommend it to anyone who wants to explore the dark side of amateur basketball. An excellent companion book to this would be the book Money Players, which looks at things from the NBA perspective.
Rating: 
Summary: Outrage, a complete lack of ethics...
Review: I've suspected for decades that the college recruiting process was (is), to a certain extent, corrupt. To even the casual observer of college basketball, at the upper echelon of Division I, there is (has been) an uneven playing field. It's as if some colleges have had the top five picks in the annual draft for several years in a row. On the surface the uneven playing field seems impossible to explain, but books like "Sole Influence" begin to shed light of the corruption that mars college basketball -- the search for the next Michael Jordan. In a series of anecdotes, the authors provide case studies of how, especially, Nike and Addidas have made a mess of AAU basketball, especially in large urban centers. It's difficult, almost impossible, to get first hand information, especially from big-name college coaches -- few go on the record. What "Sole Influence" reveals, seems to me, is the tip of the iceberg. The most shocking revelations surround the role played by George Raveling, the former head coach at Washington State, Iowa and USC. Thankfully, Raveling made himself available to the authors and provides candid comments which, while attempting to rationalize his role in this sorry mess, tend to indict him as one of the prime offenders. The book, although poorly edited, contains much food for thought and is worthy of reading and reflection by serious college basketball fans. The authors include a good index, but omit footnotes and a bibliography of sources. Also, a complete list of names of persons interviewed for the book would have been appreciated. To the layman, many of these "characters" are complete strangers. The authors have included capsule introductions to the book's key "characters," which are especially helpful for those of us unfamiliar with the shoe company corruption of AAU basketball. I agree with those who've commented about the book's excessive repetition, as the authors do a thorough job of indicting the shoe companies. The authors do provide some implied remedies for the problems they've documented. Whether these recommendations are feasible, given the hunger for dollars, is questionable and discouraging. Again, this title is recommended for college basketball fans who care about the integrity of the game. The book makes me wonder to what extent college basketball has integrity.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a "fast break" book but a worthwhile subject
Review: Interesting and thought provoking. You will learn in-depth information about recruiting and why athletes may look at certain colleges. There is a lot of sleaze in college recruiting and this exposes quite a bit. The book eventually became repetitive as he continued to build his case against the shoe companies. Yes, there is a problem but no alternative solution was really suggested. I'm glad I read it and would encourage college basketball fans to read. A friend of mine played D1 basketball and pro overseas. He toured America including Hawaii before he was 16 even though he came from the worst ghetto in Memphis where he say 6 people killed and was robbed twice himself. Although he started as a Prop 48, he eventually received his degree. While I don't like the influence of shoe companies, he is an example of a productive man that the shoe companies may have helped. It's not an issue with easy answers.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent companion to "Raw Recruits"
Review: Read "Raw Recruits" first, then this. This book is a seamy, at times sick tale of how the athletic shoe companies run amateur basketball. Worth the price alone for the sad saga of JaRon Rush, Myron Piggie and the boosters in Kansas City.
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