Table Of Content

BASKE TBALL AND PHILOSOPHY The Philosophy of Popular Culture The books published in the Philosophy of Popular Culture series will il- luminate and explore philosophical themes and ideas that occur in popular culture. The goal of this series is to demonstrate how philosophical inquiry has been reinvigorated by increased scholarly interest in the inter- section of popular culture and philosophy, as well as to explore through philosophical analysis beloved modes of entertainment, such as movies, TV shows, and music. Philosophical concepts will be made accessible to the general reader through examples in popular culture. This series seeks to publish both established and emerging scholars who will engage a major area of popular culture for philosophical interpretation and exam- ine the philosophical underpinnings of its themes. Eschewing ephemeral trends of philosophical and cultural theory, authors will establish and elaborate on connections between traditional philosophical ideas from important thinkers and the ever-expanding world of popular culture. Series Editor Mark T. Conard, Marymount Manhattan College, NY Books in the Series The Philosophy of Stanley Kubrick, edited by Jerold J. Abrams The Philosophy of Martin Scorsese, edited by Mark T. Conard The Philosophy of Neo-Noir, edited by Mark T. Conard Basketball and Philosophy, edited by Jerry L. Walls and Gregory Bassham BASKETBALL AND PHILOSOPHY THINKING OUTSIDE THE PAINT EDITED BY JERRY L. WALLS AND GREGORY BASSHAM WITH A FOREWORD BY DICK VITALE THE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KENTUCKY Publication of this volume was made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Copyright © 2007 by The University Press of Kentucky Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth, serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University. All rights reserved. Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008 www.kentuckypress.com 11 10 09 08 07 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Basketball and philosophy : thinking outside the paint / edited by Jerry L. Walls and Gregory Bassham ; foreword by Dick Vitale. p. cm. — (The philosophy of popular culture) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8131-2435-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8131-2435-2 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Basketball—Philosophy. I. Walls, Jerry L. II. Bassham, Gregory, 1959- GV885.B343 2007 796.323—dc22 2006039703 This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials. Manufactured in the United States of America. Member of the Association of American University Presses To Brian Marshall and Duke Ruktanonchai, two guys with whom I have had many good hoops arguments, and who have been saved from countless confusions by my insightful observations and analyses. —JW To coach Al Padek, who never lost sight of the fundamentals. —GB This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Power Foreword Dick Vitale xi Acknowledgments xiii Tip-off: Hoops, Pop Culture, and Philosophy 1 FIRST QUARTER: BASELINE VALUES, ENDURING LESSONS Building Communities One Gym at a Time: Communitarianism and the Decline of Small-Town Basketball Stephen H. Webb 7 To Hack or Not to Hack? (The Big) Aristotle, Excellence, and Moral Decision-Making Thomas D. Kennedy 19 Basketball Purists: Blind Sentimentalists or Insightful Critics? R. Scott Kretchmar 31 Hardwood Dojos: What Basketball Can Teach Us about Character and Success Gregory Bassham and Mark Hamilton 44 viii Contents What Would Machiavelli Do? Confronting the Strategic Cheater in Pickup Basketball Regan Lance Reitsma 57 Basketball, Violence, Forgiveness, and Healing Luke Witte 71 The Breaks of the Game: Luck and Fairness in Basketball Scott A. Davison 83 The Beauty of the Game Peg Brand and Myles Brand 94 SECOND QUARTER: PRIME-TIME PLAYERS, COACHES, AND SAGES The Zen Master and the Big Aristotle: Cultivating a Philosopher in the Low Post Fritz Allhoff and Anand J. Vaidya 107 Wilt versus Russell: Excellence on the Hardwood David K. O’Connor 116 The Wizard versus the General: Why Bob Knight Is a Greater Coach than John Wooden Jerry L. Walls 129 THIRD QUARTER: SHOOTING FROM THE PERIMETER The Dao of Hoops Dirk Dunbar 147 Hoop Dreams, Blacktop Realities: Basketball’s Role in the Social Construction of Black Manhood Bernard Jackson Jr. 158 Contents ix She Got Game: Basketball and the Perfectly Developed Woman Deborah A. Wallace and James M. Wallace 168 FOURTH QUARTER: METAPHYSICAL MADNESS Shooting with Confidence Kevin Kinghorn 185 The Hot Hand in Basketball: Illusion or Reality? Steven D. Hales 196 Philosophers Can’t Jump: Reflections on Living Time and Space in Basketball Tim Elcombe 207 Playing for the Same Team Again Matthew H. Slater and Achille C. Varzi 220 Plato and Aristotle on the Role of Soul in Taking the Rock to the Hole Daniel B. Gallagher 235 The Basket That Never Was Thomas P. Flint 244 Hoosiers and the Meaning of Life Michael L. Peterson 256 The Lineup 274 Index 279