Basketball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Paint (The Philosophy of Popular Culture)

304 Pages·2008·0.97 MB·english

by  Dick Vitale

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 popu-
lar 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
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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