Rare gems: how four generations of women paved the way for the WNBA

Book Cover
Average Rating
Author
Megdal, Howard
Publisher
Triumph Books
Publication Date
[2024]
Language
English
Book
 Show Edition
Available
Aurora Hills - Adult Nonfiction - NEW
796.323 MEGDA
1 available
Place Hold

Description

An expansive and compelling chronicle tracing the rise of modern women's basketball Elvera "Peps" Neuman got lost in the sounds and rhythms of basketball, dribbling and shooting on a hoop affixed to her family's barn in Eden Valley, Minnesota. In the years preceding Title IX, Neuman;s dreams of playing the game professionally meant a life away from home on barnstorming tours and even forming a team of her own, the Arkansas Gems. Sixty years later, she got to witness what a sold-out Target Center in downtown Minneapolis looked like on the Friday night of the 2022 Women's Final Four. Neuman's cheers joined with a crowd of 18,268 to send a wall of sound toward the Twin Cities' own Paige Bueckers and her Connecticut teammates. The 5'11 Bueckers may have worn her ponytail a little differently than Neuman, but Neuman certainly saw something of herself in the young superstar.Rare Gems is the story of the pioneers who shaped so much of the modern infrastructure for women's basketball, whose histories intersect and wind their way through the state of Minnesota. It is the story of forcing open doors—to ensure teams even existed, to allow those teams to play in conditions resembling those men could take for granted, to ensure that the color of your skin or who you love would not be a barrier to building a life centered around basketball. To end the double-standard that treats every undeniable success by women as a one-off, but every setback as a referendum. Four generations of women have played essential and diverse roles: Neuman and her friend and collaborator of a half-century, Vicky Nelson; Cheryl Reeve and her wife, Carley Knox; Lindsay Whalen, Maya Moore, Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles, and WNBA's Minnesota Lynx; right through to the future of the game in Bueckers and the stars of tomorrow. Through meticulous research and evocative storytelling, this captivating narrative gives due recognition to the luminaries who ushered in women's basketball's modern era. Four generations of women have played essential and diverse roles: Neuman and her friend and collaborator of a half-century, Vicky Nelson; Cheryl Reeve and her wife, Carley Knox; Lindsay Whalen, Maya Moore, Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles, and WNBA's Minnesota Lynx; right through to the future of the game in Bueckers and the stars of tomorrow. Through meticulous research and evocative storytelling, this captivating narrative gives due recognition to the luminaries who ushered in women's basketball's modern era.

More Details

Contributors
Banham, Rachel writer of foreword
ISBN
9781637271988

Table of Contents

From the Book

Foreword / by Rachel Banham
Introduction
Prologue: Before the beginning
Peps - Vicky
Cheryl
The team house
Lindsay
Carley and Cheryl
"This is what we do!"
Change
Home
Epilogue: Pep's place.

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Author Notes

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Published Reviews

Booklist Review

Minnesota is the of Land of 10,000 Lakes. As presented here, it's also the land that fostered trailblazing history-makers who helped elevate and "build infrastructure" for the skyrocketing popularity women's basketball is experiencing today. Megdal, a journalist and founder-editor of The IX Newsletter, shines a light on groundbreaking leaders with ties to the state, starting with Elvera "Peps" Neuman, a small-town girl who went from perfecting her skills on a hoop attached to the dairy barn to playing professionally for more than 25 years before retiring in 1988. Other key figures include Minnesota Lynx vice-president Carley Knox and her wife, Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, Vicky Nelson and Linda Yearby (barnstorming stars), Lindsay Whalen (former WNBA and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2022), Maya Moore (former WNBA social justice advocate), Seimone Augustus (former WNBA player-coach), and Paige Bueckers (currently plays for UConn). Megdal does a fine job capturing the legacy of these women who shared a passion for basketball, from pre--Title IX days to those advancing a path of inclusion and leading the sport today. Basketball fans will also enjoy the game coverage.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Booklist Reviews

Minnesota is the of Land of 10,000 Lakes. As presented here, it's also the land that fostered trailblazing history-makers who helped elevate and "build infrastructure" for the skyrocketing popularity women's basketball is experiencing today. Megdal, a journalist and founder-editor of The IX Newsletter, shines a light on groundbreaking leaders with ties to the state, starting with Elvera "Peps" Neuman, a small-town girl who went from perfecting her skills on a hoop attached to the dairy barn to playing professionally for more than 25 years before retiring in 1988. Other key figures include Minnesota Lynx vice-president Carley Knox and her wife, Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, Vicky Nelson and Linda Yearby (barnstorming stars), Lindsay Whalen (former WNBA and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2022), Maya Moore (former WNBA social justice advocate), Seimone Augustus (former WNBA player-coach), and Paige Bueckers (currently plays for UConn). Megdal does a fine job capturing the legacy of these women who shared a passion for basketball, from pre–Title IX days to those advancing a path of inclusion and leading the sport today. Basketball fans will also enjoy the game coverage. Copyright 2024 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2024 Booklist Reviews.
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