For some of us, Big Ten basketball will always mean the original ten great teams that comprised the league. But for all fans, the teams during this time period bring back memories of some of the best teams and players that have ever played basketball.
In the sweeping history of two decades of Big Ten basketball, Murry Nelson chronicles the conference when it was the most successful of any basketball conference in the nation. Coaches such as Lute Olson, Lou Henson, Johnny Orr, Gene Keady, and Bob Knight led the nation in national titles, influencing the league with their playing styles, changes to rules, recruitment and, of course, intensity. Follow Joe Barry Carroll as he leads the Purdue Boilermakers to the Final Four in 1980, Steve Alford as he takes the Hoosiers to a national championship win, Kent Benson's undefeated conference record, and Magic Johnson as he leads the Michigan State Spartans to multiple titles and championships.
With chapters devoted to each season from 1972 to 1992, you can relive the action as if you were attending the games.
A work of collecting a ton of information, then reporting it without any real analysis of what it all means. It's easy to appreciate the amount of research done here, but when you consider the numbers of larger than life personalities on display during this era, it's hard not to think that more could have been done with this subject than reeling off scores and standings.