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Tournament Upstart
The players of the Cedar Grove Falcons, basketball champions from a tiny village in the Ozark foothills, must overcome personal conflicts and lack of confidence, which threaten the team's spirit and their chance at a state championship. Reprint.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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About the author
Thomas J. Dygard
23 books11 followersIn His Own Words...
"I can't remember when I first started writing fiction. it was shortly after I began reading fiction, I'm sure.
"I've been a voracious reader for as long as I can remember. As a teenager, I read a lot of the same kinds of books I'm writing-the John R. Tunis sports stories, for example. I also read a lot of history when I was young-and I still do now. It's always fascinated me.
"When I was a high school senior, I was offered two jobs, both of the apprentice sort. One was in a commercial artist's studio, on a recommendation from my art teacher. The other was in the sports department of the local newspaper, following work on the school paper. I took the sportswriting job.
"For four years I worked for the Arkansas Gazette while attending the University of Arkansas, first at Little Rock and then at Fayetteville, covering football, baseball, basketball, boxing, golf, tennis-everything that made up the sports page. After graduation, I joined the Associated Press as a newsman at Little Rock and later worked in AP bureaus in Detroit, Birmingham, and New Orleans. Eventually, I was Chief of Bureau in Little Rock, Indianapolis, Chicago, and Tokyo, Japan. I retired from the Associated Press in 1993 and now live in Evansville, Indiana.
"For me, writing fiction is fun, relaxing, and satisfying-an enjoyable change of pace, a recharging of the batteries.
"My first young adult novel, Running Scared, got started one night in a motel room in Champaign, Illinois, when I had nothing else to do. Before long, the story had me in its grip. The creation of the thing was a fascinating experience. I liked the characters. I liked leading them through their problems to their triumphs. I kept going until one day it was finished.
"I did not set out to write for young people. Looking back, I think it was something of a blessing that 1 did not. As I wrote Running Scared, I imagined the reader as an adult, but after it was finished, it seemed more appropriate for young readers. The result, I think, was that the story did not talk down to teenagers. In every book I've written since, I've tried to keep the same approach."
"I can't remember when I first started writing fiction. it was shortly after I began reading fiction, I'm sure.
"I've been a voracious reader for as long as I can remember. As a teenager, I read a lot of the same kinds of books I'm writing-the John R. Tunis sports stories, for example. I also read a lot of history when I was young-and I still do now. It's always fascinated me.
"When I was a high school senior, I was offered two jobs, both of the apprentice sort. One was in a commercial artist's studio, on a recommendation from my art teacher. The other was in the sports department of the local newspaper, following work on the school paper. I took the sportswriting job.
"For four years I worked for the Arkansas Gazette while attending the University of Arkansas, first at Little Rock and then at Fayetteville, covering football, baseball, basketball, boxing, golf, tennis-everything that made up the sports page. After graduation, I joined the Associated Press as a newsman at Little Rock and later worked in AP bureaus in Detroit, Birmingham, and New Orleans. Eventually, I was Chief of Bureau in Little Rock, Indianapolis, Chicago, and Tokyo, Japan. I retired from the Associated Press in 1993 and now live in Evansville, Indiana.
"For me, writing fiction is fun, relaxing, and satisfying-an enjoyable change of pace, a recharging of the batteries.
"My first young adult novel, Running Scared, got started one night in a motel room in Champaign, Illinois, when I had nothing else to do. Before long, the story had me in its grip. The creation of the thing was a fascinating experience. I liked the characters. I liked leading them through their problems to their triumphs. I kept going until one day it was finished.
"I did not set out to write for young people. Looking back, I think it was something of a blessing that 1 did not. As I wrote Running Scared, I imagined the reader as an adult, but after it was finished, it seemed more appropriate for young readers. The result, I think, was that the story did not talk down to teenagers. In every book I've written since, I've tried to keep the same approach."
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 8, 2018
A small-town basketball team is playing against teams from the big cities looking to shock the state of Arkansas. Tournament Upstart by Thomas J. Dygard follows a little Class B team that’s decided to play against the big boys of Class A for the state championship, unfortunately not only do they have those teams to contend with but also their own internal struggles.
Taken from the perspective of their 23-year old rookie coach Floyd Bentley, the Cedar Grove Falcons arrive at Talbott State University trying not to be overawed by the big arena or facing the defending state champions in the quarterfinals. But after their upset victory, season-long tensions among the players boil up to the surface after Floyd’s inexperience with such a big event occurs. Over the next two days, Floyd attempts to get everyone back on the same page on the team even as they achieve another upset and then battle for the state championship that comes down to the final shot.
While the game action is well written, the basic set up at the beginning of the book—primarily how a team could go up a Class and the tournament still have the correct amount of teams—quickly raised questions followed closely by Floyd’s “mistake” which didn’t make much sense if you looked hard at it. The internal divisions were not bad, but they did strain the narrative somewhat.
Overall Tournament Upstart had a good premise but the young adult narrative quickly falls apart if looked at too closely. It’s not bad, but I’ve read other of Dygard’s work that I find better.
Taken from the perspective of their 23-year old rookie coach Floyd Bentley, the Cedar Grove Falcons arrive at Talbott State University trying not to be overawed by the big arena or facing the defending state champions in the quarterfinals. But after their upset victory, season-long tensions among the players boil up to the surface after Floyd’s inexperience with such a big event occurs. Over the next two days, Floyd attempts to get everyone back on the same page on the team even as they achieve another upset and then battle for the state championship that comes down to the final shot.
While the game action is well written, the basic set up at the beginning of the book—primarily how a team could go up a Class and the tournament still have the correct amount of teams—quickly raised questions followed closely by Floyd’s “mistake” which didn’t make much sense if you looked hard at it. The internal divisions were not bad, but they did strain the narrative somewhat.
Overall Tournament Upstart had a good premise but the young adult narrative quickly falls apart if looked at too closely. It’s not bad, but I’ve read other of Dygard’s work that I find better.
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November 7, 2019This book Tournament upstart written by Thomas J. Dygard was a really good book. The story starts in a small town named Cedar Grove High school is fighting against basketball teams. They struggle to reach to the top because of their coach. They were undefeated and a new transfer from basketball team, make them lose a game and he is disliked. That turns around when the kid starts practicing and comes down to the championship and he is the reason they win. The theme for this book is to keep going, never give up even when people shoot you down. I really liked this book because it motivates me too keep going and not stop. I would give this book a five star rating
October 3, 2014
Tournament Upstart
The name of the basketball team was the Falcons. This novel was a great book. It is related to basketball. I love basketball so much and it is so fun. They were in class B the year before. They won that championship and they moved up to class A.
They went on a travel team and they were supposed to stay in a hotel. After the first game the coach realized that he forgot to book a hotel room. They had to sleep on the gym floor with wrestling mats as cushions. They were very uncomfortable because the mats were hard.
Coach Floyd- 23 years old and fresh out of college. Standing at 6’’4’. He had straight black hair and normally wore a plaid shirt with jeans. Eddie Bentley- Senior was the only starter for the team. Standing at 6’’3’. He was the star of the basketball team. He was the center or the rebounder.
The setting of the book is in the gymnasium. The gym held 16,000 people. As the coach looked around the endless rows of seats, he remembered the tiny gym he had in college. The gym was empty besides the team themselves and the clean-up crew preparing the arena for more games.
As the team prepared for one of many games, Gene sat with a half-smile on his face. Jimmy stared into space and Eddie gazed at the floor. The twins, Ray and Roy, showed no emotions. Gene’s father entered the locker room to say “good luck boys.” The team knew then that it was almost game time. Suddenly somebody knocked at the door and the voice shouted “time, coach.” As the game started the team knew immediately they had to show a strong offense and defense if they wanted to beat the Warren Tech Trojans. As the game come down to the wire, the Falcons beat the Tech Trojans 44 to 33.
The problem was that they want to win the championship. The team that they played was just as good as them. They were playing the Fort Garrison Grizzlies. At half time the score was 36-33 Falcons lead. During the half time break the fans of the Falcons started chanting “all the way class A.” The last few seconds were coming to an end. Jimmy had the ball, the Falcons down points and the team was scared. As Jimmy fired the ball it cleared the tall centers hands arched high and hit the rim bounced away, as the ball fell on the floor everyone went quiet.
They ended up losing the game. After the game the team and the coach went to the locker room. They got into their street clothes. The locker room was filled with a lot of emotions as the coach began to talk to his team.
In my opinion, I think that the book is really good. The book is really good because it involves basketball. Basketball is really fun to play. They were really good basketball players. The coach was a really good coach.
I recommend any basketball lover to read this book. The players demonstrated good teamwork and encouragement, as well as, the coach. These are skills that can be used on and off the court. The team showed respect for their teammates and the coach.
The name of the basketball team was the Falcons. This novel was a great book. It is related to basketball. I love basketball so much and it is so fun. They were in class B the year before. They won that championship and they moved up to class A.
They went on a travel team and they were supposed to stay in a hotel. After the first game the coach realized that he forgot to book a hotel room. They had to sleep on the gym floor with wrestling mats as cushions. They were very uncomfortable because the mats were hard.
Coach Floyd- 23 years old and fresh out of college. Standing at 6’’4’. He had straight black hair and normally wore a plaid shirt with jeans. Eddie Bentley- Senior was the only starter for the team. Standing at 6’’3’. He was the star of the basketball team. He was the center or the rebounder.
The setting of the book is in the gymnasium. The gym held 16,000 people. As the coach looked around the endless rows of seats, he remembered the tiny gym he had in college. The gym was empty besides the team themselves and the clean-up crew preparing the arena for more games.
As the team prepared for one of many games, Gene sat with a half-smile on his face. Jimmy stared into space and Eddie gazed at the floor. The twins, Ray and Roy, showed no emotions. Gene’s father entered the locker room to say “good luck boys.” The team knew then that it was almost game time. Suddenly somebody knocked at the door and the voice shouted “time, coach.” As the game started the team knew immediately they had to show a strong offense and defense if they wanted to beat the Warren Tech Trojans. As the game come down to the wire, the Falcons beat the Tech Trojans 44 to 33.
The problem was that they want to win the championship. The team that they played was just as good as them. They were playing the Fort Garrison Grizzlies. At half time the score was 36-33 Falcons lead. During the half time break the fans of the Falcons started chanting “all the way class A.” The last few seconds were coming to an end. Jimmy had the ball, the Falcons down points and the team was scared. As Jimmy fired the ball it cleared the tall centers hands arched high and hit the rim bounced away, as the ball fell on the floor everyone went quiet.
They ended up losing the game. After the game the team and the coach went to the locker room. They got into their street clothes. The locker room was filled with a lot of emotions as the coach began to talk to his team.
In my opinion, I think that the book is really good. The book is really good because it involves basketball. Basketball is really fun to play. They were really good basketball players. The coach was a really good coach.
I recommend any basketball lover to read this book. The players demonstrated good teamwork and encouragement, as well as, the coach. These are skills that can be used on and off the court. The team showed respect for their teammates and the coach.
November 1, 2008
This book is about a basketball team a small town called Ceder Grove. The team is in class B but they decide to move up to class A for the state Tournament. Before the first game people think they are going to lose because there playing one of the best teams in class A. But they end up winning. After the game everybodys happy but a fight breaks out between two of the players, because one of them was mad at the coach because he forget to get hotel rooms so now they have to sleep on the gym floor. The next day their is another game but the coach is worried because the players dont seem to be getting along. The team wins the next game so now they are in the championship game the next night. There is still hostility between the players. So the coach decides to call one of the players dad to have him talk to his son to tell him he should still be on the team and feel like hes on the team. After the phone call the player apolagizes to the team for what he said. They go out and play a great game but end up loseing by one on a last second missed shot. In the end even though they last they are still happy because they did better then most people thought they would. I recamend this book to people who love sports or who love a great story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 24, 2012
Nice little teen novel about a young rookie coach coaching a small town basketball team, and taking them to the "big show". He's got some tough decisions to make and the pressure's on. In the end, the kid's make it to the championship game, but lose. However, the journey has brought pride/growth to the players, coach, and the small town that supports them. The "tournament upstart" is Jimmy, a "city" kid who moved to the small town and is having a hard time fitting in with the "country" kids on the team. In the end, amends are made and the city kid and country boys come to terms with each other.
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May 14, 2013I liked this book. I like how it was in a small town like Pierce and about basketball. It was about a small class B team going and trying to win it all in the Class A tournament. They made it really far then lost but it was a really good book in my opinion. I would recommend people who like basketball to definitely read this book.
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September 18, 2007Dygard, Thomas J.
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October 8, 2007Dygart, Thomas J. PB
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews