A Season Is a Lifetime: The Inside Story of the Duke Blue Devils and Their Championship Seasons

by Bill Brill, Mike Krzyzewski

A past president of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, with the full cooperation of Duke's basketball coach, chronicles the Blue Devils' 1992 championship season and extols an outstanding, scandal-free sports program. 30,000 first printing. Tour.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction

270 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

William "Bill" Brill was an American sportswriter and author. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and spent his youth in Middlesex County, Virginia. Brill attended Duke University before began his sports writing career with the Covington Virginian in 1952. Brill joined The Roanoke Times in 1956 and was named sports editor in 1960, before retiring in 1991.

Brill had something of a "love-hate" relationship with his readers, who generally recognized him as a talented writer and reporter, but often felt he favored universities in North Carolina over Virginia Tech and Virginia. The Roanoke Times promoted its college football prediction contest as an opportunity to "beat Brill."

When Virginia Tech was invited to join the ACC in 2004, the now retired Brill predicted that the Hokies would not win an ACC championship during his lifetime. However, Virginia Tech's football team won the ACC championship in their first season in the conference, prompting calls and letters to Brill from Virginia Tech fans.

Brill wrote a sports column for the Durham Herald-Sun from August 1992 through April 1994. He served as President of the Atlantic Coast Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association (ACSWA) from 1982 to 1984, named the Virginia Sportswriter of the Year in 1991, and President of the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters from 1993 to 1995. Brill was the 1995 recipient of the Jake Wade Award for lifetime contributions to college athletics from College Sports Information Directors. Brill has covered a total of 35 Final Fours, more than any other sports writer.

The USBWA president in 1980-81, Brill began his career with the Roanoke Times and World News in 1956 and served as the paper's executive sports editor and columnist through 1991. Following retirement, Brill settled in Durham, North Carolina, remaining a regular contributor to several publications until his death, at age 79, due to esophageal cancer, on Sunday, April 10, 2011. Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyewski visited him at Duke Med the morning of April 10.

Reviews

[nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great read for a Duke basketball fan. The pace of storytelling was well-timed without feeling dragged out despite the detail that went into describing a lot of the behind the scene moments from snippets of conversations between players to the plays drawn out by the coaching staff at games. The focus was heavily trained on moments in-game or around basketball. Finished the book wishing there were more stories about players and their lives and interactions with Coach K off the court/outside of basketball, but overall got a great glimpse of the 1991 and 1992 Duke teams, their motivation, and how Coach K navigated his back-to-back championship seasons.

[Paula Stern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book regarding Duke’s back to back basketball championships in the 1990’s. There are insights into the games that one would never get without this book.

[Daniel Ozel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coach K all I gotta say

[Kayahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far this book has been very personal and inclusive about the Blue Devils. Coach K talks all about his basketball team winning the 1992 National Championship. He jumps into great detail about what it means to be a duke player and what it takes to have a championship season. Coach K also talks about how each person is very unique and has their own individual characteristics. He describes what it means to be a family and how they act off and on the court. This book describes how coach K motivates his players to be the best they can and challenge them. Coach K also talks about how his player bond and do everything as a big family. They eat breakfast together, go to class together, and graduate together. This book also gets into great detail about what each player thought and did during their years at Duke. Also this book shows the best players who played in the NBA like Grant Hill. Not only does it talk about the team it talks about what it takes to be apart of such a great program. Besides talking only about Duke and their sport teams, Coach K talks all about other colleges and college sports. This is a great book that i recommend for any reader that loves to read about Duke Basketball and the inside scoop. This book is very detailed and has many pictures of Duke players and coach K. I loved this book and its a easy read.

[Hayden Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the Duke Blue Devils, Coach Mike Krzyzewski, and their back to back championship seasons. This book covers everything from Dukes heart-breaking loss to North Carolina in the Final Four, to the team meetings in the locker room, to post-game interviews, and the Duke Blue Devils winning the NCAA Championship back-to-back seasons. This book has two main points of view. One being the narrator, the other being Coach Krzyzewski. Up until the 1991 championship season, Coach Krzyzewski hadn’t made it out of the Final Four, and he breaks the streak by winning 2 National Championships in a row. I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars overall. I think that this was a very good book that didn’t have any dull moments. I think that the author did a great job using literary devices and he also did a good job mixing up the mood and setting. One page he will be talking about the practice and the next page he is giving an in-game analysis. I was very satisfied with this book and I enjoyed it a lot.