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intangible: the story behind Virginia's bigger-than-basketball program
Think somewhere between a sneeze and a seed.
The form, emotion, and pace feel like a impulsive, frenetic, comforting, and starts and stops on dimes. The seed is the content solely derived from twenty-six first-person accounts of Virginia Men’s Basketball from 2009, when head coach Tony Bennett and his staff arrived in Charlottesville, until 2019, when the program won its first National Championship, and after it became the first #1 seed to lose to a #16 seed in the NCAA Tournament the year prior.
Back in his coaching days, Dick Bennett, Tony’s father, created a value system known as the Five Pillars (Humility, Passion, Unity, Servanthood, and Thankfulness). Tony continued the tradition at Virginia and gradually transformed the culture of the cellar-dwelling program he inherited into an elite, sustainable family that develops men of character, patience, potential, and tenacity to unlock that potential in basketball and beyond.
I spent a year-plus gathering video interviews averaging 45 minutes, and the initial transcriptions spanned over 225,000 words. I took myself out, culled for quality, humor, adversity, and wisdom, and edited the remnants for clarity while keeping them raw enough to mimic natural conversation. From there, I broke them into paragraphs and lines arranged in sections, themes, and years, and proceeded to stitch them together to form a collective memoir organized into an oral history of a decade.
The resulting 90,000 words let the players, coaches, staff members, and student managers tell their own tale. After the National Championship Game in 2019, journalists from all over the country hammered the two-year turnaround from the biggest upset in college basketball history in 2018, but that comeback story doesn’t happen without the previous eight seasons’ teams building upon one another and providing the platform for the National Championship to occur.
So, I made intangible .
The form, emotion, and pace feel like a impulsive, frenetic, comforting, and starts and stops on dimes. The seed is the content solely derived from twenty-six first-person accounts of Virginia Men’s Basketball from 2009, when head coach Tony Bennett and his staff arrived in Charlottesville, until 2019, when the program won its first National Championship, and after it became the first #1 seed to lose to a #16 seed in the NCAA Tournament the year prior.
Back in his coaching days, Dick Bennett, Tony’s father, created a value system known as the Five Pillars (Humility, Passion, Unity, Servanthood, and Thankfulness). Tony continued the tradition at Virginia and gradually transformed the culture of the cellar-dwelling program he inherited into an elite, sustainable family that develops men of character, patience, potential, and tenacity to unlock that potential in basketball and beyond.
I spent a year-plus gathering video interviews averaging 45 minutes, and the initial transcriptions spanned over 225,000 words. I took myself out, culled for quality, humor, adversity, and wisdom, and edited the remnants for clarity while keeping them raw enough to mimic natural conversation. From there, I broke them into paragraphs and lines arranged in sections, themes, and years, and proceeded to stitch them together to form a collective memoir organized into an oral history of a decade.
The resulting 90,000 words let the players, coaches, staff members, and student managers tell their own tale. After the National Championship Game in 2019, journalists from all over the country hammered the two-year turnaround from the biggest upset in college basketball history in 2018, but that comeback story doesn’t happen without the previous eight seasons’ teams building upon one another and providing the platform for the National Championship to occur.
So, I made intangible .
297 pages, Paperback
Published September 27, 2021
14 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 18, 2023
This is not your typical sports book. Intangible is not about a particular player or team; but rather how a culture was changed and rebuilt by Virginia basketball coach Tony Bennett.
The book is about a decade of highs and lows, with stories about relationships, faith, trust, and much, much more. The stories are told over the span of a decade by players, assistant coaches, managers, and others associated with the program.
While the book is a fantastic read, it could have been even more enhanced if Coach Tony Bennett and Malcolm Brogdon could have told their share of stories from this timeframe. Both individuals were key components to the story, yet they are referenced from others (which is a shame).
If you’re a coach of any sport at any level, or a business leader who is looking to change a culture and get everyone on the same page, there is something in here for you. If you’re just into basketball, then you’ll find this type of storytelling refreshing. It’s honest, open, and leaves you feeling good about how young man can be challenged to achieve even MORE than basketball, when you have someone like Coach Bennett leading the way. This was a great read!
The book is about a decade of highs and lows, with stories about relationships, faith, trust, and much, much more. The stories are told over the span of a decade by players, assistant coaches, managers, and others associated with the program.
While the book is a fantastic read, it could have been even more enhanced if Coach Tony Bennett and Malcolm Brogdon could have told their share of stories from this timeframe. Both individuals were key components to the story, yet they are referenced from others (which is a shame).
If you’re a coach of any sport at any level, or a business leader who is looking to change a culture and get everyone on the same page, there is something in here for you. If you’re just into basketball, then you’ll find this type of storytelling refreshing. It’s honest, open, and leaves you feeling good about how young man can be challenged to achieve even MORE than basketball, when you have someone like Coach Bennett leading the way. This was a great read!
October 25, 2021
In the team’s own words
A very well-organized, well-interviewed collection the exact words of players, coaches, members of Tony Bennett’s program, from his start to the Natty. Inspirational in a way that few books like these could be.
A very well-organized, well-interviewed collection the exact words of players, coaches, members of Tony Bennett’s program, from his start to the Natty. Inspirational in a way that few books like these could be.
November 11, 2021
A must read for serious fans of the program
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews