BOOK REVIEW: A BALL WITH NO POINTS
A BALL WITH NO POINTS: The Story of a Boyhood Dream, Players Who Dared to Win, and a Coach Who Showed Them How
Stephen D. Reddy
For today’s high school athlete, the world of sports is much, much different than it was back in the early 1970’s.
I know, because like Stephen Reddy, I grew up during those seemingly innocent days. Just to set the scene: back then, the biggest accomplishment you could achieve in high school sports was to make your school’s varsity team. There were no outside travel or club teams. There were no recruiting showcases.
Indeed, I can vividly recall that magical moment when I earned my very first varsity team letter, and was thus given the opportunity to wear a varsity jacket. That was something most special. And if you were lucky enough to be on a talented varsity team, you always started the season with high hopes that this year, we would go all the way and win the league championship, or even better, the state championship!
Along those lines, Stephen Reddy was a talented and dedicated basketball player in the town of Westfield, NJ, which traditionally had been known for producing terrific high school football teams. But Reddy was most fortunate to have been part of a team that had other talented and dedicated basketball players as well. In his wonderful memoir, Reddy details how the 1971-1972 boys’ basketball team persevered to win the New Jersey state championship. The book is a tribute to that team, and to their superb coach, Neil Horne. And of course, 2022 is the 50th anniversary of that remarkable team.
In a way, Reddy’s book is a bit of a time capsule. He describes how he spent a good portion of his youth playing hoops at Gumbert Park, the local mecca for all aspiring basketball players, how he did his best to try and strengthen his thin adolescent frame with muscle-building exercises, how he and his teammates did their best to please the tough but fair Coach Horne. Reddy even writes about going down to the corner store each week to get a copy of the local newspaper to read where Westfield ranked in the state basketball ranking polls.
This personal and well-written snapshot of an era that is long gone might sound foreign to youngsters today, who have grown up with cellphones and the internet. But the Westfield HS basketball team was unique unto itself. These were kids who were truly students of the game (they were in school when the NY Knicks were winning their only two NBA championships, and the Knicks prided themselves on the art of passing). As such, the Westfield kids not only knew about the value of teamwork -- they fully embraced it. And that lesson comes across strong and clear in the book.
One newspaper which covered the team wrote: “Westfield’s faceless five….no big man, no great shooters and no legitimate star…are noteworthy only because they keep on winning.” That’s good solid praise, but in truth, it’s a little unfair. There were some outstanding players on that team; Reddy himself being one of them. He even went onto play college ball at Bucknell.
In the later chapters, Reddy writes about his love and passion for basketball even after his college playing days are over, and how much joy he got from playing the game into his adult years. It’s only when Father Time caught up to him that he had to reluctantly stop playing. But he also writes about the fun he had teaching his daughter Jackie how to play the game, and what a thrill it was to watch her star in her own high school career.
But make no mistake. Stephen Reddy knew how to be the right kind of sports parent. He was hardly pushy or obnoxious. He just wanted to introduce Jackie to the game he loved in the hope that she might enjoy it as well.
Bottom line? This is a book that all pure basketball fans will love. Let’s face it - we all want to win that elusive high school state championship, but this book shows how one rare and extraordinary team actually did it – and they did it the right way.
You can purchase a copy of A BALL WITH NO POINTS on Amazon.