Rise and Fire: The Origins, Science, and Evolution of the Jump Shot

Journalist Fury (Keeping the Faith) traces the growth of the jump shot and its various deployers, including Denise Long, the first woman drafted by the NBA, and Hall of Fame–center Bob McAdoo, one of the first big men to make the jump shot part of his offensive repertoire. In the mid-1950s, the jump shot was deemed an illicit (and unfair) action that diminished basketball’s ethos of teamwork. “What’s ruining basketball is the jump shot,” Jimmy Breslin proclaimed in 1956. Now it’s an established, integral part of basketball. Fury’s enthusiasm for the topic and his love of uncovering the obscure—the NBA experimenting with a 12-ft.-high rim in 1954, for example—give the book a fun jolt, but eventually become burdensome. Fury is so consumed with covering every source and piece of information with equal brio—Larry Bird, long-forgotten college gunners from the 1970s, rebellious jump-shooting instructors—that readers don’t know what to pay attention to. Those who resign themselves to Fury’s rudderless ways will savor the times when he connects. Agent: Louise Fury, Bent Agency. [em](Feb.) [/em]