Sole Influence: Basketball, Corporate Greed, and the Corruption of America's Youth

Buy this book. Love it.A great look at how the big corporate money of the shoe industry has tainted high school level and college basketball, not to mention all of those who are involved in it. A surprising aspect of the book is the names of villians who you would not believe; Billy Packer, Dickie V, George Raveling, and Roy Williams are a few who are found "guilty" of killing the game that I love.This book will expose you to the negative underworkings of the great game of college basketball.

I knew that high school and in some cases elementary school athletes in sports like basketball and football that are extremely gifted can get free perks, but I didn't think it would go as far as it did. The fact is there is a lot of fingerpointing at the athletes, but very little at the others involved in the game. Let's face it, no one would care about these sports if there wasn't a relatively high standard of quality players available. Everyone involved in the game makes money off the players, from the coaches,universities,athletic apparel companies,broadcasters, etcetera, you name it. It's about time that college athletes and high school athletes receive fair market value for the money they generate. The point is many schools would be probably be in a lot worse financial shape if it weren't for basketball and football. Yes, it exposes the greed behind the players, but it's human nature at work. I don't agree with the tactics employed by the agents and companies involved to get players, but I do understand the motivation for doing so. If they don't get these players, some other competing agent or company likely will get their services. It's no different than when univerisities engage in recruiting practices, and some of these universities can get put on probation for recruiting violations. All in all, this was a realistic look at what goes on in youth basketball. I enjoyed it, and would recommend it to anyone who wants to explore the dark side of amateur basketball. An excellent companion book to this would be the book Money Players, which looks at things from the NBA perspective.

Anyone who has been around amateur basketball can appreciate the intense look Sole Influence takes at the seedy side of shoe companies. As the book explains, the chase for the almighty dollar has escalated into a procurement war for the top high school and even grade school prospects. Some of the tactics of companies like Nike, Adidas and And 1 may turn your stomach, but the book is a must read.

As a pretty dedicated fan of college basketball, I had heard coaches rail on about summer recruiting, AAU middle men and shoe companies. Now I know why. I encourage anyone who cares about the game to read this. It details not only how things have gotten corrupt, but why. Instead of using broad strokes to declare summer recruiting as a bad development, Sole Influence shows why in detail. Myron Piggie stuff alone is worth the read. The solutions are complex, but given the amount athletic directors and college coaches are working on it, something is inevitable. After reading this, fans will know why the sooner the better. The best basketball book I've read in years. Authors make a complicated story very readable and easy to follow.

I have to say that Mr Wetzel has done it again! It is refreshing to know that someone else cares about todays youths and how they are being exploited. It is not only what he has to say but how eloquently he says it. If we only had more men in this world like Mr. Wetzel. I for one, after reading this book, will no longer wear sneakers. Please, I urge you all, in support of Mr. Wetzel, let's march to Nike headquarters, barefooted, and demand that action be taken to stop these underhanded actions of the sneaker world. I mean it just stinks (no pun intended, you know, smelly sneakers). Thank you Dan!