Paddy on the Hardwood: A Journey in Irish Hoops

Nonfiction, Sports, Basketball
Cover of the book Paddy on the Hardwood: A Journey in Irish Hoops by Rus Bradburd, University of New Mexico Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Rus Bradburd ISBN: 9780826340283
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press Publication: August 15, 2006
Imprint: University of New Mexico Press Language: English
Author: Rus Bradburd
ISBN: 9780826340283
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
Publication: August 15, 2006
Imprint: University of New Mexico Press
Language: English

Why would a successful college basketball coach walk away from a lucrative job in America's most glamorous sport? The burned out Rus Bradburd, enamored with Ireland and its music, took a job coaching in the lowly Irish Super League, but was unprepared for what he found. Perplexed by the small town Tralee's Frosties Tigers--a cast of misfits and underachievers more concerned with their day jobs, Gaelic Football, and Guinness--he turned to traditional Irish music for wisdom and solace.

Paddy on the Hardwood is partly Rus Bradburd's story of his struggle to transform Tralee's Tigers. But it is also the tale of a man making peace with his own life and career.


"No reader will come away from this irresistible, honest, and deeply human account without a profound appreciation for Ireland and the beguiling power of its people and culture. Paddy on the Hardwood is a basketball book, to be sure, but also one about questing and, ultimately, finding. And it's all the richer for how it engages things that seem distant from sports, but in the end aren't so unrelated at all."--Alexander Wolff, Sports Illustrated senior writer and author of Big Game, Small World: A Basketball Adventure


"Paddy on the Hardwood is hilarious, heartbreaking, and touching--I couldn't put it down. I'm an avid reader, and it's the best sports book I've read in a long while."--Jerry West

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Why would a successful college basketball coach walk away from a lucrative job in America's most glamorous sport? The burned out Rus Bradburd, enamored with Ireland and its music, took a job coaching in the lowly Irish Super League, but was unprepared for what he found. Perplexed by the small town Tralee's Frosties Tigers--a cast of misfits and underachievers more concerned with their day jobs, Gaelic Football, and Guinness--he turned to traditional Irish music for wisdom and solace.

Paddy on the Hardwood is partly Rus Bradburd's story of his struggle to transform Tralee's Tigers. But it is also the tale of a man making peace with his own life and career.


"No reader will come away from this irresistible, honest, and deeply human account without a profound appreciation for Ireland and the beguiling power of its people and culture. Paddy on the Hardwood is a basketball book, to be sure, but also one about questing and, ultimately, finding. And it's all the richer for how it engages things that seem distant from sports, but in the end aren't so unrelated at all."--Alexander Wolff, Sports Illustrated senior writer and author of Big Game, Small World: A Basketball Adventure


"Paddy on the Hardwood is hilarious, heartbreaking, and touching--I couldn't put it down. I'm an avid reader, and it's the best sports book I've read in a long while."--Jerry West

More books from University of New Mexico Press

Cover of the book The Weighty Word Book by Rus Bradburd
Cover of the book Wings for My Flight by Rus Bradburd
Cover of the book American Military Shoulder Arms, Volume II: From the 1790s to the End of the Flintlock Period by Rus Bradburd
Cover of the book The Canyon by Rus Bradburd
Cover of the book An Archaeology of Architecture by Rus Bradburd
Cover of the book Claims and Speculations: Mining and Writing in the Gilded Age by Rus Bradburd
Cover of the book Everyday Life and Politics in Nineteenth Century Mexico by Rus Bradburd
Cover of the book African American History in New Mexico by Rus Bradburd
Cover of the book Secrets of the Tsil Café: A Novel with Recipes by Rus Bradburd
Cover of the book From Western Deserts to Carolina Swamps: A Civil War Soldier's Journals and Letters Home by Rus Bradburd
Cover of the book Bruja: The Legend of La Llorona by Rus Bradburd
Cover of the book The Pioneers by Rus Bradburd
Cover of the book Buffalo Cactus and Other New Stories from the Southwest by Rus Bradburd
Cover of the book Weighty Words, Too by Rus Bradburd
Cover of the book The Science of Soccer by Rus Bradburd
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy