{"product_id":"outside-shot-9781250042798","title":"Outside Shot","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"A reporting tour de force and an utterly gripping account... \u003ci\u003eOutside Shot\u003c\/i\u003e unmistakably triumphs, with the reader rooting hard for the Cardinals--and delighted that O'Brien has brought his considerable skills to telling their story.\" --Wayne Coffey, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Cardinals of Scott County High School were beloved once---and with good reason. For years, the boys and their legendary coach gave fans in central Kentucky, deep in the heart of basketball country, just what they wanted: state titles, national rankings, and countless trips to Kentucky's one-of-a-kind state tournament, where winning and losing can change a young man's life. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut in 2009, with the economy sputtering, anger rising, and Scott County mired in a two-year drought, fans had begun to lose faith in the boys. They weren't the heroes of Scott County anymore; they were \"mini-athlete gods,\" haunted by dreams, burdened by expectations, and desperate to escape through the only means they knew: basketball. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eOutside Shot\u003c\/i\u003e, Keith O'Brien takes us on an epic journey, from the bluegrass hills and broken homes of rural America, to inner-city Lexington, to Kentucky's most hallowed hall: Rupp Arena, where high school tournament games are known to draw twenty-thousand people, and where, for the players and their fans, it feels like anything is possible. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe narrative follows four of the team's top seniors and their coach as they struggle to redeem themselves in the face of impossible odds: once-loyal fans now turned against them, parents who demand athletic greatness, and scouts who weigh their every move. It delves deep inside the lives of the boys, their families, and their community---divided along lines of race, politics, religion, and sports. And it chronicles not only the high-stakes world of Kentucky basketball, but the battle for the soul of small-town America. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA story of inspiration and poignancy, filled with moments of drama on and off the court, \u003ci\u003eOutside Shot\u003c\/i\u003e shows that if it's hard to win basketball games, it can be even harder to win at life itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Griffin\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/04\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781250042798\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.75lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 6.10w x 0.90d","brand":"Keith O'Brien","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42077513285813,"sku":"9781250042798","price":20.39,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_dc62300f-349b-4955-984b-2bcc1e3b670e.jpg?v=1650956715","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/outside-shot-9781250042798","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}