Book Review: Play Their Hearts Out
As the book’s subtitle says, Play Their Hearts Out: A Coach, His Star Recruit, and the Youth Basketball Machine sheds a necessary light on the machine of grassroots basketball that extends from the youth levels into high school, college, and even the NBA. The story’s main players here are a coach, Joe Keller, and his player, Demetrius Walker. Author George Dohrmann follows them on their quests for two very different American dreams. Keller’s dream is simple: he wants to be a millionaire, and his dream can be achieved by convincing the ten-year-old Demetrius that he will help the boy achieve his own dream of reaching the NBA. There are other players involved, including a number of athletes, parents, and Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) coaches, and the major shoe companies—Adidas, Nike, and Reebok—always loom large in the background.
After meeting in 2000, Keller agrees to let Dohrmann follow him because, as Keller says, “Having a guy from Sports Illustrated affiliated with my program will help with recruiting.” From the outset, Keller knows Demetrius’s talent is the golden ticket he’s been looking for. Throughout the book, Keller uses Demetrius to pop on to the AAU radar and, consequently, nab a boatload of money from Adidas before disappearing from Demetrius’s life.
Dohrmann follows Demetrius through high school and into college. This makes Demetrius the lens through which we view the corruption of the grassroots basketball world. We see teammates, parents, and coaches move in and out of his life during his formative years, and each time, the aftermath is heartbreaking. Through his reporting, Dorhmann can see all the forces working for and against Demetrius, even when Demetrius is blind to them. The true beauty of the book is how Dohrmann exposes the way the grassroots system influences every level of basketball without overshadowing Demetrius’s personal journey. Each chapter opens with a photo—some provided by players’ parents—that, along with the narrative Dorhmann creates, leaves readers with the feeling of growing up alongside Demetrius.
Unofficial Video Companion: There’s a neat, 21st century feel to this book as well. Basketball fans will love looking up PTHO’s athletes on YouTube to watch their highlight reels. Dohrmann’s basketball scenes are already lively, but the videos bring to life the nuances in each player’s style and movement. Of course, many of those highlights are provided by the same hype machine Dorhmann writes about in the book, making them another reminder of how players are built up from such an early age.
Further Viewing: PBS’s Frontline documentary series will be airing “Money and March Madness” on March 29, featuring Sonny Vaccaro. Vaccaro, who appears in PTHO numerous times, has worked for all three major shoe companies and helped create the grassroots moneymaking system.
Further Reading: Dohrmann agreed not to publish his book until all the kids reached college. Now that they have, Dorhmann continues to have contact with most of PTHO’s players. He posts updates on his personal blog.
