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Rating: 
Summary: Good story, could have been a great book with better writing
Review: I found this to be an interesting story and a pretty good book. I thought the descriptions of the coaches' recruiting antics were very enlightening and well written. Being able to use some of the real names, particularly very well known ones such as Stephon Marbury and Jim Boeheim, added a lot to the credibility of the book.Where I found this work to be lacking was in the descriptive writing. Really good writers construct word pictures that are vivid and allow the reader to better experience the story being told. I didn't find the writing quality in this book that would have made me rate it a 5 star effort. This author's style seemed to me to be more like a newspaper reporter's - limited to a fixed amount of space and more focused on the basics than the aesthetics. Outstanding books also need to deliver the aesthetics in the form of well painted word pictures. I wish this book had been stronger in that area.
Rating:
Summary: Good story, could have been a great book with better writing
Review: I found this to be an interesting story and a pretty good book. I thought the descriptions of the coaches' recruiting antics were very enlightening and well written. Being able to use some of the real names, particularly very well known ones such as Stephon Marbury and Jim Boeheim, added a lot to the credibility of the book. Where I found this work to be lacking was in the descriptive writing. Really good writers construct word pictures that are vivid and allow the reader to better experience the story being told. I didn't find the writing quality in this book that would have made me rate it a 5 star effort. This author's style seemed to me to be more like a newspaper reporter's - limited to a fixed amount of space and more focused on the basics than the aesthetics. Outstanding books also need to deliver the aesthetics in the form of well painted word pictures. I wish this book had been stronger in that area.
Rating: 
Summary: One of a kind
Review: I have read, and re-read this book countless times and handed copies of it to friends. Instead of falsely glorifying the the path to stardom, Frey pointed out the walls that the average inner-city kid would come across with. Though compared to Hoop Dreams, another basketball classic, The Last Shot is truly one of a kind in the sense that Frey held nothing back and didn't measure sucess by how tournaments that the players won, but by what type of person they became. Frey was nice enough to reply both the emails that I sent him and filled me in on how Tchaka, Corey, Russell were doing. We all know where Marbury is already.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible Book!!!
Review: Not only a great book about NYC basketball, but a better one about inner-city life, eclipsed only by R. Telander's "Heaven is a Playground". Having spent most of 2 Summers in Brooklyn playing b-ball in '80 and'81, I'm still amazed that the hopes and dreams of these young men aren't shattered by the long odds of getting out. The educational system is a shambles and they are constantly reminded that basketball talent will take them only so far, but when this is all you've got to look forward to, reality takes on a different vision...I've seen first hand the life that Mr. Frey depicts and can tell you that this is as realistic as it gets. Very highly recommended reading!
Rating:
Summary: Adam's Last Shot
Review: The narrator, a school newespaper writer follows a few great players from the Coney Island projects, one from just outside there. All trying to make it to a top notch college on a basketball scholarship. "The Last Shot" by Darcy Frey is a fantastic story of a few young African American men who just want to get out of there and never to return. As a group they do very well together. Stephon Marbury comes into the High School as a freshman when the other three are seniors. With Stephon at the point, they tear through opponents. As a foursome at Abraham Lincoln High School they suceed to great heights, and move on to college.
Rating:
Summary: A top-notch story of NYC prep-school basketball
Review: The writer follows several players, including a budding high school freshman named Stephon Marbury through a year of heights and falls in the Coney Island Project. This book takes a good hard look at big college recruiting, the myriad of camps and summer leagues for players, and the pressure that the world is putting on even our youngest athletes. Never far from the surface is the brutal poverty and crime of the New York projects. The writing is vivid in describing people and places. The dialouge is real and intense. I found myself unable to put the book down at times because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. Includes an epilouge to tell you what happened in the years after high school to the boys that the book follows. A great book. Well-written and thought-provoking
Rating:
Summary: Great Book, very interesting read!
Review: This book, depicting the lives of four aspiring young basketball players, is both intersting and educational. If you are an all star, or don't play basketball at all, you'll really like this book. This book is so incredible because, although it describes basketball playing thoroughly, it also describes a city life few people know of. Darcey pulls you into an interesting ride as Tchaka goes through the college recruiting process, Russell struggles with his SATS and jump shot (off the dribble), Corey aimlessly wastes his obvious intelligence, natural basketball skill and talent in rapping, and as Stephon wows everyone with his superiour skill in basketball. Where Tchaka is serious about basketball, Russell is serious about college and education, Corey is hardly serious about anything and Stephon is still finding out what he's serious about. Tchaka has charm, he's tall, thin, plays power forward, and does well enough on his SATS to get into college. Russell is dedicated, he studies nightly, practices daily, and even shoots from a lawn chair in the local park. Corey is without purpose, he's an awesome basketball player, he could easily get good grades, should he apply himself, and he rights poetry fantasticly. Stephon has an attitude, he's seen his talented brothers not go to college, and waste their talent, so he practices and studies, but he knows he's great. This is a fantastic book, and an educational read on many levels.
Rating:
Summary: not just for die-hards
Review: This is a great book, and not just for basketball fans. I listened to the audio book during a multi-stop meandering road trip and barely wanted to leave the car.
Rating:
Summary: Just a Great book
Review: This is one of the best books I've ever read. It's not just another stupid basketball book -- it's really an in-depth look into the lives of 4 inner city kids trying to reach success by way of a basketball scholarship. The author follows their high school team around for about 9 months, and chronicles his experiences and conversations with each kid (one of whom is future NBA star Stephon Marbury). This book will fascinate you with true stories and inside looks at the often-crooked nature of amateur sports, but what I found most compelling was the way their own education system and support structure often failed them.
Rating:
Summary: Escaping a corrupted society
Review: This was an excellent novel that truly displays the true struggle of young men playing basketball as a means to escape their corrupted society. The author does a great job in using four young men as examples to display the hardships of growing up in the inner-city projects of Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York. It brings about current issues raised today in society and brings about awarness to the reader. I strongly recommend this book to everyone because it is important to realize the struggles of not only ourselves but of others living in other communities. Being aware of the struggles out there will help motivate us to succeed, to break down many barriers set upon us and to create change in our society.
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