Title: Basketball Is in My Blood: A Basketball Addict’s Autobiography
Author: Martin Groveman
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 9781543470048
Pages: 270
Genre: Autobiography
Reviewed by: Dan MacIntosh
Pacific Book Review
Martin Groveman is only half-joking when he refers to himself as a basketball addict in the title Basketball Is in My Blood: A Basketball Addict’s Autobiography. Every time he changes jobs or schools, for example, he must also seek out the best basketball courts and most challenging regular games. He would also often travel with a pair of sneakers in his car – just in case – the way an addict might keep a spoon and syringe handy. There are other sections in his book where the addiction analogy fits. For instance, whenever he’s had to go long stretches without playing the game he so loves, it’s as if he’s going through withdrawal symptoms. When his first son was born, though, his wife scolds Groveman for being away so much playing basketball.
Although Groveman never played professional hoops, he nevertheless competed with many who would become pros, including many NBA all-stars. It’s fun for the reader to get a little insight about some of the best college and NBA players before they hit the big time. Groveman’s story is set in and around New York City, so many of the players he encounters are products of New York.
You get the impression Groveman’s is a heck of a nice guy because he not only meets and competes against other talented basketball players, but he also befriends many of them. He may be hyper basketball focused, but he also writes at length about the character qualities he sees in many of these players. He spends as much time telling readers about many of these athletes’ lives after basketball, as he does describing their on-court careers.
Perhaps Groveman’s interest in these players as people come from his college study of psychology, as well as his career in the New York educational system. He has a keen interest in knowing what makes people tick, as well as having a desire to see them succeed in life. Groveman also writes about his own basketball skills, but never comes off as a braggart. Instead, he is honest about his skills, just as much as he’s truthful about his shortcomings. It’s funny, but at one point he writes about a friend who introduces him to tennis. He learns to love playing the game. However, basketball will forever be his sporting drug of choice, if you will.
Although Groveman gives plenty of examples supporting his basketball addiction, he doesn’t spend nearly that amount of time attempting to prove how basketball is in his blood. For instance, he doesn’t show us how or why a love for basketball may be an inherited trait.
The first basketball ‘drug pusher’ was a man named Aaron “Venty” Lieb. He was a successful high school basketball coach that came to his elementary school where he diverted many boys away from softball, stickball and other popular games at school, by teaching them basketball. “Venty made it clear from the start that although not every boy at PS 233 would make the basketball team,” Groveman writes, “all who were interested would develop the basic skills and learn how to play.” To this day, Groveman – who is now a senior citizen – remembers Venty’s unique way of describing this beloved game. “In whispered tones, he stated that the ball was like an egg that must be shot softly lest the egg would break (and the shot missed).” These are not the simplistic words of one giving a Basketball 101 lesson. These are the words of one sharing his deep love for basketball with his new disciples.
Groveman was most certainly a young disciple at the time. The book tells stories of how Groveman was later able to play it forward and share his love for basketball with others. Proof of how well this book is written is that it will make you want to watch more basketball. Or if you’re so inclined, go out and shoot a few hoops. A lot of today’s athletes will benefit by reading this man’s life story.
