New Mormon Books

Lance Allred is a bit of a sentimental favorite around these parts. Not only did he get his first break in the NBA with the Cavaliers two seasons ago, but he’s written a fantastic autobiography covering his youth growing up in a fundamental polygamous Mormon compound, to his deafness, to his struggles at Utah under Rick Majerus, to overcoming everything that had been placed in front of him and realizing his dream of making the NBA.

Keeping Up With Lance Allred.
By Vince Grzegorek.
Cleveland Scene, Jul 7, 2009.
http://www.clevescene.com/64-and-counting/archives/2009/07/07/keeping-up-with-lance-allred

His 6′11″ frame aside, Lance Allred is just about the least likely candidate for the NBA you could imagine. He’s deaf. He grew up on a polygamous Mormon commune. He has obsessive compulsive disorder. He was belittled by his mentor and first college coach Rick Majerus. But despite these limitations and personal struggles, in 2008, Allred signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Lance Allred - a true longshot
By Dana Greene
Salt Lake City UT ABC TV 4, June 5, 2009
http://www.abc4.com/sports/story/Lance-Allred-a-true-longshot/pUeuO9Gv3EiwhOIik84AVg.cspx?rss=24

In the book, Allred recounts his complicated life. He’s the grandson of murdered polygamist leader Rulon Allred, was born into a polygamist community in Montana. While learning to play at basketball’s highest level, Allred had to overcome a 75 percent hearing loss and obsessive compulsive disorder. He took speech therapy classes for 15 years and was the first player to publicly talk about legendary Utah coach Rick Majerus’ abuse of players.

Books: Allred’s long, strange journey to the NBA. Utahn’s stardom was preceded by life in a polygamist community.
By Tom Wharton.
The Salt Lake Tribune, 05/30/2009
http://www.sltrib.com/food/ci_12470989

Once when he was a student at the University of Utah, Lance Allred received an incomplete for his grade in a Middle East history class. It didn’t make sense to the academic all-conference basketball player with a 3.8 GPA, who had submitted a well-researched 10-page final paper. Apparently the paper was so well-written that the professor assumed the paper had been plagiarized because Allred was an athlete.

Utah Utes basketball: Lance Allred chronicles his amazing life in new book
By Mike Sorensen
Deseret News, May 31, 2009.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705307607/Utah-Utes-basketball-Lance-Allred-chronicles-his-amazing-life-in-new-book.html?linkTrack=rss-32

Allred’s story is pretty amazing. The title alone makes me think it’ll be a great read. It details the obstacles Allred faced on his way to the NBA where he became the first legally deaf player in league history last season.

The Adventures of a Deaf Fundamentalist Mormon Kid and His Journey to the NBA.
By Matt Hubert
Blog Talk BayHawk, May 26, 2009
http://eriebayhawks.blogspot.com/2009/05/adventures-of-deaf-fundamentalist.html

Lance Allred was active for 17 games with the Cavs during the 2007-2008 season. He actually appeared in only three of those games, logging a total of 10:05 played while going 1-4 from the floor, 1-2 at the free throw line, and grabbing one rebound. So you can be forgiven for not knowing who he is. A 10-day contract-type player doesn’t merit the fans’ attention, especially when the team is pushing towards the playoffs behind LeBron James.

But there was much more to Allred coffeebreak-length pro career.

STRANGER THAN FICTION
One-time Cav Lance Allred’s new book is no ordinary athlete autobio
by Vince Grzegorek
Cleveland Scene, May 27, 2009.
http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/stranger-than-fiction/Content?oid=1574245

Allred started writing his memoirs while playing overseas, but never intended to pursue getting it published as a book. However, when he became the first hearing-impaired player to reach the NBA, his story became of interest to many people, including publisher HarperCollins.

Lance Allred’s book Longshot available in stores today
Our Sports Central, May 26, 2009
http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3829815

In all honestly, this book is great. Up front, and for full disclosure, I received Longshot for free after begging to get an advance copy, but I would not have been afraid to demolish it like a salad bar post-Nate Jawai, had it deserved it. Fortunately, I loved it.

Lance Allred’s Longshot - A Book Report/Review
By Scott Schroeder
Ridiculous Upside, May 26, 2009.
http://www.ridiculousupside.com/2009/5/26/886784/lance-allreds-longshot-a-book

Life has dealt Allred his fair share of blows, but he has taken his shots and not only remained on his feet, he has counterpunched his way to a successful life and basketball career that culminated with a call-up to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2008.

Q&A: Former Stampede center Lance Allred has an amazing story to tell
BY CHRIS LANGRILL
Boise ID Statesman, 05/26/09
http://www.idahostatesman.com/sports/story/781703.html