Four Corners: How UNC, N.C. State, Duke, and Wake Forest Made North Carolina the Center of the Basketball Universe | 
 enlarge | Author: Joe Menzer
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Category: Book
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Avg. Customer Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 885457
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 326
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 0.8
ISBN: 0803283008
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.3236309756
EAN: 9780803283008
ASIN: 0803283008
Publication Date: October 1, 2004
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
If you want to major in Carolina basketball, this is certainly the primary text. Breezily written, well researched, and rich with anecdotes, Four Corners solidly surveys a remarkable sporting phenomenon: the concentrated quartet of hoop dreamers--UNC, NC State, Duke, and Wake Forest--that dominates the ACC, and, for that matter, the NCAA tournament. Menzer, a sportswriter for the Winston-Salem Journal, tips off in the pre-ACC era of Coach Everett Case at State, and then looks at the teams and programs molded over time by such outsized presences as Frank McGuire, Dean Smith, Jim Valvano, Bones McKinney, and Mike Krzyzewski. "People can talk all they want about the Big Ten," says Duke's charismatic Coach K. "About Michigan and Ohio State and Indiana and Kentucky or whatever, but there's no way that compares. They're in different states. Here, we share the same dry cleaners." Four Corners carefully examines what comes out in the wash and, in the process, airs some pretty good dirty laundry. --Jeff Silverman
Product Description
For sheer intensity and excitement, few contests can match a college basketball game—unless it's one played between two in-state, longtime conference foes separated by only a few miles of the hoops highway known as"Tobacco Road." The four major Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) schools in North Carolina have won eight NCAA titles and continue to dominate the modern college game like no other area in the country. The winners of three national titles, the North Carolina Tar Heels have been a basketball powerhouse since the 1950s. Longtime coach Dean Smith and his famous "Four Corners" offense changed how the game was played and ultimately forced the introduction of the shot clock. Down the road, the N.C. State Wolfpack won two national championships, and their coach Jimmy Valvano brought an extroverted enthusiasm to coaching still recalled with fondness and admiration. A powerhouse of big-time college basketball for five decades, the Duke Blue Devils, coached by Vic Bubas and later Mike Krzyzewski, have been to twelve Final Fours and have won three NCAA titles since 1991. In Winston-Salem the Wake Forest Demon Deacons have produced eleven All-Americans, ten ACC Players of the Year, and scores of successful NBA players. Collectively the Big Four have made North Carolina the center of the basketball universe. This is their story.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
 Welcome to North Carolina April 23, 2002
To many fans of college basketball, the ACC can be defined most seasons by what happens within the confines of the state of North Carolina. With four teams growing up within 50 miles of each other, and each one featuring a host of truly unique and competitive individuals as their coaches, the North Carolina teams have continually dominated the scene in college basketball for the past 50 years.The book follows the story of Duke, North Carolina, NC State, and Wake Forest from their days in the Southern Conference to the formation of the ACC, right up until today. Each era is defined by the men who coached and played for each of these teams throughout the years. The book provides an excellent history lesson on what has become the center of power in the most competitive conference in college basketball. I have been a fan of ACC basketball for the last ten years and this book helped me to learn the history of the most storied teams within the league. If you are a fan of NCAA basketball, this is an excellent book and should be highly recommended.
 An Apt Title March 3, 2002
Four Corners is a thorough history of basketball in North Carolina--a very interesting subject for basketball fans everywhere (it is home to more dominant programs than any other state in the country)--but unfortunately Menzer's book is like the four corners defense in that it really slows things down. He is not a particularly good writer and his anecdotes often fall flat because he does a poor job of explaining the story. Another problem is that he relies on very few sources, so his book is terribly biased and its stories are limited. For instance, Menzer relies on Billy Packer to essentially tell Wake Forest's story. While Packer is amusing, he is arrogant and is only one person so Wake's history is not three dimensional at all and really doesn't seem particularly interesting. Despite these flaws, which would prevent me from recommending this book to anyone who doesn't love college basketball and particularly the Carolina schools, this book is a good companion for a fan and will give them some interesting historical context that will allow them to appreciate their team that much more. Also, it will provide some nice trivia for those who like to bring up obscure facts during arguments about who is the best player, team, coach, etc. in the history of these programs.
 Great Book!! June 1, 2001
Borrowed this from the library and brought it back late because I read it twice. I am planning to get it again and read it again. I have grown up with ACC basketball, but I never had the whole historical context laid out for me. This book does that. It is well written (thank you, but I understand "Duke continued their run" just fine) informative, chatty, and obviously written by someone who loves, lives, and breathes his subject matter.
Four Corners = Five Stars March 3, 2000
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Four Corners by Joe Menzer is an outstanding review of the modern era of college basketball in North Carolina. It is a must-read for the Carolina hoops fan and a good selection for any college basketball aficionado. The wit and insight of Four Corners puts Menzer on a path trod by the likes of Frank DeFord and other greats of sports journalism. His style is well-structured and clean, without dips into slang and minutia that too often mar sports writing. Four Corners is definitely Five Stars. Joe Menzer wins this year's "Sixth Man Award" for North Carolina college basketball.
You don't have to be from North Carolina to enjoy this book! June 7, 1999
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have started my summer reading and so thoroughly enjoyed Menzer's Four Corners. I played womens's basketball and have always enjoyed the game. I never really understood the ACC rivalry. Thanks to Menzer's book, I do now. I so enjoyed this. A must read!
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