Breaking Through

Winner, William Rockhill Nelson AwardJohn B. McLendon was the last living protege of basketball s inventor, Dr. James Naismith, and one of the top ten basketball coaches of the century in Billy Packer s opinion. McLendon s amazing records in college and pro basketball earned him a spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame (the first black coach to be inducted), and his coaching philosophy has had a huge influence on basketball coaches. Breaking Through is also a powerful and inspirational story about segregation and a champion s struggle for equality in 1940s and 50s America.Black Magic, ESPN s Peabody Award winning documentary about players and coaches who attended historically black colleges and universities, covers many of the events in McLendon s life that Katz writes about in his book.John McLendon was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.