(This chapter was not included in the book because of space considerations.)

Perhaps the most accurate reflection of a college basketball team’s appeal to the public is by the mail the coaches and players receive.

Keady, like the head coach of any successful major program, received an avalanche of letters from fans. Most of them were simple declarations of loyalty, although people weren’t reluctant to offer advice, either. The most common thread throughout the fan mail, though, was that the vast majority of the people wanted something – autographs, usually, but also practice jerseys, team pictures, posters, media guides, game programs, tickets and virtually anything else they could think of. Keady satisfied every request that he could. He would read his mail, scribble a response on top of it and give it to Lorraine, who would then type a formal replay for him to sign and be mailed along with whatever had been requested.

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