One Fantastic Ride with the Champs

For everyone associated with North Carolina Tar Heel basketball, the 2008-2009 season was as good as it gets. Key players returned when they could have easily picked up paychecks in the NBA. Records were broken by individuals and team alike. Starters picked up conference and national awards in droves. Best of all, the Heels won the basketball program’s fifth NCAA title by dominating the March Madness field.

Now, UNC Press is excited to announce publication plans for One Fantastic Ride: The Inside Story of Carolina Basketball’s 2009 Championship Season, which will be out in October 2009. Written by the three authors who had greater access to the players and coaches than most journalists and fans can dream of, the book is a chronicle of the Tar Heel season.

UNC fans should recognize Adam Lucas from his previous books on Carolina basketball and Tar Heel athletics of all kinds, and Steve Kirschner and Matt Bowers are just as well-versed in successful Tar Heel writing – the trio teamed up in 2005 to pen Led by Their Dreams, the story of Roy Williams’ first NCAA title team.

Featuring a foreword by head coach Roy Williams, One Fantastic Ride will contain a wealth of interviews, photos, and more that can be found nowhere else. Chapter sidebars like the quote of the day, taken directly from Roy Williams’ practice plans, are just one of many inclusion that help One Fantastic Ride go above the usual level of coverage books like these offer.

For more information on the book, as well as pre-order details, follow the link for One Fantastic Ride to its UNC Press page, and as always, go Heels!

– Matt