Cover Image: Net Work

Net Work

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Member Reviews

Rob McClangahan is not a name that basketball fans may recognize, but some of the players who have hired him as a trainer certainly are – players like Derrick Rose, Kevin Love, Kevin Durant, and Stephan Curry have all hired him to help them work on their games through short (one hour) but very intense work outs. In this book, McClangahan provides a fascinating look at not only these players, but life inside the NBA and why these players took their games to higher levels than most other NBA players.

It isn’t inaccurate to call this book a memoir, as McClangahan does talk about his early love for basketball and his story of being a walk-on player at Syracuse for three years while never getting a scholarship is inspiring. Especially because of his work ethic – he always put in the extra work required to not only make the team, but also to ensure he could get some playing time.

Knowing that he wouldn’t be an NBA player, McClangahan decided to take his basketball passion to help others. He didn’t start out by training NBA players right away – he would be found at the workouts that draft prospects would show their skills for the league’s teams. From there, he would work out players who believed they needed extra help to ensure they would be selected or who wanted to improve their draft position. His first star client from the NBA was Derrick Rose, who took his “net work” (McClangahan’s term for the extra work players put in to improve themselves – it is used frequently throughout the book) to the MVP award.

Rose’s story is probably the most gut-wrenching of all the players featured in the book because of his injury history. It was very heartbreaking to read about his hard work to come back after missing the entire 2011-12 season, only to suffer another season-ending injury in the first month back in November 2012. Don’t feel sorry for Derrick, however – he still worked his way back to be a serviceable player. The chapter on Rose starts off with a great story – when he scored 50 points while playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2018. It was a moment in which the entire league was congratulating him because of his dedication to make sure he kept his skills sharp.

While not as inspiring, the chapters on some of McClangahan’s other clients like Kevin Love and Kevin Durant are just as well-written and they provide the reader with an excellent insight into the life of an NBA player – at least as well as one can state without actually BEING a player. McClangahan has been invited to join many of his clients on trips, charity events and of course, their workouts, including those he hasn’t led. The reader will also see that he enjoys this lifestyle and is grateful that he can have such a successful career in the professional game without having ever played in the NBA.

Basketball fans, no matter what level of interest they have in the professional game, will want to read this book as it provides a very unique look into the game written by a man who has much inside knowledge of the best players in the game.

I wish to thank Scribner for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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