The Jump: Sebastian Telfair and the High-Stakes Business of High School Ball

by Ian O'Connor

In The Jump, one of America's great sports writers follows high school phenom Sebastian Telfair on his quest for NBA stardom—and exposes all that big-time sports in America has become, the good and the bad. Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James—all became NBA superstars without playing a day of college ball. In 2004, Coney Island's 5-foot-11 Telfair became the first small player ever to jump straight from high school to the NBA when he signed contracts with the Portland Trail Blazers and Adidas worth $25 million.

Author Ian O'Connor, who followed every moment of Telfair's senior year, draws on exclusive interviews with friends, family members, coaches, recruiters, agents, and players to tell the story of the young star's road out of the crime-ridden projects and into the NBA. And O'Connor brings readers up to date on Telfair's fate in the NBA in an all new chapter.

Genres: Sports, Basketball, Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 13, 2005

Reviews

[Mario D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turning kids into pro's is such a sticky situation. This book does a good job of showing the various factors involved from schools to family to hanger ons.

[Rsamuel3 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as exciting as the subject matter suggests given the author's other great books.

[John2012 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever read a book that deals with the business side of basketball as well as the physical, and mental part? Well that’s exactly what The Jump: Sebastian Telfair & the High-Stakes Business of High School Ball by Ian O’Connor is about. I love this book because it shows you that basketball isn’t all about putting a ball in the basket its way bigger than that and their is a price if you don’t play right. Another reason is it tells you the struggle that people go through and for some people basketball is the only way out. And last but not least it tells you the history of one of the greatest basketball players to never become successful.
The main reason I love this book is it lets people know that basketball isn’t all athletics at has a large business aspect to it. It tells how Sebastian Telfair was a great basketball player but he made wrong decisions when it came to picking his agent because he made the decision on getting an agent. So that made him ineligible to play ball in college. So he risked his basketball career on the draft knowing that the chances of being picked straight out of high was low but, he made the decision. And he made other bad decisions like signing wrong contracts with sneakers companies and other endorsements problems.
Another reason I love this book is because it shows how in the inner city this is what people believe to be one of the only ways out. In this story it tells how Sebastian is related to NBA superstar Stephan Marbury. They grow up together and their parents took care of one another. But Stephan never helps them move out the projects. Stephan made it big but never help his community it also shows how Sebastian reason for making it big was so that he could take his family out the projects.

And last but not least, it tells how Sebastian was a so-called basketball phenom and was suppose to be the next great basketball player from Coney Island. But, his NBA career was full of trades and sitting on the bench. In this book he states he wishes he would have went to college for more experience but, he missed up when he signed a contract for an agent.

To wrap it all up I love this book. It deals with inner city life, behind the scene of basketball, and the physical qualities that a person has but, does not get to put them on display because of his inexperience

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really interesting look at the world of amateur and pro basektball and all of the things involved when considering a career in pro sports. It follows Sebastian Telfair as he prepares to make the jump from high school basketball to the NBA. Along with the main story, O'Connor, the reporter following Telfair during his senior year, interviews NBA players, execs, Lebron James, shoe representatives and anyone else with an insider's view of this situation.

As intersting as it is at times, it gets a little bogged down with too many names and trivial details. I don't need to know the assistants' names to shoe executives or what every person in Telfair's life thought of skipping college and going straight to the NBA.

[Jeramey · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read that holds up ten years later. I was expecting it to feel really dated (and in some ways, you could argue it does, but they're irrelevant to the story told), but it avoids that by focusing on that single year and what came before it.

Books like this are always interesting for knowing where the various people ended up ten years later (Telfair barely in the NBA, Livingston's what-if potential, Dwight Howard being so dominant, Darius Washington's irrelevance), and for learning how they were viewed then.

This is far more "insider" than many books that claim to be. Although I'm sure plenty went on that O'Connor wasn't privy to, he was around for a lot of important moments.

[Tabitha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book followed Sebastian Telfairs "jump" from playing High school basketball to the NBA. I enjoyed it because it takes you to a place that isn't normally talked about and that is the celebrity that highly rated high school players have. He wasn't even 18 and was on the cover of magazines and considered to be a future great, all without having even played an NBA game. I recommend this book to fans of the game of basketball as you get to see the behind the scenes look of a kid going to the league straight from high school.

[Aldin Medunjanin]

This is one of the best basketball book biographys that ive read and i really enjoyed it. Sebastian Telfair is a proffesional basketball player who entered the NBA right out of high school. This was a big step for him, and to this day he probably regrets his choice of doing this. The book takes you through how he lived his life growing up playing basketball in Coney island and how he made his way out of the projects,

[Ignas Bernotas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is increadible 5/5 stars. The story of Sebastian Telfair was told increadibly well by the author and this book is exciting from the first page to its last page and has you on the edge of your seat. This is one of the best books ive ever read and the best book about sports ive ever read. I would recommend this book to anyone because it is just an amazing book that is fluid and well described and just flawless in every way that a book should be.

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really informative, well-written account of the beginning of Telfair's career. Also an interesting look into sports culture. In between the lines there's a critique of the absurd materialism that currently thrives in this country. O'Connor is definitely one of the better sports journalists out there.

[James England · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is about a basketball player who is skipping college and going to the nba.He faces the media and critisim. I thought the book was poorly written. the story line was very repative.For some reason though this book is really addicting

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

not just a book about Sebastian Telfair but also an exposé of the sneaker execs and AAU hoops

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good starter if you want to delve into the underbelly of amateur athletics. O'Connor doesn't appear to pull any punches.