A Season is a Lifetime; The Inside Story of the Duke Blue Devils and their Championship Seasons

New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993. Second printing [stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. 270, [2] pages. Illustrations. Inscription signed by Brill on page facing the title page. William "Bill" Brill (June 21, 1931 - April 10, 2011) was an American sportswriter and author. . Brill attended Duke University before began his sports writing career with the Covington Virginian in 1952. Brill began his career with the Roanoke Times and World News in 1956 and served as the paper's executive sports editor and columnist through 1991. Brill had something of a "love-hate" relationship with his readers, who generally recognized him as a talented writer and reporter, but often felt he favored universities in North Carolina over Virginia Tech and Virginia. Brill wrote a sports column for the Durham Herald-Sun from August 1992 through April 1994. Brill was named the Virginia Sportswriter of the Year in 1991, and President of the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters from 1993 to 1995. Brill has covered a total of 35 Final Fours, more than any other sports writer. Brill was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. Derived from a Kirkus review: Here, the Duke Blue Devils' back-to-back NCAA basketball championships (1991-92) are given specific treatment by Brill, past president of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Devils coach Krzyzewski. When, after a bitter loss to arch rival North Carolina, Krzyzewski told his team that not only would they make the Final Four but they were destined to win the 1991 NCAA title, players Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, Billy McCaffery, Grant Hill, and Brian Davis took him at his word. Following their stunning 79-77 upset of heavily favored University of Nevada-Las Vegas, the Devils' victory over Kansas in the final was anticlimactic. As in 1991, the most exciting games of this year's tournament were played prior to the final, this time with Kentucky taking the Devils into overtime after Laettner's technical foul for kicking an opponent. But with less than a second on the clock, Laettner came up with ``the shot'' once again, clinching a Final Four berth. The Devils went on to capture the national title by beating Michigan's five talented freshmen. Brill effectively recounts events, taking almost everything of value said by the coach.