Power Forward: My Journey from Illiterate NBA Player to a Magna Cum Laude Master's Degree - Hardcover

Dean Tolson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1493076892 ISBN 13: 9781493076895

Publisher: Lyons Press, 2023

Synopsis

Despite not being able to read or write, Dean Tolson accepted a full ride to the University of Arkansas and later became the first basketball player to be drafted by both the NBA and the ABA. Following his basketball career, Tolson made the courageous decision to re-enroll at the University of Arkansas, earning a master’s degree and graduated magna cum laude. Tolson’s gripping story from his childhood in an orphanage to his academic achievements is an inspiring story of overcoming great odds to find success.

About this title

About the Author

Byron "Dean" Tolson was born in Kansas City, Kansas on November 25, 1951. He overcame a childhood of poverty, illiteracy, and five years in an orphanage to become an NBA basketball player. He was drafted from the University of Arkansas by former superstar player Bill Russell, by then the general manager of the Seattle SuperSonics, in 1974, where he played for three seasons. At the age of fifty-two he returned for three more years and graduated with a master's degree in Education and magna cum laude honors. In 2007, he was inducted into the National Scholars Honor Society in Chicago, Illinois. For the past thirty years he's been a professional motivational speaker on the subject of "Better Your Best and Bring Out the Best of Others," delivering more than three hundred speeches everywhere from top universities to private membership clubs and corporate organizations.

Edition details

• Publisher: Lyons Press
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1493076892
• ISBN 13: 9781493076895
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240