Professor pens book about history of wheelchair basketball program

November 5, 2008

The wheelchair basketball program at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater has been arguably the best in the country since its inaugural season more than 30 years ago. To recount this history, UW-Whitewater Sociology Professor Ronald Berger has written “Hoop Dreams on Wheels” a book retelling the history of the program with stories and interviews from the men who helped make the program what it is today.

“One of the reasons I wrote this book is because I'm interested in the social aspects of disability.” Berger said. “And because I want the sport of wheelchair basketball to be recognized as a legitimate mainstream sport.”

The book starts off with Melvin Juette, the subject of a previous Berger book “Wheelchair Warrior: Gangs, Disability and Basketball,” and concludes with current star Joe Chambers. The book also covers former elite players such as current head coach Jeremy Lade and Matt Scott, star of the now famous “No Excuses” Nike TV advertisement.

However, the book isn’t just about the star players over the past 20 years. “I divided players into elite and non-elite categories,” Berger said. “The category of elite players is one that I defined as playing in the World Championships or playing in the Paralympic games.”

Berger started the project in 2001 when he originally sat down with Juette. “After sitting down with Melvin I continued to dig deeper into wheelchair basketball,” Berger said. “My research on wheelchair basketball has produced two books and four journal articles.”

While he says this will be his last book specifically on wheelchair basketball, he hopes the book can help achieve one thing. “I hope that this book can help people become more comfortable with disability,” Berger said. “I hope that people can move beyond stigma and pity when it comes to the disabled.”

The book is available online through amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.