Floor Burns by Mike Whaley

Ball603’s Mike Whaley, a veteran New Hampshire sportswriter, has written a colorful, intimate and sprawling book that celebrates small-college basketball in New England, centered around the lesser-known college sports organization – the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Whaley’s book (620 pages, more than 190 photos) highlights all six New England states, starting in New Britain, Connecticut, in the 1940s and wrapping up in present-day Boston at tiny Fisher College. “Floor Burns: A Wild Journey Across the Forgotten Backroads of NAIA Basketball in New England” has been published by Bondcliff Books in Littleton for $29.95 (plus S&H). Whaley was a college player himself in Vermont, so the book is part memoir. Mostly, however, it’s a definitive chronicle of the NAIA in New England, rich with stories and anecdotes from 120-plus interviews, mostly with former and current players and coaches. For New Hampshire hoop junkies there are stories on players and/or coache