Gentle Arrogance - Frank Heller

2024 Maxy Award for General Fiction

Walking through doors open to a popular athlete, Jamie Williams wins hearts and basketball championships. Jamie's life, however, is far from trouble-free. Bullies, like Rick Cullin, quickly learn that picking on Jamie Williams, a young man with a powder keg temper, is not a wise decision. Growing up during a time of social change, Jamie wrestles with morality, religion, and being in love with two women.

The Most Valuable Player in the 1968 Arkansas Overall Basketball Tournament, Jamie, a highly sought-after college prospect, plans to impress colleges and universities during his senior year in high school. Sadly, he injures his left knee while water-skiing on Lake Greeson with his high school teammate, David Thompson, and his girlfriend, Marian Wood.

After surgery and rehab, Howard Martin, the Head Coach at the University of Arkansas, shatters Jamie's dream when he does not offer him a scholarship. To add insult to injury, coaches recruiting Jamie consider him insolent and possibly damaged goods. Coach Phil Westerman, Jamie's brother-in-law and personal trainer, thinks Jamie's rotten attitude had destroyed his chances of playing college basketball.

A year after Jamie's fall from grace, Graham Wallace, a prominent sportswriter, and a Jamie Williams admirer, references the old black and white movie Boys Town and poses the question, "How many chances should a bad boy receive before he is written off as a lost cause?" Jamie reluctantly swallows his pride, walks on at the University of Arkansas, and impresses the coaches.

But does he fulfill his dream and win a national championship?