About The Book
Coach Lee Rose: On Family and Basketball examines what is most important to Lee Rose—family, honor, and basketball. They are ever-present as Rose shares his journey growing up in the poor coal mine regions of Appalachia, building a family with the love of his life, Eleanor, coaching college and professional athletes, and now during his “long goodbye.” This passionate recounting is written in partnership with Eleanor Rose and Joe Barry Carroll.
This memoir exames what is most important to Coach Lee Rose–family, honor, and basketball. Coach Rose had a stellar career coaching college and professional basketball, including leading teams to winning seasons and the Final Four. What some might find impressive is his sicty-year love affiar with “Elo” and his insistence on making family a priority int he midst of a hectic coaching career.
About Lee Rose
Lee Rose
Lee Rose was born in the coal mine region of West Irvine, Kentucky on October 23, 1936. He graduated from Transylvania University. Shortly thereafter Rose served as the head men’s basketball at “Transy”—in an interim capacity in 1964–65 and on a permanent basis from 1968 to 1975. Other head coaching positions include the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Purdue University, and the University of South Florida. He compiled a career college basketball coach record of 388–162.
Rose is one of few coaches to lead twice teams to the Final Four of the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament, with Charlotte 49ers in 1977 and the Purdue Boilermakers in 1980. Between 1986 and 2001 he was an assistant coach with several NBA teams. Upon retiring he and wife Eleanor spent five years driving throughout Kentucky to speak to over ten thousand middle school students across the state.
In 2013 his book “Winning Basketball Fundamentals” was published by Human Kinetics. After being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, Lee, Elo, and Joe Barry Carroll joined forces to write “Coach Lee Rose: On Family and Basketball.”