About Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 National Championship
Jerry Ratcliffe and Chris Graham have teamed up on a project to chronicle the amazing run of Virginia basketball to the 2019 national championship.
Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 National Championship, takes the story from the aftermath of the stunning first-round loss to UMBC in 2018, and how coach Tony Bennett and his team used that loss as the source of strength, through to the ACC regular-season championship, the run to the Final Four, and the thrilling overtime win over Texas Tech to win the 2019 national title, the first in school history.
Ratcliffe, the editor of JerryRatcliffe.com, is also the author of The University of Virginia Football Vault: The History of the Cavaliers, which was a huge hit among Wahoo fans. His work has been recognized both statewide and nationally, resulting in more than 80 awards, from the Associated Press Sports Editors Association (first place nationally), the Virginia Press Association, the Football Writers of America, and the United States Basketball Writers of America during his career. He has been selected as the Virginia Sportswriter of the Year on four occasions by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.
Graham, the editor of Augusta Free Press, has written seven books, including Mad About U: Four Decades of Basketball at University Hall, with co-author Patrick Hite, a book on the history of the former home to Virginia basketball. A commentator on ESPN3 college football and baseball broadcasts, Graham is also the play-by-play voice on radio broadcasts for VMI football, marking his fourth season as a broadcaster for Keydets’ radio broadcasts.
The book begins with a foreword by UVA basketball legend Ralph Sampson, who was on hand for each of the Cavaliers’ six NCAA Tournament wins this spring.
“Jerry and Chris have lived and seen it all, even before my time,” Sampson wrote in the foreword. “I highly recommend this book to every basketball fan across the globe. This story translates to all who know defeat and how to overcome it.”
The book also includes a blurb from famed ESPN basketball announcer Dick Vitale.
“This is a hoops story you will LOVE!” Vitale wrote. “Jerry and Chris capture the sensational and dramatic championship journey by Tony Bennett and his tenacious Cavalier team. UVA was Awesome Baby and so is this book!”
Additional Reporting by Zach Pereles, Scott Ratcliffe, and Scott German. Photography by John Markon and Jon Golden. Cover design by Aaron Tinsley.
Save the Date: Book launch on June 22
A launch event is scheduled for Saturday, June 22, at 7 p.m. at New Dominion Bookshop in Charlottesville.
Get your copy today!
Team of Destiny is available now at:
- Mincer’s: 1527 University Ave. (The Corner)
- Mincer’s: 2015 Bond St. (The Shops at Stonefield)
- New Dominion Bookshop: 404 East Main St (Downtown Mall)
- County Line Mercantile: 5548 Seminole Trail (Albemarle County)
- UVA Bookstore: 400 Emmet St. South (On Grounds)
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