A Man of Character

It was an inner city program that had gone in the tank. Drugs, alcohol and gangs had almost ruined Hillsborough High School. Their athletic program was hanging by a thread. The basketball program had won only one game in 2006-07. Who could help this struggling school regain its self- respect? They hoped John Hawkins could, a 40-year old coach who had served 17 years as an assistant at prestigious Pasadena West High School under legendary coach Hank Estes, winner of multiple state championships and developer of high character kids. John wasn’t sure about taking the job, but when he did make the move to the inner-city Los Angeles school, he was determined to build a winning program on and off the court. This inspiring story chronicles John’s journey and his quest to succeed in an incredibly difficult environment. In A Man of Character, David H. White, Jr. tells the story of a fictional coach inspired by White’s many years covering high school basketball in inner city Birmingham, Alabama. David H. White, Jr. was a varsity football, track and baseball athlete at Episcopal High School in Virginia. He also played junior varsity basketball and is an avid high school, college and pro basketball fan today. White is the author of two previous books: Leadership Lessons for Life and Shorty: A Life in Sports. He lives in Birmingham, Alabama with his wife, Beth, and his two daughters, Isabelle and Fairbanks.