John Valenti

Swee'pea John Valenti

In this updated edition of a lost classic of sports writing, authors John Valenti and Ron Naclerio chronicle the life of Lloyd Daniels, one of New York Citys most legendary basketball players. Lloyd Daniels learned to hoop on the playgrounds of Brooklyn and Queens during the 1980s. “Sweepea†they called him. His rep on the court traveled all the way to the Bronx, and across the country, earning him enthusiastic comparisons to the likes of Magic Johnson. Sweepea was sure to make it to the big time and out of a New York City where drugs and violence had gripped many of its neighborhoods. And eventually he did, leaving the citys asphalt courts for the shiny hardwoods of NCAA programs, minor pro-leagues, and eventually the NBA. He took with him, however, a drug habit, a learning disability, and a reputation for self-destruction. With Sweepea, Newsday reporter John Valenti and celebrated New York City high school basketball coach Ron Naclerio brilliantly capture how an athletic phenom becomes both a product of his environment, and his own worst enemy. Supplementing Danielss enigmatic story are profiles of basketball successes like former NBA stars Kenny Anderson, John Salley, and Mark Jackson—and tragedies like Earl “The Goat†Manigault, Richie Adams, and Tony “Red†Bruin—who never made the league. Timeless, gritty, and hard-hitting, Sweepea is a classic tale that illuminates why so many of basketball's best players throw away multimillion dollar careers, and a journey back to a time when the humble playground courts of New York City were giving rise to some of the finest players in the world.