Edward Frank Book (born September 23, 1970) is an American-New Zealand former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. Listed at 211 cm (6'11") and 112 kg, Book played the

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

position.Basketball New Zealand – Ed Book
/ref>

Playing career

Born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, Book was educated at

Canisius College Canisius College is a private Jesuit college in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 master's ...

, but came to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 1994 to play in the NBL. He was consistently one of the best post players in the league, winning Outstanding Forward in 1996, Outstanding Kiwi Forward in 2002 and named to the All-Star Five both years. He played in every NBL season between 1994 and 2007, winning a championship with the

Nelson Giants The Nelson Giants are a New Zealand basketball team based in Nelson. The Giants compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Trafalgar Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Mike Pero Nelson ...

in his final season. Book debuted for the Tall Blacks against China in 2002, filling the one available naturalized player spot under FIBA rules. He earned hero status during the world championship campaign after stepping into a starting role to fill in for

Sean Marks Sean Andrew Marks (born 23 August 1975) is a New Zealand-American basketball executive and former player and coach who is the general manager and alternate owner of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the firs ...

. Book's three-point shooting ability made him a difficult match-up for opposing centres. Book helped New Zealand to a silver medal at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

and announced his retirement from the Tall Blacks immediately after the final.

Coaching career

Book served as an assistant coach for the Nelson Giants in 2013 and 2014. In March 2022, Book was appointed an assistant coach of the

Canterbury Rams The Canterbury Rams are a New Zealand basketball team based in Christchurch. The Rams compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Cowles Stadium. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as The Wheeler Motor Can ...

. He continued on with the Rams as an assistant in 2023.

Personal life

Book and his wife Lisa have three children: Josh, Amiee and Nic.Book of Joshua the latest chapter in family basketball legacy
/ref>Rams Refine Roster For Season Start
/ref> All three of his children play basketball, while Lisa is a former national league guard and junior Tall Fern. As of October 2018, Book was a teacher at

Waimea College Waimea College is a co-educational secondary school in Richmond, Tasman District, New Zealand. With a growing roll of 1500+ students from year groups 9–13, Waimea College is equipped with a park-like campus and numerous facilities. History Wa ...

References

External links

Canisius Golden Griffins bioeurobasket.com player profileolympic.org profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Book, Ed 1970 births Living people 2002 FIBA World Championship players American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Basketball players from Buffalo, New York Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Commonwealth Games medallists in basketball Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Manawatu Jets players Nelson Giants players New Zealand men's basketball players Olympic basketball players for New Zealand Wellington Saints players Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games