Elliot Hersch is given a basketball on his tenth birthday and cuts a deal with his disapproving father: if he makes straight As, he is allowed to play. Modeling his game on the basketball heroes of his time—Clyde Frazier, Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, and especially Larry Bird—Elliot becomes one of the finest high school basketball players in New York.
Trying to steer clear of the corruption and sleaze in the big college programs, Elliott signs with the seemingly clean-cut University of Southern Arizona (USA), partly to fulfill his promise to his father, whose one piece of advice about life is: Tell the truth, always. A quote from Chaucer, his father's favorite writer, guides both father and son "Trouthe is the hyest thing that man may kepe."
What he finds at the USA and then the NBA is a far cry from untarnished "trouthe." Elliott is challenged at every turn, tangling at the end of the day with what is most true: the game. Can Elliott truly play basketball? And if not, what is left of his life?
Trouthe, Lies, and Basketball is an epic comic tale—structured somewhat like a gripping basketball game, completely with literary "time-outs"—of a basketball player coming to terms with the world as it is, his talents as they are. Charley Rosen's characters, even the mostly unseemly, are all heart, and by the end they leave those hearts on the hardwood.
Remembering Charley Rosen (1941-2025)
We're very sad to share the news that Seven Stories author, former basketball player, and minor-league coach, Charley Rosen, has passed away at age 84. Below, our editorial director, Dan Simon, shares a few words about his literary collaborator, colleague, and friend.
To celebrate Rosen's life and legacy, we're offering free downloads of two of his books through the end of the weekend: The House of Moses All-Stars and The Wizard of Odds.
Ps. The New York Times has published a particularly touching — and thorough — obituary to Rosen. We'd love you to read that too. You can do so here (gift link).
A Note From Dan Simon
Difficult to write about Charley Rosen, who died last Saturday at the age of 84. It’s the rare author who brings a larger human story to the daily drama of professional—or college—sports. Charley Rosen did that time and time again. He knew the game in and out, having played for Hunter College and then coached in the CBA and for college teams. He knew everyone in the world of basketball and everyone in basketball knew him. He loved the game and the people who kept it alive.
Charley was always writing, literally nothing could stop him. Up until six weeks ago he was writing away on his next book. And he believed in every book he wrote. The best of them — The House of Moses All-Stars, The Wizard of Odds, to name just two of the more than 30 books he wrote — are teeming with life. And no one could describe game action the way Charley could. The only thing comparable that I know of is Nelson Algren describing the pummeling that goes on in the ring.
A great writer will try each time to outdo themselves in every book, and succeeds in accomplishing the impossible at least some of the time. That was Charley.
His latest book, a coming-of-age basketball novel called Dribbling a Basketball to Damascus, drawn heavily from his own life, will be released on October 28th. And The Fight Game in Black and White, by legendary NBA player and coach Ray Scott, with Charley as his wingman, comes out next summer.
Last spring I asked him if he was watching the playoffs. “No way,” he said, “why would I? Show me a team that plays the game right. They just hoist 3s. Most teams don’t play defense anymore.” One of the true patriots of Hoops Nation, who wasn’t afraid to criticize the country he loved most, RIP Charley Rosen.
—Dan Simon
A native of the Bronx and longtime pal of basketball guru Phil Jackson, CHARLEY ROSEN led the league in technical fouls during each of his six years as a coach in the now-defunct Continental Basketball Association. Since then he has become the world’s foremost writer of fiction and nonfiction on the subject of basketball, chronicling the drama that takes place both on and off the court. His many novels include The House of Moses All-Stars, a New York Times Notable Book, and Sammy Wong: All-American. His non-fiction works include The Scandals of ’51: How the Gamblers Almost Killed College Basketball and More than a Game, co-written with Phil Jackson. Rosen is a devotee of the Triangle Offense. He lives in Accord, NY.
