From Publishers Weekly A member of the gold medal-winning U.S. basketball team at the 1968 Olympics， Haywood later won a landmark Supreme Court case that established the ``hardship'' rule， which allowed college players to turn professional at any time. His skills propelled him to the top of the pro ranks as a star for Denver， Seattle， New York and， after a stint in Europe， Washington. His poignant autobiography， written with freelancer Ostler， chronicles troubles with incompetent and/or dishonest agents， an unsuccessful marriage to a fashion model and an addiction to drugs that nearly destroyed his career. What will stick in readers' minds， however， is Haywood's portrait of life in a family ``a step below poor'' in a Mississippi Delta town during the 1950s and 1960s， when the pangs of hunger were nothing compared to the humiliation of growing up in a society whose white members regarded blacks as subhuman， fun to shoot at or to use as targets on the golf driving range. These passages are chilling. Author tour. Copyright 1992 Cahners Business Information， Inc.