This Is Panther Country
Tom McKeown
Brown Books Publishing Group (2025)
ISBN: 978-1612547305
Reviewed by Paul Knobloch for Reader Views (10/2025)
In this touching coming of age memoir centered around the author’s love for his local high school basketball team, Tom McKeown recounts the highs and lows of one especially memorable year for the Babylon Panthers as they blaze a trail that takes them to the country championship and beyond. The story in This Is Panther Country serves as a framework for McKeown’s reflections on growing up on Long Island in the 1970s as he chronicles not only the ups and downs of the basketball team, but gives us a glimpse into the cultural and social realities of the age.
I wanted to read this, first of all, because I played high school basketball at exactly the same time, and the author is more than adept at conveying the experience of what it’s like for kids participating in high school sports. Like the players at Babylon, I remember practicing till I nearly puked, only to come home and collapse on my bed after dinner. McKeown does a great job at not only explaining the demand of the game and its X’s and O’s – quite literally, with diagrams – but he also goes into game prep and strategy, which is a real plus for us basketball geeks.
The story takes an unexpected turn when Tom, a middle schooler, breaks his leg and has to sit out the start of the junior high season. In the following pages, he recounts the exciting tale of the team’s winning season, the town’s support of the school athletes, and the importance of basketball and family life in American communities.
I really appreciated the author’s observations about race and working-class realities. The most touching part of the book, for me, is when the author explores his relationship with his father. A man of principle, he fought for union rights and paid the price. He engages his son in discussions about history, so it was no surprise that the author had salient comments about the nature of race in America, and how it plays out in the world of basketball. McKeown’s insight is especially keen when he discusses another county school, Wyandanch, in a predominantly black neighborhood. The Babylon cheerleaders are not even allowed to attend the game, and the author is not shy about addressing this unfair stigma placed on the players and their school.
As the season progresses, the boys face a show-down with Amityville. That’s right: Their nemesis is Amityville High School, a terror both metaphorically and literally, and a team that walloped them in the past and is their current bête noire. There is plenty of thrilling play by play commentary as the author takes us through the season, with start player Glenn Vickers leading his team past many a mighty foe. They are able to get revenge on Amityville, and they even win the county championship and proceed to take on legendary Southside High in a big tournament.
Along the way, our young basketball fan runs into Denny Crumb, believe it or not – he’s surprised that the Louisville legend is a chain smoker – and he even gets to speak to Lou Carneseca. And if you know anything about basketball, that’s a big deal for a 13-year-old kid.
You’ll have to buy Tom McKeown’s This Is Panther Country if you want to know the outcome of the tournament, but I can guarantee that if you love basketball and grew up in one of the many places where the game is a big part of everyday life, you will truly enjoy this story. It’s a great and accessible read, full of pop culture references and timely insight about the 1970s. This is more than a book about basketball. It’s a tender memoir of how the love of a sport and a solid family foundation gave one man both invaluable lessons about life as well as some very fond recollections.
One of my favorite reads this year!