Rafters in the Plains: Kansas Basketball's Rise Through Segregation

Spanning 1898-1955, Rafters of the Plains shows how a brand-new game became a KU institution and a national force. Through Miles "Bell" Gaines-a fictional Black aide whose bell rope, tape, and timetables keep the team moving-the book braids documentary fact with lived scene work to confront segregation on trains, in diners, and inside gyms, always letting collective action answer policy.

Two doctors define the spine: James Naismith, whose "play hard, never mean" ethos prizes character, and P...