Stanley I. Thangaraj - Desi Hoop Dreams: Pickup Basketball and the Making of Asian American Masculinity

This book is a product of years of hard work and support from many wonderful people. I want to acknowledge all of those who have played a part in making this manuscript a reality. I want to apologize in advance to those whom I may have forgotten, the error is solely mine.

A book of this sort would not be possible without the time, energy, and kindness of the members of the community I studied. They were gracious enough to let me into their lives and to share their stories with me. I want to thank the team members of Maryland Five Pillars for inviting me into their basketball spaces and for their hospitality. The information on the Chicago Indo-Pak National Basketball Tournament (IPN) would have lacked any depth without the extended time Rathi and Max spent in detailing their experiences for me. Their generosity is infinite, and I feel honored to be part of their community. They welcomed me into their home and shared their lives and wonderful children with me.

I want to thank my main interlocutors in Atlanta: Mustafa, Ali, Sanjeet, Daniel, Harpreet, Mohammed, Imran, Riad, Amir, Dr. Said, Sultan, Sharif, Ahmed, Mahmoud, Mustafa and Alis parents, Susan, and Madeleine. I especially want to thank Mustafa and Ali for making so much time for me. I can never express in words my gratitude to them for their friendship, our histories, their humor, and their compassion. They are my brothers. I hope I have done justice to their experiences.

Sanjeet was engaged in my work and was very open in talking through my questions. I am also grateful to Daniel, Harpreet, and the Monday/Thursday night basketball crew in Atlanta. Daniel has been a willing reader of my work, and his words have encouraged me. I would not have been able to add complexity to this project without my interactions with Sharif. Sharif opened up a whole new world of Muslim America that I had not previously known. I am lucky to be in his presence, and he has become a very important part of my life.

I thank John Kuprevich, Sr., Carol Kuprevich, Andrea and Denny Merz, Uncle Bill and Aunt Barb, Uncle Jack and Aunt Colleen, Aunt Linda and Uncle Chris, Pap, Nan, Grandma, John Adams, Theresa, Hannah, Jack, William, Tascha, Eric, Emma, Jonathon, and Ben Bear Kuprevich for the love they give me. My in-laws always find ways to make me laugh; I appreciate and love them all. DadK, MomK, Andy, and Uncle Bill were sources of strength and wisdom during a complicated time. The generosity of my fantastic neighbors on Hampton Avenue made this book a possibility: Mrs. Bright, the Wests, the Stroups, the Dunkerleys, the Tates, the Cristofersens, the Bologhs, the Shells, the Custers, the Robbins, the Shulmans, the Levy and Stalma family, the Nixons, and the Duvalls. I offer my deepest gratitude to Mauro, Kate, Hope, Tess, and little Mauro Mastrapasqua; Amy, Steve, Daniel, Isabella, Abigail, and Alexandria Manoukian; Judy, Tommy, T. J., Robert, and Mathew Lewis; Bruce and Susan Spaulding; and Judy and Kelly Wright. And I offer many thanks for the friendship of Jan Shipp, Jen Zaja, David Jester and Altaf Tadkod, Marcie Smeck and Steve Bryant, Dick and Brigitte Porter, Josephine and John Darwin, the Parikhs, the Nashville International Center for Empowerment, the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, and fellow members of Mayor Karl Deans New Americans Advisory Council in Nashville.

I am grateful to Matthew Wright. He believed in my work and was a supportive friend from the very beginning in Nashville.