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CoSIDA 360 - September 2021
New John Grisham novel had a helping hand from North Carolina Central SID Kyle Serba
by Doug Vance – CoSIDA Executive Director @dvancecosida
“I’ve dealt with SIDs here at UVA, at UNC-Chapel Hill, and at Ole Miss and Mississippi State,” wrote Grisham in an email response to questions about the book. “These guys know the truth, the details, the inside dirt, everything, and they’re fun to hang with. They are also extremely professional and protective of their team and school.”
Kyle Serba remembers the day in late October last year when a curious email arrived in his inbox.
Serba, who serves as senior associate athletics director for strategic communications at North Carolina Central University, wondered if he was the victim of a prank as he scanned the message.
“It was simple and rather short,” recalled Serba. “The sender introduced himself as a writer based in Charlottesville (Va.) who was developing a fictional story about a young basketball player from Africa who attends North Carolina Central.”
“He was traveling the area for a planned visit to nearby Chapel Hill. He asked if he could swing by campus and have me give him a tour,” said Serba.
The email was signed, John Grisham.
Serba admits that he questioned the validity of the request. “I did some research about John Grisham to confirm that the facts in his email matched up with the famous author’s bio.”
“When I saw everything was just as he had explained, I said, Wow! It’s THE John Grisham.”
Helping writers is a basic function in the typical SID job description. It’s doubtful, however, that many have the opportunity to assist a nationally acclaimed author like Grisham who has over 300 million books in print world-wide, including several that have been made into movies.
With Serba satisfied that he was the receiving end of a request from the famous novelist, a meeting with Grisham was arranged for the next day.
“He had already started the book and established his storyline before visiting the campus,” Serba explained. “He wanted to make sure he had accuracy in the storyline about the campus, our facilities and assorted other references to North Carolina Central.”
“Sooley” was published in April and represents Grisham’s 45th book. It’s an intriguing fictional story of Samuel Sooleyman, a teenager from a small South Sudanese village, who is a raw talent chosen for an African basketball team to compete in an international high school all-star tournament in the United States. Entertaining unrealistic dreams of playing one day in the NBA, he eventually earns a scholarship offer and joins the NC Central basketball team.
Coincidently, NCCU had a young basketball player on its roster from Africa during the 2020-21 season. However, the main character of Grisham’s novel was inspired, in part, by former University of Virginia basketball standout Mamadi Diakite. Grisham and his wife have courtside basketball season tickets at both Virginia and North Carolina.
He’s not only a fan of college sports, but also an admirer of those who work in athletic communications.
“I’ve dealt with SIDs here at UVA, at UNC-Chapel Hill, and at Ole Miss and Mississippi State,” wrote Grisham in an email response to questions about the book. “These guys know the truth, the details, the inside dirt, everything, and they’re fun to hang with. They are also extremely professional and protective of their team and school.”
“You want to know something about a college team, find the SID,” he pointed out.
Grisham has written novels based around football and baseball, but this is his first that centers on a basketball-related plot.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect when we met,” Serba said. “It was during the pandemic, so we were both masked up. He was very friendly and laid back during our tour. We spent a few hours together looking at our facilities and I answered questions on school or basketball facts related to our program. I also arranged for him to talk with our head basketball coach.”
“He was extremely humble and took the time to ask about me and my career. It was not much different than visiting with one of my uncles at a family reunion.”
Serba learned that Grisham picked NCCU because he wanted a small school that was under the radar in terms of national attention. Grisham and Serba emailed back and forth during the fall as he gathered additional information and confirmed facts for the book.
“He sent me an advance digital copy of the story before it was published.” Serba said. “He also mailed an autographed copy of the book once it became available. I want to make sure I keep it in pristine shape. I’m thinking right now that I may never crack open the pages of it.”
Although there is no reference in the story to someone handling an SID role, the author’s note in the final pages of the book lists Serba as among those Grisham thanks for their help.
“Some of my friends in the profession have sent me notes saying how cool it was to see my name at the end of the book,” said Serba.
Grisham is a regular at University of Virginia basketball games and has worked with SIDs at numerous schools.
Plans are in the works to invite Grisham to a basketball game at some point during the 2021-22 season and let him gain a true perspective of a NC Central home game atmosphere.
“When I reflect on my SID career, my first thought is always of the impact I have made on the student-athletes and the joy I feel watching them celebrate a victory,” added Serba. “However, if I am fortunate enough to one day write a book about my career and my life, the opportunity to meet John Grisham and make a contribution to one of his novels will definitely be highlighted.”
Grisham had high praise for Serba’s help in his research for the story. In fact, without his help the story might have centered around a different college basketball program.
“Kyle’s involvement was crucial to the writing process because I was dealing with a real team, a real place,” Grisham explained. “He opened the doors so I could see the gym, dressing rooms, film room, everything. I couldn’t find those places online. Kyle answered every question, found every stat, even sent along some old stories that I ultimately did not use.
“Without his help, I would have set the story on another campus,” he added.
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