The inspirational leader of Tennessee's men's basketball team fulfills a childhood dream, tells the story of the 2006-07 basketball season and his relationship with coach Bruce Pearl.

Dane Bradshaw's first book is an inside look at the dynamics of a year in the life of a big-time collegiate basketball program, from pre-season drills through the ups and downs of an exciting run to the NCAA Sweet 16.

The book is about relationships -- between player and coach, between coach and player. It seemed from the beginning that head coach Bruce Pearl needed Bradshaw ... and Bradshaw needed Pearl.

"Our relationship," Pearl wrote in the foreword, "has made his redemption, as a player, and this program's resurrection, as a contender, so rewarding.

"Especially since they took place coincidentally at Tennessee."

New coaches brought in to rebuild a program need key players who will buy in to their philosophy and lead others to do the same. Likewise, players need to see hope, need to see that their new coach can make a difference, in different ways, on and off the court.

"Everyone knows what a brilliant basketball coach he is, but it would be an insult if all I talked about was the 'on-court impact' Coach has had on my life," Bradshaw, who turned 23 on April 17, wrote. "Coach Pearl enabled me to live out my dream as I had envisioned as a child and allowed us to enjoy the game, again."

Before Pearl's arrival in Knoxville in March 2005, Bradshaw had never been the darling of Tennessee fans, those hardy souls who saw him play in Buzz Peterson's final two years on campus. Despite being the 2003 Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year his senior season at White Station High School in Memphis, he never really seemed to find his niche.

Thus came a big challenge for the new coach.

"Where am I going to play him?" Pearl wrote. "We were so thin inside I had to play him at power forward. That's right, a 6-3 starting power forward in the most athletic conference in America, the Southeastern Conference." Pearl rolled the dice and played Bradshaw opposite bigger and more talented players, none with more heart, with both player and coach living to tell the tale.

Bradshaw's book covers the conflicting emotions of a long season, with more than 100 vignettes of varying lengths and subjects. They were written concurrently with Bradshaw's rehabilitation from a wrist injury, player suspensions, the daily grind of playing intercollegiate sports, the late-night plane flights, the rigors of getting a college education, the thrill of preparing for competition, and, in mid-February, being in the company of a Tennessee legend.

Former UT All-America player Bernard King came home for the Feb. 13 game against Kentucky, the night his No. 53 jersey was retired.

Bradshaw recalled watching tape of King play ("In terms of basketball skill, he was a man among boys," he wrote) and following him through the stands to the arena floor just before the game against the Wildcats started.

"I couldn't believe that I was following Bernard King's footsteps through a sold-out crowd to take the court against the Kentucky Wildcats. Sometimes you just take a deep breath and take it all in ... . The best parts were still ahead of us."

Before the Virginia game in the second round of the NCAA tournament, a 77-74 victory that was not settled until the Cavaliers missed a last-second shot, Bradshaw remembered trying to put everything into its proper perspective.

"This isn't about what you have been working for all year," he thought. "This is about what you've been working for your whole life."

Whatever happens with Pearl and the Tennessee basketball program over the years to come, the narrative is clear throughout on one aspect: The foundation was laid with the leadership and influence two men exerted on the program ... and on each other.