A recent book entitled The Decline of Team Sports argues that professional basketball players today lack

A recent book entitled The Decline of Team Sports argues that professional basketball players today lack 'team skill,' which the book defines as the ability to play unselfishly and cohesively within their team. The book claims that 'team skill' was overwhelmingly more predominant among basketball players 30 years ago than it is today. A book reviewer noted, 'In this the book must be right, since its analysis of 50 basketball players, 25 current and 25 retired, demonstrates convincingly that none of the current players have as much team skill as do the retired players.'

Which of the following points to the most serious logical flaw in the book reviewer's argument?

A. The players chosen by the book's author for analysis could be those who most support the book's thesis.

B. There could be criteria other than 'team skill' by which to evaluate a player.

C. The title of the book could cause readers to accept the book's thesis prior to even reading the players' analysis that supports it.

D. The particular manner in which professional basketball is played today could require less team skill than that which was required 30 years ago.

E. A reader of the book who was not familiar with professional basketball may not be convinced by the book's analysis of the 50 players.


OA A

Source: Veritas Prep