BASKETBALL

1. BASKETBALL By: Kasey Green

2. The Beginning of Basketball • Dr. James Naismith known as the world wide inventor of basketball • The idea of basketball was born from Naismith's school days where he played a simple child's game known as duck-on-a-rock outside his one-room schoolhouse. • The game involved attempting to knock a duck off the top of a large rock by tossing another rock at it. • Naismith went on to attend McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. • James Naismith moved on to the YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891, where the sport of basketball was born. • Naismith was faced with the problem of finding a sport that was suitable for play inside during the winter for the students at the YMCA • With a soccer ball and a class of 18 men Naismith appointed two team captains of nine players and introduced them to basketball

3. First Set of Rules • The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands. • The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands, but never with the fist. • A player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, allowance to be made for a man running at good speed. • The ball must be held in or between the hands. The arms or body must not be used for holding it. • No shouldering, holding, pushing, striking or tripping in any way of an opponent. The first infringement of this rule by any person shall count as a foul; the second shall disqualify him until the next goal is made or, if there was evident intent to injure the person, for the whole of the game. No substitution shall be allowed. • A foul is striking at the ball with the fist, violations of Rules 3 and 4 and such as described in Rule 5. • If either side make three consecutive fouls it shall count as a goal for the opponents (consecutive means without the opponents in the meantime making a foul). • Goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the ground into the basket and stays there, providing those defending the goal do not touch or disturb the goal. If the ball rests on the edge and the opponents move the basket, it shall count as a goal. • When the ball goes out of bounds, it shall be thrown into the field and played by the first person touching it. In case of dispute the umpire shall throw it straight into the field. The thrower-in is allowed five seconds. If he holds it longer, it shall go to the opponent. If any side persists in delaying the game, the umpire shall call a foul on them. • The umpire shall be judge of the men and shall note the fouls and notify the referee when three consecutive fouls have been made. He shall have the power to disqualify men according to Rule 5. • The referee shall be the judge of the ball and decide when it is in play in bounds, to which side it belongs, and shall keep the time. He shall decide when a goal has been made and keep account of the goals with any other duties that are usually performed by a referee. • The time shall be two 15-minute halves with five minutes' rest between. • The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winners

4. Changes To Basketball • In 1906 the peach basket was later replaced by a metal rim with a net hanging below • In 1942 The molded basketball was introduced • in 1910 a player could dribble the ball, but could not shoot after dribbling • In 1916 that players were allowed to shoot after dribbling • 1896 the back board was added

5. The First Competitive Leagues • The First competitive basketball leagues where all local leagues, usually within east coast cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Boston • On some occasions’ teams from other regions would travel to play another team • On November 7, 1896 was the first known professional basketball game was played in Trenton New Jersey between the Trenton YMCA and the Brooklyn YMCA • The game was played at the Trenton Masonic temple, and an admission fee was charged for admittance into the game • Each player got $15 dollars except Fred Cooper who got $16 dollars, and became the first highest paid player • Trenton defeated Brooklyn 15-1 to win the first ever professional basketball game • Two years after the first professional basketball game was played six teams for Philadelphia and New Jersey formed the National basketball league(NBL) • After the NBL formed other leagues began to form all over the Eastern United States including the Philadelphia Basketball League, Eastern League, New York State League, and the Interstate league • Most early basketball leagues never lasted more then a few weeks, the NBL itself only lasted five seasons • In 1902 the New England Basketball League got a huge boost in national exposure when it allowed an African American named Bucky Lew play in a game

6. Collegiate Leagues • Basketball's growth spread in the United States and abroad through YMCAs Due to its simple equipment requirements, indoor play, competitiveness, and easily understood rules, basketball gained popularity quickly • In 1901 several schools, including Yale and Harvard universities and Trinity, Holy Cross, Amherst, and Williams colleges, formed the New England Intercollegiate Basketball League • The development of collegiate leagues and conferences brought organization and scheduling to competition, and formal league play created rivalries • Collegiate leagues became a critical training ground for officials • In 1900s basketball was played at about 90 colleges—most of them located in the East and Midwest • In 1905 teams from the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin traveled to New York to challenge Eastern League champion Columbia University. Columbia defeated both Midwestern teams, and the idea of an intercollegiate championship was born • By 1914 more than 360 colleges offered basketball

7. Collegiate Championship Tournaments • In 1915 the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States (AAU), the NCAA, and the YMCA formed a committee to standardize rules • During the next ten years a number of regional conferences were formed • Games between top regional teams were sometimes awarded national champion status by the press, but an official championship tournament was still many years away • Travel and scheduling difficulties and continued regional rule differences slowed the organization of a tournament that could impartially produce a national champion • In 1947 the first national collegiate tournament was held in Kansas City, Missouri • The teams in this tournament were all from the Midwest • New York was the site of the NIT tournament which was the first truly national collegiate tournament. It was held at the end of the 1937-38 season • The NIT was promoted by members of the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association • In 1939 a group of coaches from the National Association of Basketball Coaches organized and sponsored the first NCAA national tournament • In this tournament the University of Oregon defeated Ohio State University • The NCAA took sole control of the organization of its tournament after that first year • For the next decade, the NCAA and NIT tournaments competed to become the universally recognized national championship tournament, with the NCAA eventually winning out. • The NCAA tournament's original format each with a regional selection committee sending a team to the eight-team tournament. As the tournament gained importance, the field gradually enlarged to a size of 64

8. The Birth of TheNBA • NBL was form in the mid-1930s • 1946 New York City executives formed the Basketball Association of America (BAA). • BAA was a direct competitor with the new NBL, with teams in New York City; Boston, Massachusetts; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Chicago, Illinois; and Detroit, Michigan. • Just before the 1948-49 season, the four strongest teams in the NBL—those from Minneapolis, Minnesota; Rochester, New York; Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Indianapolis, Indiana—joined the BAA. • 1949-1950 the NBL's six surviving teams also joined the BAA, forming a three-division league that was renamed the National Basketball Association (NBA). • After the 1949-50 season the NBA established two divisions • The Eastern and Western conferences that were established in 1950.

9. 1940’s -1950’s for the NBA • The Minneapolis Lakers, led by center George Mikan and coached by John Kundla, won five NBA championship titles (1949, 1950, 1952-1954) • In the 1950’s Bob Cousy and Bob Pettit had a big impact on the sport • Bob Cousy was nicknamed the Houdini of the Hardwood because his ball handling skills and he lead the NBA in assists 8 straight years • Bob Pettit had a career 26.4 points per game and lead the St. Louis Hawks to appearances in the NBA championships finals in 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961 and winning in 1958 • The Celtics dominated the NBA from 1957-1969.During the 13 season period the team won 11 championships (1957, 1959-1966, 1968, 1969, including 8 consecutively) • Bill Russell was arguably the greatest on this team. In his 13 season career he averaged 15.1 points per game and 22.5 rebounds per game

10. 1960’s-1970’s for basketball • One of the best centers during the 60’s was Wilt Chamberlain. He played for Philadelphia Warriors, San Francisco Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, and Los Angeles Lakers. • In 1962 Chamberlain scored 100 points in a game. He averaged 50.4 points that season. Neither of these records have been touched by any players • The top guards in the 60’s were Oscar Robertson of the Milwaukee Bucks, Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers, and Walt Frazier of the New York Knicks • The University of California, Los Angeles dominated the collage basket basketball scene during 1963-1975.Choach John Wooden led UCLA to 10national championships(7 consecutively) • UCLA had won 88 games in a row from 1971-1974 • UCLA had a star studded team with center Bill Walton, guard Gail Goodrich, forward Marques Johnson, forward Jamaal Wilkes and the best player to emerge from the team was Kareem Abdul-Jabber (birth name was Alcindor)

11. 1980’s-1990’s for the NBA • In the 1980’s Larry Bird helped rebuild the Celtics team to win three NBA championships in 1981, 1984, 1986 • Magic Johnson did the same then guided the Lakers to win 5 more with Kareem Abdul-Jabber • In the late 80’s the Detroit Pistons emerged as a strong team with stars like guard Isiah Thomas and forward Dennis Rodman. • In the 1990’s popularity in the NBA was growing. • Arguably the best player ever guard Michael Jordan helped this growth. Jordon lead the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships in 1991-1993, 1996-1998. He also set a record leading the league 10 times in scoring. • The 1997-1998 season was shortened to 50 games because of a lockout