History of Basketball

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The game of basketball is recognizable high school or the NBA. The sport is very popular and is played worldwide. Everyone may also know the sport from some names of basketball stars. Maybe the names Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Dr. J, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, or Carmelo Anthony ring a bell. They are all outstanding players of the game and have a significant understanding of how the game is played. Basketball has changed alot overtime and has become one of Americas most played sports.

It takes time to really learn the ins and outs of the game and also to get a good handle on things. The game of basketball started in Springfield Massachusetts and has now become on of the most popular sports nationally known. The game was designed to improve skill and not just require strength (Laughead). The game came from the idea of another game called “duck-on-a-rock”. The objective of the game was to knock the dock off of the rock using another rock. The game of basketball was born at the YMCA training center in Massachusetts. The students at the training center were bored with all the athletic games and needed something new. That’s when Dr. James Naismith came along and invented basketball (Laughead).

Naismith was born November 6, 1861 and graduated from McGill College in 1887 (Padwe). He studied at the Presbyterian Theological Seminary for 3 years. He originally wanted to be a minister. He also had and athletic background and thought he could combine his love for athletics with his passion for helping mankind. He was from Canada and was an orphan at the age of eight. He was raised by his bachelor uncle (Padwe). Naismith was one of the athletic teachers at the YMCA training center and wanted to help the kids there with finding a ne...

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...s made it results in a foul. Players are aloud with up to five fouls. If a player reaches six he or she is ejected from the game (Peterson).

Dr. James Naismith invented a fun, skillful, and fast paced sport. He never lived to really see his sport grow and evolve. He died November 28, 1939 in Lawrence Kansas (Peterson). His game and memory still live on today in almost every part of the world. His game will live on for generations and generations to come. He will never be forgotten.

Works Cited

Laughead, George “History of Basketball” University Of Kansas Heritage Group 5, Jan. 2005 http://www.kansasheritage.org

Faurshcou, Bran “History Of Basketball” NBA Hoops Online 6, Feb. 2007 http://www.nbahoopsonline.com

Padwe, Sandy “Basketballs Hall Of Fame” New jersey: Prentice Hall, 2011

Peterson, Duncan “Book Of Rules” New York: Liberty Of Congress 1998

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