The Game of Basketball By Kristen Morey Good

The Game of Basketball By: Kristen Morey Good readers determine importance by noticing text features such as pictures, headings, subheadings, captions, timelines, diagrams, bold words, and font sizes.

Table of Contents • • • The Beginning of Basketball – 3 Basketball Timeline – 4 & 5 Back to Basics - 6 Court Lines and Markings – 7 Team Size – 8 The Ball – 9 The Basketball Hall of Fame – 10 Glossary – 11 - 13 References - 14

The Beginning of Basketball… The sport of basketball began when Dr. James Naismith was asked to create an indoor game, which could be played during the cold New England winter. Dr. Luther Gulick, head of Physical Education at the School for Christian Workers, gave Dr. Naismith 14 days to invent a sport which would distract a rowdy class from causing trouble when it was too cold to go outside. Dr. Naismith at first tried to organize outdoor sports like lacrosse and soccer to be played indoors. He finally designed 13 original rules to make a game he referred to as basket ball. Basketball is now played by over 300 million people around the world! The first game of basketball was played in Springfield, MA at a YMCA with 18 players.

Basketball Timeline • December 1891: Dr James Naismith, an instructor at the School for Christian Workers in Springfield, Massachusetts, invents basket ball (then two words). • March 22, 1893: Smith College in Massachusetts becomes the first women's school to play basket ball. Men are not allowed to watch the games. • 1895: The field goal value is changed from three points to two points. The free throw value is changed from three points to one point. • 1896: The first known professional basketball game is played in Trenton, New Jersey. • 1921: The spelling of basket ball becomes basketball. • February 25, 1924: Marie Boyd scores 156 points for Lonaconing Central (Maryland) in a 162 -3 victory over Cumberland Ursuline Academy (Maryland). This is a national record for girls.

Basketball Timeline (continued) • June 6, 1946: The Basketball Association of America (BAA) is founded. Maurice Podoloff is named the league president. • August 3, 1949: Six teams from the NBL join the BAA. the resulting 17 teams form the National Basketball Association (NBA). and name Maurice Podloff as President. • 1951: A crowd of 75, 000 people, a record for a basketball game, watch the Harlem Globetrotters perform at Berlin Olympic Stadium. • • • 1978 -79: The NBA Adds a third referee. 1979: The NBA adopts a three point line. October 12, 1979: Celtics guard Chris Ford hits the NBA's first three pointer. • April 24, 1996: The NBA Agrees to start a Women’s Nation Basketball Association (WNBA).

Back to Basics Some of the Original Rules: 1. Three fouls resulted in a goal for the opponents. 2. There were two fifteen minute halves, with a five minute halftime. 3. A player could not run with the ball, but may be allowed a few steps if he/ she caught the ball while running. 4. A goal was made when the ball went into the basket and stayed there. 5. A foul is striking at the ball with the fist. A peach basket was used as the original basketball hoop.

Court Lines and Markings 1. Sidelines – run the lengths of the court. They are normally 50 feet apart. 2. Baselines/ Endlines – run from sideline to sideline about 4 feet behind the basket. 3. Midcourt line – divides the court in half. 4. Three point line – field goals made behind this line count as 3 points. 5. Free throw line – 15 feet away from the backboard. This is the boundary line when shooting free throws. The shooter cannot step on or past this line when shooting free throws. 6. Free throw circle – The free throw shooter must remain in this area when shooting free throws. 7. Lane lines – boundaries which run from the free throw line to the baseline. 8. Center circle – 12 feet in diameter. This is found in the center of the court and used to start the game.

Team Size When basketball was first played, there was no set rule on the number of players. It was believed that any number of players (even 50!) could play the game at one time. However, this did not work out. Early games were mainly played by nine players on each side, because 18 students usually came to Naismith’s class. In 1897, it became a rule that five players should play on each team. The five basic positions for players on offense are: 1 = Point Guard 2 = Shooting Guard 3 = Small Forward 4 = Power Forward 5 = Post or Center

The Ball Men’s ball = 30 inches in circumference. Women’s ball = 29 inches in circumference. Soccer balls were used to play the first basketball games. But players found these balls very difficult to dribble. In 1894, the first basketballs were made by a company that created basketballs. Spalding became the official ball maker in the 1890 s. Over the years, improvements have been made to the basketball, such as creating them to be bouncier, lighter, and easier to handle.

The Basketball Hall of Fame first opened on February 17, 1968 on the campus of Springfield College. The doors opened to the public, just one month after the first-ever regular season game was shown on television to millions of people. The Basketball Hall of Fame was expanded, and eventually moved to a spectacular brand new building. Today, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is over 40, 000 square feet large and honors almost three hundred basketball stars. The Hall of Fame includes shooting contests and hundreds of displays. Sports fans all over the world visit the Hall of Fame to celebrate the history and well-loved game of basketball.

Glossary 1 Term distract 3 Reminding Word track 4 LINCing Story 5 LINCing Picture 2 Definition I will stay on track To draw away or and not go off my divert, as the mind course. Nothing will or attention. distract me from finishing my work.

Glossary 1 Term instructor 3 Reminding Word instill 4 LINCing Story 5 LINCing Picture 2 Definition An instructor instills A person who lessons to help instructs, teacher. children learn.

Glossary 1 Term circumference 3 Reminding Word circle 4 LINCing Story 5 LINCing Picture 2 Definition We walked all the The outer way around the circle boundary of a garden to measure circular area. the circumference.

References 1. The Ultimate Youth Basketball Guide For Players, Parents & Coaches. Retrieved 4/5/2010 from: http: //www. ultimate-youth-basketball-guide. com/index. html 2. Hooptactics: The World’s Most In-Depth Look Into Proven Basketball Strategies. Retrieved 4/5/2010 from: http: //www. hooptactics. wildapricot. org/Basketball_Basics_History 3. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved 4/5/2010 from: http: //www. hoophall. com/about-the-hall/ 4. Dictionary. com – An Ask. com Service. Retrieved 4/5/2010 from: http: //dictionary. reference. com/browse/