1.
National Basketball Association
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The National Basketball Association is the major mens professional basketball league in North America, and is widely considered to be the premier mens professional basketball league in the world. It has 30 teams, and is a member of USA Basketball. The NBA is one of the four professional sports leagues in the United States. NBA players are the worlds best paid athletes by average annual salary per player, the league was founded in New York City on June 6,1946, as the Basketball Association of America. The league adopted the name National Basketball Association on August 3,1949, the leagues several international as well as individual team offices are directed out of its head offices located in the Olympic Tower at 645 Fifth Avenue in New York City. NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are directed out of offices located in Secaucus, the Basketball Association of America was founded in 1946 by owners of the major ice hockey arenas in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Canada. On November 1,1946, in Toronto, Canada, the Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers at Maple Leaf Gardens, the first basket was made by Ossie Schectman of the Knickerbockers. During its early years, the quality of play in the BAA was not significantly better than in competing leagues or among leading independent clubs such as the Harlem Globetrotters. For instance, the 1948 ABL finalist Baltimore Bullets moved to the BAA and won that leagues 1948 title, Following the 1948–49 season, the BAA took in the remainder of the NBL, Syracuse, Anderson, Tri-Cities, Sheboygan, Denver, and Waterloo. The new league had seventeen franchises located in a mix of large and small cities, as well as arenas and smaller gymnasiums. The process of contraction saw the leagues smaller-city franchises move to larger cities, the Hawks shifted from the Tri-Cities to Milwaukee in 1951, and then to St. Louis in 1955. The Rochester Royals moved from Rochester, New York, to Cincinnati in 1957, japanese-American Wataru Misaka broke the NBA color barrier in the 1947–48 season when he played for the New York Knicks. He remained the only player in league history prior to the first African-American, Harold Hunter. During this period, the Minneapolis Lakers, led by center George Mikan, won five NBA Championships, to encourage shooting and discourage stalling, the league introduced the 24-second shot clock in 1954. If a team does not attempt to score a goal within 24 seconds of obtaining the ball, play is stopped. In 1957, rookie center Bill Russell joined the Boston Celtics, who already featured guard Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach, and went on to lead the club to eleven NBA titles in thirteen seasons. Center Wilt Chamberlain entered the league with the Warriors in 1959 and became a dominant individual star of the 1960s, russells rivalry with Chamberlain became one of the greatest rivalries in the history of American team sports. The 1960s were dominated by the Celtics, led by Russell, Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach, Boston won eight straight championships in the NBA from 1959 to 1966
2.
Shelby, North Carolina
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Shelby is a city in and the county seat of Cleveland County, North Carolina, United States. It lies near the edge of the Charlotte combined statistical area. The population was 20,323 at the 2010 census, victor McBrayer House, George Sperling House and Outbuildings, Joseph Suttle House, Webbley, and West Warren Street Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1916, Thomas Dixon, Jr. the author of The Clansman, A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan, the project was initially met with enthusiasm, until it was announced that Dixon wanted McAfee to wear a Ku Klux Klan mask in the statue. The city gained international attention when it became the site of the arrest of the suspected Charleston church shootings perpetrator, Dylann Roof. Shelby is located in south-central Cleveland County, U. S.74, a four-lane highway, runs through the city south of the center, and leads east 21 miles to Gastonia and west 27 miles to Rutherfordton. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 21.1 square miles, of which 21.1 square miles is land and 0.04 square miles. As of the census of 2000, there were 19,477 people,7,927 households, the population density was 1,073.8 people per square mile. There were 8,853 housing units at a density of 488. 1/sq mi. The racial makeup of the city was 56. 88% White,40. 97% African American,0. 09% Native American,0. 56% Asian,0. 02% Pacific Islander,0. 72% from other races, and 0. 76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1. 56% of the population,31. 6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15. 1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the family size was 2.97. In the city the population was out with 25. 0% under the age of 18,7. 6% from 18 to 24,25. 8% from 25 to 44,21. 8% from 45 to 64. The median age was 39 years, for every 100 females there were 83.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.8 males, the median income for a household in the city was $29,345, and the median income for a family was $38,603. Males had an income of $30,038 versus $21,362 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,708, about 14. 3% of families and 17. 8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26. 7% of those under age 18 and 13. 7% of those age 65 or over. Shelby is served by US Highway 74 and its business route, US74 Business travels through uptown Shelby along Marion St. and Warren St. giving travelers access to Shelbys growing central business district
3.
Appalachian State Mountaineers men's basketball
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The Appalachian State Mountaineers basketball team is the college basketball team at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. The Mountaineers compete in the Sun Belt Conference after having competed in the Southern Conference from 1972 to 2014 and they are currently a Division I member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Appalachian State plays their games at the George M. Holmes Convocation Center. Notable past coaches include Press Maravich and Bobby Cremins, the Mountaineers have appeared in the NCAA Tournament twice,1979 and 2000, and appeared in the National Invitation Tournament in 2007. The Mountaineers also reached the semifinals of the 2010 CollegeInsider. com Postseason Tournament, the Mountaineers have appeared in the NCAA Tournament two times. The Mountaineers have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament one time, the Mountaineers have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational one time. The Mountaineers have appeared in the NAIA Tournament five times, appalachians primary basketball rival is the Davidson Wildcats. The proximity of the two campuses as well as the number of Appalachian alumni in the Charlotte region add to the animosity between the two schools. The two teams have met on the hardwood 70 times, the Apps have won 32 of the meetings, the Cats have won 38
4.
Point guard
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The point guard, also called the one or point, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position, point guards are expected to run the teams offense by controlling the ball and making sure that it gets to the right players at the right time. A point guard, like other player positions in basketball, specializes in certain skills, a point guards primary job is to facilitate scoring opportunities for his/her team, or sometimes for themselves. Lee Rose has described a point guard as a coach on the floor and this involves setting up plays on the court, getting the ball to the teammate in the best position to score, and controlling the tempo of the game. A point guard should know when and how to instigate a fast break, point guards are expected to be vocal floor leaders. A point guard needs always to have in mind the times on the clock and the game clock, the score. Among the taller players who have enjoyed success at the position is Magic Johnson, other point guards who have been named NBA MVP include Bob Cousy, Oscar Robertson, Derrick Rose and two-time winners Stephen Curry and Steve Nash. In the NBA, point guards are usually about 65 or shorter, having above-average size is considered advantageous, although size is secondary to situational awareness, speed, quickness, and ball handling skills. Shorter players tend to be better dribblers since they are closer to the floor, after an opponent scores, it is typically the point guard who brings the ball down court to begin an offensive play. Passing skills, ball handling, and court vision are crucial, speed is important, a speedy point guard is better able to create separation and space off the dribble, giving him/herself room to work. Point guards are often valued more for their assist totals than for their scoring, another major evaluation factor is Assist-to-Turnover ratio, which reflects the decision-making skills of the player. Still, a point guard should also have a reasonably effective jump shot. The point guard is positioned on the perimeter of the play and this is a necessity because of the point guards many leadership obligations. Many times, the point guard is referred to by announcers as a coach on the floor or a floor general, in the past, this was particularly true, as several point guards such as Lenny Wilkens served their teams as player-coaches. This is not so common anymore, as most coaches are now solely specialized in coaching and are non-players, former Suns head coach Mike DAntoni had often allowed Steve Nash to freelance when leading the Suns offense, even letting him call his own plays at times. Even point guards who are not given this much freedom, however, are extensions of their coach on the floor. John Stockton is widely considered to be the point guard. He also used the pick and roll maneuvre with Karl Malone, along with leadership and a general basketball acumen, ball-handling is a skill of great importance to a point guard
5.
Baylor Bears basketball
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The Baylor Bears basketball team represents Baylor University in Waco, Texas, in NCAA Division I mens basketball competition. The Bears compete in the Big 12 Conference, the team plays its home games in Ferrell Center and is currently coached by Scott Drew. Luther Burleson coached the first basketball team at Baylor in 1907 also doubling as the football coach, in Baylors second season of basketball then cross-town rival TCU began their program which the Bears defeated twice during the 1908–09 season. Ralph Glazes.788 winning percentage ranks at the best all time in school history, Ralph Wolf lead Baylor to its first SWC Championship in 1932 after surviving and overcoming one of the first great tragedies in college athletics in his first season as coach. On January 22,1927, Coach Ralph Wolfs Baylor Basketball team was travelling by bus to play the University of Texas, as the bus passed through Round Rock, Texas, it approached railroad tracks on the south side of the business district on a drizzly, cloudy day. As the bus crossed the tracks the occupants failed to hear the sound of the train whistle and ringing bell. The driver caught sight of the train at the last moment and tried to steer away, Ten Baylor students and basketball players were killed by the impact. One player, James Clyde Abe Kelly, pushed his friend, Weir Washam, out the window of the bus just moments before impact, saving the life of Washam but costing Kelly his life. The bodies of Kelly and Robert Hailey were found stretched across the cow-catcher on the front of the train with arms locked around each other with Kelly missing a leg. Ivy Foster Sr. of Taylor, Texas, had heard of the accident and rushed to the station in Taylor to meet the train. The remainder of the 1927 season was canceled, the tragedy had reverberations over the entire state and nation and led to the construction of the first railway overpass in Texas where the event occurred at Round Rock. Buses were later required to come to a stop and open the door at all rail crossings to listen for trains. The Immortal Ten story has been commemorated each year since 1927 at first in Chapel services then later at the Freshman Mass Meeting during Homecoming Week, in 2007, the event was also memorialized in bronze on the Baylor campus in Traditions Plaza. On January 22,2017, on the 90th anniversary of the tragedy, at the event, the city dedicated the Immortal Bridge, which arcs over the railroad tracks where the accident occurred. Green lampposts, green-and-gold paint and other markings honor the 10 students who were killed there, the event was open to the public, and attendees included Baylor administrators and student leaders, the spirit squads, and Baylors Golden Wave Band. Baylor mens teams won five championships in the former Southwest Conference. The Bears reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 1946, bill Hendersons 1948 team advanced to play the Kentucky Wildcats for the NCAA championship, but fell 58–42 to Adolph Rupps first national championship team. The team again advanced to the NCAA Final Four in 1950 under Henderson losing to the Bradley Braves 68–66, bill Menefee would lead the Bears to a national ranking in 1969 but failed to make the postseason that year
6.
Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball
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The Colorado Buffaloes mens basketball team represents the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado. The team competes in the Pac-12 Conference of NCAA Division I and they are currently coached by Tad Boyle. The Buffaloes have competed in twelve NCAA Tournaments, making it to the Final Four twice, Colorado has played in nine National Invitation Tournaments, winning the tournament in 1940 and making the semi-finals in 1991 and 2011. The Buffs won the Pac-12 conference tournament in 2012, their first season as a member, the Colorado Mens Basketball team was initially known as the Silver and Gold, and began play on January 10,1901 and beat State Prep School 34–10. While unafiliated their first few seasons, the joined the Rocky Mountain Conference in 1909. From 1902–1935, the school racked up a 200–151 record, in 1934, the Silver and Gold became known as the Buffaloes. CU students rented a buffalo calf to cheer the team on for the football game that year. The first coaching star for CU was Forrest B, Cox spent 13 years on the sidelines from 1936–50. In his second season with the school, the Buffaloes joined the Mountain States Conference where they won four MSC titles, under Cox, the Buffs had quite a bit of success—both individually and as a team. Cox had four All-Americans during his time with the Buffs – Jack Harvey, Jim Willcoxon, Bob Doll, Cox lead the team to three NCAA tournament bids and two NIT bids while in Boulder. John also was drafted number 3 in 1974 to the Phoenix Suns, arguably the greatest team in CU Basketball history was the 1940 squad which not only got invited to the NCAA Tournament but to the NIT Tournament as well. The Buffs won the more prestigious at the time NIT Tournament, in 1942, the Buffs lost in the NCAA Tournament Championship game to the Stanford Cardinal, which is the schools all-time best finish in that tournament. In 1947, the Buffs left the Mountain States Conference and joined the Big Seven Conference, when Cox concluded his CU career, he had the best win-loss percentage of any CU coach that was there for more than one season. Lee took over as the Buffs head coach and he led the school to two NCAA Tournament bids, including a Third Place finish in the 1955 NCAA Tournament. However, the star of this era was Burdette Burdie Haldorson also known as The Big Burd, Haldorson is arguably the best player in Colorado Mens Basketball history. He also won two medals with USA Basketball. In 1955, Haldorson led the Big 7 Conference in scoring with 23.9 points per game as he led the Buffs to the finish in the 1955 NCAA Tournament. In 1956, CU named former player Russell Sox Walseth as their head coach, Walseth graduated from CU in 1948 as a three-time letterman in both basketball and baseball for the Buffaloes, and came back to coach after stints at High School and South Dakota State
7.
Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball
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The Kansas Jayhawks mens basketball program is the intercollegiate mens basketball program of the University of Kansas. It is one of the oldest and is one of the most successful programs in the history of basketball, the program is classified in the NCAAs Division I and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference. The Jayhawks first coach was the inventor of the game, James Naismith, Allen founded the National Association of Basketball Coaches and, with Lonborg, was an early proponent of the NCAA tournament. In 2008, ESPN ranked Kansas second on a list of the most prestigious programs of the college basketball era. The program ranks third in Division I all-time winning percentage and second in Division I all-time wins, following a 19–11 defeat of William Jewell on February 10,1908, the Jayhawks had a winning all-time record for the first time. The Jayhawks havent had a losing record since. Since the opening of Allen Fieldhouse in 1955, the Jayhawks have established a record of 750–109. Under head coach Bill Self, the Jayhawks have a 212–10 record at Allen Fieldhouse, which includes win streaks of 69,33, Kansas ranks second all-time in NCAA Division I wins with 2,198 wins, against 837 losses. This record includes a 750–109 mark at historic Allen Fieldhouse, the Jayhawks are first in NCAA history with 97 winning seasons, and tied for first in NCAA history with 100 non-losing seasons with Kentucky. Kansas has the fewest head coaches of any program that has been around 100 years, every head coach at Kansas since the inception of the NCAA Tournament has led the program to the Final Four. Kansas has had four head coaches inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame, a perennial conference powerhouse, Kansas leads Division I all-time in regular season conference titles with 60 in 110 years of conference play through the 2016–17 regular season. The Jayhawks have won a record 17 conference titles and a record 10 conference tournament titles in the 21 years of the Big 12s existence. The program also owns the best Big 12 records in both areas with a 274–57 record in conference play and a 41–10 record in tournament play. The mens basketball program began in 1898, following the arrival of Dr. James Naismith to the school. Naismith was not initially hired to coach basketball, but rather to be a chapel director, other common opponents were Haskell Institute and William Jewell College. Under Naismith, the team played just one game against a current Big 12 school, Naismith was, ironically, the only coach in the programs history to have a losing record. Including his years as coach, Naismith served as the Athletic Director, Naismith died in 1939, and his remains are buried in Lawrence, Kansas. The basketball court in Allen Fieldhouse is named James Naismith Court, on December 10,2010, the David Booth family purchased Dr. James Naismiths 13 Original Rules of the game at a Sothebys auction in New York City for the sum of $4.3 million
8.
San Antonio Spurs
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The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its games at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. The Spurs are one of four former American Basketball Association teams to remain intact in the NBA after the 1976 ABA–NBA merger, the Spurs five NBA championships are the fourth most in history behind only the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, and Chicago Bulls. The Spurs currently rank first among active franchises for the highest winning percentage in NBA history, in their 40 NBA seasons since 1976–77, the Spurs have won 21 division titles. With their 50th win in the 2016–17 season, the Spurs extended their record for most consecutive 50-win seasons to 18. Thus, since the 1997–98 season, the Spurs have had 20 consecutive seasons with a percentage of.610 or greater during the regular season which is also an NBA record. Only the teams current head coach, Gregg Popovich, who had been the general manager before replacing Bob Hill in 1996, has had a longer tenure with the Spurs. The Spurs are the only team in any of the four major U. S. professional sports leagues. Since 2003, the team has been forced on a road trip for much of February since the AT&T Center hosts the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. This is informally known as the Rodeo Road Trip, the Spurs have consistently posted winning road records during this period, including an NBA-record longest single road trip winning streak. When the Spurs have won the NBA title, the victory parades have been boat trips on the San Antonio River Walk. The San Antonio Spurs started out as the Dallas Chaparrals of the version of the American Basketball Association. Coached by player/coach Cliff Hagan the Dallas Chaparrals were one of 11 teams to take the floor in the season of the upstart ABA. The Chaps second season was a bit of a disappointment, as the finished in 4th place with a mediocre 41–37 record. In the playoffs the Chaparrals quickly fell to the New Orleans Buccaneers, the team suffered from poor attendance and general disinterest in Dallas. While the Chaparrals had been successful on the court, they were sinking financially by their third season. After missing the playoffs for the first time in their existence in the 1972–73 season, a group of 36 San Antonio businessmen, led by Manager/Angelo Drossos, Chairman of the Board/John Schaefer and President/Red McCombs, worked out a lend-lease deal with the Dallas ownership group
