University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, it is the flagship campus of the University of Tennessee system, with ten undergraduate colleges and eleven graduate colleges, it hosts 28,000 students from all 50 states and more than 100 foreign countries. In its 2019 universities ranking, U. S. News & World Report ranked UT 115th among all national universities and 52nd among public institutions of higher learning. Seven alumni have been selected as Rhodes Scholars. James M. Buchanan, M. S.'41, received the 1986 Nobel Prize in Economics. UT's ties to nearby Oak Ridge National Laboratory, established under UT President Andrew Holt and continued under the UT–Battelle partnership, allow for considerable research opportunities for faculty and students. Affiliated with the university are the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, the University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility, the University of Tennessee Arboretum, which occupies 250 acres of nearby Oak Ridge and features hundreds of species of plants indigenous to the region.
The university is a direct partner of the University of Tennessee Medical Center, one of two Level I trauma centers in East Tennessee. The University of Tennessee is the only university in the nation to have three presidential papers editing projects; the university holds collections of the papers of all three U. S. presidents from Tennessee—Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, Andrew Johnson. UT is one of the oldest public universities in the United States and the oldest secular institution west of the Eastern Continental Divide. On September 10, 1794, two years before Tennessee became a state and at a meeting of the legislature of the Southwest Territory at Knoxville, the University of Tennessee was chartered as Blount College; the new, all-male, non-sectarian institution struggled for 13 years with a small student body and faculty, in 1807, the school was rechartered as East Tennessee College as a condition of receiving the proceeds from the settlement devised in the Compact of 1806. When Samuel Carrick, its first president and only faculty member, died in 1809, the school was temporarily closed until 1820.
When it reopened, it began experiencing growing pains. Thomas Jefferson had recommended that the college leave its confining single building in the city and relocate to a place it could spread out. Coincidentally, in the Summer of 1826, the trustees explored "Barbara Hill" as a potential site and relocated there by 1828. In 1840, the college was elevated to East Tennessee University; the school's status as a religiously non-affiliated institution of higher learning was unusual for the period of time in which it was chartered, the school is recognized as the oldest such establishment of its kind west of the Appalachian Divide. Tennessee was a member of the Confederacy in 1862 when the Morrill Act was passed, providing for endowment funds from the sale of federal land to state agricultural colleges. On February 28, 1867, Congress passed a special Act making the State of Tennessee eligible to participate in the Morrill Act of 1862 program. In January 1869, ETU was designated as Tennessee's recipient of the Land-Grant designation and funds.
In accepting the funds, the university would focus upon instructing students in military and mechanical subjects. ETU received $396,000 as its endowment under the program. Trustees soon approved the establishment of a medical program under the auspices of the Nashville School of Medicine and added advanced degree programs. East Tennessee University was renamed the University of Tennessee in 1879 by the state legislature. During World War II, UT was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission. African-American attorney Rita Sanders Geier filed suit against the state of Tennessee in 1968 alleging that its higher education system remained segregated despite a federal mandate ordering desegregation, she claimed that the opening of a University of Tennessee campus at Nashville, Tennessee would lead to the creation of another predominantly white institution that would strip resources from Tennessee State University, the only state-funded Historically black university.
The suit was not settled until 2001, when the Geier Consent Decree resulted in the appropriation of $77 million in state funding to increase diversity among student and faculty populations among all Tennessee institutions of higher learning. The University of Tennessee at Knoxville is the flagship campus of the statewide University of Tennessee system, governed by a 26-member board of trustees appointed by the Governor of Tennessee; the campus is headed by a Chancellor who functions as the chief executive officer of the campus, responsible for its daily administration and management. The chancellor reports to the president of the university system and is elected annually by the UT Board of Trustees at the recommendation of the system president. Joseph A. DiPietro has been system president since January 1, 2011 until December 2018. Randy Boyd, a former candidate for governor, was appointed interim president while a search has been convened. Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Susan D. Martin is responsible for the academic administration of the Knoxville campus and reports directly to the Chancellor.
On December 15, 2016, the UT Board of Trustees confirmed Beverly J. Davenport as the next Chancellor of the Knoxville campus, succeeding Jimmy Cheek, she began her role on February
1977 NBA draft
The 1977 NBA draft was the 31st annual draft of the National Basketball Association. The draft was held on June 1977, before the 1977 -- 78 season. In this draft, 22 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U. S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip; the Milwaukee Bucks won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Kansas City Kings, who obtained the New York Nets first-round pick in a trade, were awarded the second pick. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated. Before the draft, six college underclassmen were declared eligible for selection under the "hardship" rule.
These players had applied and gave evidence of financial hardship to the league, which granted them the right to start earning their living by starting their professional careers earlier. Four former American Basketball Association franchises who joined the NBA when both leagues merged, the Denver Nuggets, the Indiana Pacers, the New York Nets and the San Antonio Spurs, took part in the NBA Draft for the first time. Prior to the start of the season, the Nets became the New Jersey Nets; the draft consisted of 8 rounds comprising the selection of 170 players. Kent Benson from Indiana University was selected first overall by the Milwaukee Bucks. Walter Davis from the University of North Carolina, who went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in his first season, was selected fifth by the Phoenix Suns. Davis was selected to both the All-NBA Team and the All-Star Game in his first season, he collected a total of two All-Star Game selections. Three other players from this draft, second pick Otis Birdsong, third pick Marques Johnson and seventh pick Bernard King, were selected to both the All-NBA Team and the All-Star Game.
Birdsong was selected to one All-Star Game. Jack Sikma, the eight pick, won the NBA championship with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979 and was selected to seven consecutive All-Star Games. Rickey Green, the 16th pick, Norm Nixon, the 22nd pick, Eddie Johnson, the 39th pick, are the only other players from this draft who were selected to an All-Star Game. Two players drafted went on to have coaching careers in the NBA: 33rd pick Eddie Jordan and 53rd pick John Kuester. Jordan has coached three teams including five seasons with the Washington Wizards. In the seventh round, the New Orleans Jazz selected Lusia Harris, a female college basketball star from Delta State University, with the 137th pick, she became the second woman drafted by an NBA team, after Denise Long, selected by the San Francisco Warriors in the 1969 Draft. However, the league voided the Warriors' selection, thus Harris became the first and only woman to be drafted. Harris declined to try out for the Jazz, it was revealed that she was pregnant at the time, which made her unable to attend the Jazz's training camp if she had wanted to.
She never played in the NBA but she played in the Women's Professional Basketball League. In 1992, she was inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame and became the first women inducted to the Hall of Fame, she was part of the inaugural class of inductees of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. In the seventh round, the Kansas City Kings selected track and field athlete Caitlyn Jenner with the 139th pick. Jenner had just won the gold medal for decathlon at the 1976 Olympic Games, but had not played basketball since high school; the following list includes other draft picks. A On September 10, 1976, the Kansas City Kings acquired Jim Eakins, Brian Taylor, 1977 and 1978 first-round picks from the New York Nets in exchange for Nate Archibald; the Kings used the pick to draft Otis Birdsong. B 1 2 3 On the draft-day, the Chicago Bulls re-acquired their first-round pick from the Buffalo Braves, while the Braves re-acquired their second-round pick from the Bulls; the Braves acquired Swen Nater and the Bulls' pick on June 7, 1977, from the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for the Braves' first-round pick.
The Bucks acquired the Bulls' pick on November 2, 1976, from the Braves in exchange for Jim Price. The Braves acquired the Bulls' pick on November 27, 1975, from the Bulls in exchange for Jack Marin; the Bulls acquired Matt Guokas, the Braves' pick and a second-round pick on September 4, 1974, from the Braves in exchange for Bob Weiss. The Bucks used the Braves' first-round pick to draft Marques Johnson. C 1 2 On January 20, 1977, the Washington Bullets acquired Tom Henderson and a first-round pick from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Truck Robinson and a first-round pick; the Bullets acquired Dave Bing and the pick on August 28, 1975, from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Kevin Porter. The Bullets used the pick to draft Greg Ballard; the Hawks used the pick to draft Tree Rollins. D 1 2 On August 5, 1976, the Los Angeles Lakers acquired 1977, 1978 and 1979 first-round picks, a 1980 second-round pick
Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference; the team plays its home games at Barclays Center. They are one of two NBA teams located in New York City; the team was established in 1967 as a charter franchise of the NBA's rival league, the American Basketball Association. They played in New Jersey as the New Jersey Americans during their first season, before moving to Long Island in 1968 and changing their name to the New York Nets. During this time, the Nets won two ABA championships. In 1976, the ABA merged with the NBA, the Nets were absorbed into the NBA along with three other ABA teams. In 1977, the team returned to New Jersey and played as the New Jersey Nets from 1977 to 2012. During this time, the Nets won two consecutive Eastern Conference championships, but failed to win a league title. In the summer of 2012, the team moved to Barclays Center, took its current geographic name.
The Brooklyn Nets were founded in 1967 and played in Teaneck, New Jersey, as the New Jersey Americans. In its early years, the team led a nomadic existence, moving to Long Island in 1968 and playing in various arenas there as the New York Nets. Led by Hall of Famer Julius "Dr. J" Erving, the Nets won two ABA championships in New York before becoming one of four ABA teams to be admitted into the NBA as part of the ABA–NBA merger in 1976; the team moved back to New Jersey in 1977 and became the New Jersey Nets. During their time in that state, the Nets saw periods of losing and misfortune intermittent with several periods of success, which culminated in two consecutive NBA Finals appearances in the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons by teams led by point guard Jason Kidd. After playing 35 seasons in New Jersey, the team moved back to the state of New York, changed its geographic name to Brooklyn, began playing in the new Barclays Center, starting with the 2012–13 NBA season; the Boston Celtics were once rivals of the Nets during the early 2000s because of their respective locations and their burgeoning stars.
The Nets were led by Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin, while the Celtics were experiencing newfound success behind Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker. The rivalry began to heat up in the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals, preceded by trash-talking from the Celtics who claimed Martin was a "fake" tough guy. Things progressed as the series started, on-court tensions seemed to spill into the stands. Celtic fans berated Kidd and his family with chants of "Wife Beater!" in response to Kidd's 2001 domestic abuse charge. When the series returned to New Jersey, Nets fans responded, with some brandishing signs that read "Will someone please stab Paul Pierce?" Referring to a night club incident in 2000 in which Pierce was stabbed 11 times. When asked about the fan barbs being traded, Kenyon Martin stated, "Our fans hate them, their fans hate us." Bill Walton said at the time that Nets-Celtics was the "beginning of the next great NBA rivalry" during the Eastern Conference Finals in 2002 with the Nets advancing to the NBA Finals, though New Jersey swept Boston in the 2003 playoffs.
On November 28, 2012 there were indications that the rivalry might be rekindled when an altercation occurred on the court, resulting in the ejection of Rajon Rondo, Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries. Rondo was suspended for two games in the aftermath, while Kevin Garnett were fined; the story was revisited on December 25, when Wallace grabbed Garnett's shorts and the two had to be broken up by referees and players alike. However, the rivalry between the Nets and the Celtics appeared cooled off by the June 2013 blockbuster trade that dealt Celtics stars Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Nets in exchange for Wallace and others; this move was billed as a merger of the two Atlantic Division teams. Celtics announcer Sean Grande said, "It's as if you found a great home for these guys. You couldn't have found a better place; these guys will be in the New York market, they'll be on a competitive team, they'll stay on national TV. It's funny. So with Celtics fans feeling the way they do about the Heat, feeling the way they do about the Knicks, the Nets are going to become the second team now."
The Knicks–Nets rivalry has been a geographical one, with the Knicks playing in Madison Square Garden in the New York City borough of Manhattan, while the Nets played in the suburban area of Long Island and in New Jersey, since 2012 have been playing at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Media outlets have noted the Knicks–Nets rivalry's similarity to those of other New York City teams, such as the Major League Baseball Subway Series rivalry between the American League's New York Yankees and the National League's New York Mets, the National Football League rivalry between the National Football Conference's New York Giants and the American Football Conference's New York Jets, the result of the boroughs' proximity through the New York City Subway; the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn competed via the Dodgers–Giants rivalry, when the two teams were known as the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. Like the Knicks and Nets, the Giants and Dodgers played in Manhattan and Brooklyn and were fierce intraleague rivals.
The rivalry between the New York Islanders and New York Rangers of the National Hockey League has taken on a similar dimension since the Islanders moved to
1992–93 NBA season
The 1992–93 NBA season was the 47th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Chicago Bulls winning their third-straight NBA Championship, beating the Phoenix Suns 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals; the 1993 NBA All-Star Game was played at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, with the West defeating the East 135–132 in overtime. Much to delight of the local fans, Karl Malone and John Stockton of the Utah Jazz were named co-MVPs of the game; the Phoenix Suns played their first season at America West Arena. The San Antonio Spurs played their final season in the HemisFair Arena; the Charlotte Hornets became the first of the four late-1980s expansion franchises to win a playoff series on Alonzo Mourning's 20-foot jumper at the buzzer in Game 4 of their first round playoff series against the Boston Celtics. Michael Jordan scored his 20,000th career point and tied Wilt Chamberlain's record of seven scoring titles. In Game 3 of the NBA Finals, the Suns defeated the Bulls in triple overtime, 129–121.
This marked the second time a Finals game lasted three overtimes, along with Game 5 of the 1976 Finals, which involved the Suns. Coincidentally, in the 1976 game, Paul Westphal played for the Suns, in the 1993 game, he coached the Suns. Michael Jordan scored 40 or more points in 4 consecutive games of the NBA Finals, setting a record, averaged an NBA Finals record 41.0 points per game for the series. The Chicago Bulls defeated the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals to become the first team in 30 years to win three consecutive championships. New Jersey Nets guard Dražen Petrović was killed in an automobile accident in Munich, Germany on June 7. Two months on July 27, Boston Celtics guard Reggie Lewis died of a heart attack during practice. Both were honored by their respective teams by retiring their numbers, Petrovic would be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame; the Dallas Mavericks became the third team to lose 70 games in a season, after the 1972–73 Philadelphia 76ers and the 1986–87 Los Angeles Clippers, they finished 11–71.
They would be joined by the 1997–98 Denver Nuggets, the 2009–10 New Jersey Nets and the 2015-16 Philadelphia 76ers. During the regular season, three backboards were broken. Two were done by Orlando's Shaquille O'Neal, once against Phoenix where he dunked the ball so hard the entire goal collapsed and once against New Jersey when he pulled the entire backboard off of the goal; the other was by New Jersey's Chris Morris, who dunked with such force during a game against Chicago that the backboard glass shattered. This led the league to provide stronger shatterproof backboards. However, every team is still required to have a spare backboard in their home arenas just in case; the Atlanta Hawks changed their uniforms. The Dallas Mavericks changed their road uniforms from green to blue; the New York Knicks changed their logo. The Phoenix Suns changed their logo and uniforms, moved into the America West Arena
Small forward
The small forward known as the three, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are shorter and leaner than power forwards and centers, but taller and larger than either of the guard positions; the small forward is considered to be the most versatile of the five main basketball positions. In the NBA, small forwards range from 6' 6" to 6' 10" while in the WNBA, small forwards are between 5' 11" to 6' 2". Small forwards are responsible for scoring points, defending and as secondary or tertiary rebounders behind the power forward and center, although a few have considerable passing responsibilities. Many small forwards in professional basketball are prolific scorers; the styles with which small forwards amass their points vary widely. Some players at the position are accurate shooters, others prefer to initiate physical contact with opposing players, still others are slashers who possess jump shots. In some cases, small forwards position as off-the-ball specialists.
Small forwards who are defensive specialists are versatile as they can guard multiple positions using their size and strength
Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
The Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the player who has proven himself, throughout the season, to be the most exceptional talent in the Southeastern Conference. The school with the most SEC Player of the Year award winners is Kentucky, with 16 total awards; the only current SEC members that have never had a winner are Missouri and Texas A&M, the conference's two newest members. Three different organizations have given this award: United Press International, Associated Press, the SEC coaches. A If no special demarcation indicates which award the player won that season he had earned all of the awards available for that year. B Chris Jackson changed his name to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf in 1991 after converting to Islam. C In 1976–77, two Tennessee players were chosen as the SEC Player of the Year—Ernie Grunfeld and Bernard King were selected by the Associated Press, Grunfeld was chosen by United Press International. Both players are counted in the total Player of the Year Award per school tally
1984–85 NBA season
The 1984–85 NBA season was the 39th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Championship, beating the Boston Celtics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals; the 1985 NBA All-Star Game was played at Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, with the West defeating the East 140–129. Ralph Sampson of the Houston Rockets won the game's MVP award. Dominique Wilkins of the Atlanta Hawks won the Slam Dunk Contest. Michael Jordan became the only rookie in NBA history to lead a team in four statistics; the Clippers relocated from San Diego to Los Angeles. This created a distinction whereby two teams of the same host name are in the same division, similar to the one in the NHL where the Patrick Division had two teams of the same host name, New York. There was a similar scenario which only existed in the 1976–77 season, in which the Atlantic Division had New York Knicks and Nets. Turner Broadcasting began a relationship with the NBA that continues today when TBS signed a two-year, $20 million deal with the NBA.
The Kings played their final game in Kansas City and moved their franchise to Sacramento the following season. In one of their final home games, Knicks forward Bernard King, who finished the year as the scoring champion, ruptured his ACL in his right knee and was out of action for two years. King would come back in 1987, but would not return to the All-Star Game until 1991; this season marked Michael Jordan's, Akeem Olajuwon's, Charles Barkley's and John Stockton's rookie seasons in the NBA. Due to a roof collapse at the Pontiac Silverdome, the Pistons were forced to rent the Joe Louis Arena, home of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings, for the remainder of the season and into the playoffs. Both the Pistons and the Red Wings would move their home games to the Little Caesars Arena, starting in 2017. At age 38, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the oldest player to win the honor of Finals MVP. Jabbar's team, the Lakers, became the first visiting team to win the NBA title at Boston Garden, beating their archrivals, the Boston Celtics, in six games.
The Finals adopted the 2-3-2 format, used through the 2013 NBA Finals after which the league returned to the 2–2–1–1–1 format. The Cleveland Cavaliers returned to the playoffs after a seven-year absence, they were eliminated by the Celtics in four games. They would not make the playoffs again until 1988; the Cavaliers were coached by George Karl making his NBA coaching debut. At New Orleans' Lakefront Arena, Larry Bird scored a Celtics' franchise record 60 points in Boston's 126–115 victory over the Hawks on March 12. Bird broke the previous franchise record set by teammate Kevin McHale nine days earlier at Boston Garden against the Pistons; the Denver Nuggets made the conference finals for the first time since 1978, losing 4-1 to the Lakers. They would not make the conference finals again until 2009; the series marked the end of Dan Issel's playing career, having played 15 professional seasons and averaging 22.6 points and 9.1 rebounds in his career. This was the last season of the backboard height set at 48 in.
It would be shortened 6 in next season to the current 42 in. The NBA logo is added on the lower left hand corner of the backboard starting this season. Notes z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs y – Clinched division title x – Clinched playoff spot Teams in bold advanced to the next round; the numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage does not belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record. Most Valuable Player: Larry Bird, Boston Celtics Rookie of the Year: Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls Defensive Player of the Year: Mark Eaton, Utah Jazz Sixth Man of the Year: Kevin McHale, Boston Celtics Coach of the Year: Don Nelson, Milwaukee Bucks All-NBA First Team: F – Larry Bird, Boston Celtics F – Bernard King, New York Knicks C – Moses Malone, Philadelphia 76ers G – Isiah Thomas, Detroit Pistons G – Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers All-NBA Second Team: F – Terry Cummings, Milwaukee Bucks F – Ralph Sampson, Houston Rockets C – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers G – Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls G – Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks All-NBA Rookie Team: Charles Barkley, Philadelphia 76ers Sam Perkins, Dallas Mavericks Akeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets Sam Bowie, Portland Trail Blazers Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls NBA All-Defensive First Team: Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks Paul Pressey, Milwaukee Bucks Mark Eaton, Utah Jazz Michael Cooper, Los Angeles Lakers Maurice Cheeks, Philadelphia 76ers NBA All-Defensive Second Team: Bobby Jones, Philadelphia 76ers Danny Vranes, Seattle SuperSonics Akeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets Dennis Johnson, Boston Celtics T. R. Dunn, Denver NuggetsNote: All above information was obtained on the History section on NBA.com The following players were named NBA Player of the Week.
The following players were named NBA Player of the Month. The following players were named NBA Rookie of the Month; the following coaches were named NBA Coach of the Month
