1.
Shooting guard
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The shooting guard, also known as the two or off guard, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guards main objective is to score points for his team, some teams ask their shooting guards to bring up the ball as well, these players are known colloquially as combo guards. A player who can switch between playing shooting guard and small forward is known as a swingman, notable swing men include Jimmy Butler, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Joe Johnson, Andre Iguodala, Andrew Wiggins, Evan Turner and Tyreke Evans. In the NBA, shooting guards usually range from 64 to 67, the Basketball Handbook by Lee Rose describes a shooting guard as someone whose primary role is to score points. As the name suggests, most shooting guards are good long-range shooters, typically, shooting guards are taller than point guards. Height at the position varies, many bigger shooting guards also play small forward, Shooting guards should be good ball handlers and be able to pass reasonably well, though passing is not their main priority. Since good shooting guards may attract double-teams, they are frequently the teams back-up ball handlers to the point guard, Shooting guards must be able to score in various ways, especially late in a close game when defenses are tighter. They need to have a free throw percentage too, to be reliable in close games. Because of the level of offensive skills shooting guards need, they are often a teams primary scoring option. Good shooting guards can usually play point guard to a certain extent, Lee H. Rose ISBN 0-7360-4906-1 Media related to Shooting guards at Wikimedia Commons
2.
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
3.
Freeport, Bahamas
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Freeport is a city, district and free trade zone on the island of Grand Bahama of the northwest Bahamas. Freeport has grown to become the second most populous city in the Bahamas, Freeport is also served by domestic Bahamian ferry services to other islands and by a regular international service to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA operated by Baleària Bahamas Express. The city of Freeport emerged from a grant comprising 50,000 acres of swamp. The Grand Bahama Port Authority operates the free zone, under special powers conferred by the government under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement. The agreement also increased the land grants to 138,000 acres, Freeport is located just 80 miles off the coast of Palm Beach, Florida, and on the major EW–NS shipping routes. This has positioned it as a centre for international business. Consequently, a number of international companies use Freeport for a business site. The Lucayan National Park is 40 acres in extent and includes five ecological zones stretching from the shore to the pineyard. There is an underwater cave system beneath the park. One cave entrance is accessible by stairs at the national park, other caves are accessible for certified scubas. Freeport features a tropical rainforest climate according to Köppen Climate Classification, more specifically with mild winters and hot, seldom do temperatures drop below 60 °F. Average temperatures range in the low to upper 80s, with temperature varying between 72 to 78 °F. The winters are mild and dry, while the summers are usually hot. Although a freeze has never reported in the Bahamas, snow was reported to have mixed with rain in Freeport in January 1977. The temperature was about 4.5 °C at the time, several cruise ships stop weekly at the island. Much of the tourist industry is centered on the suburb of Lucaya. Freeport features at least two Junkanoo festivals near New Years, the city is often promoted as Freeport/Lucaya. Most hotels on the island are located along the shore facing the Northwest Providence Channel
4.
Wichita, Kansas
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Wichita is the largest city in the state of Kansas and the 48th-largest city in the United States. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County, as of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 382,368, as of 2014, it was estimated to have increased to 389,965. In 2015, the population of the Wichita metropolitan area was 644,610. The city began as a trading post on the Chisholm Trail in the 1860s and it subsequently became a key destination for cattle drives traveling north from Texas to access railroads, earning it the nickname Cowtown. In the 1920s and 1930s, businessmen and aeronautical engineers established a number of aircraft manufacturing companies in Wichita including Beechcraft, Cessna. The city transformed into a hub of U. S. aircraft production, in 1937, the city of Wichita established their official flag. As an industrial hub and the largest city in the state, Wichita is a center of culture, media. It hosts several museums, theatres, parks, and entertainment venues. Several universities are located in the city including Wichita State University, the citys daily newspaper, The Wichita Eagle, has the highest circulation of any newspaper in Kansas, and the Wichita broadcast television market includes the western two-thirds of the state. Wichita is also home to the Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center and Kansass largest airport, archaeological evidence indicates human habitation near the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers, the site of present-day Wichita, as early as 3000 B. C. In 1541, a Spanish expedition led by explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado found the area populated by the Quivira, or Wichita, conflict with the Osage in the 1750s drove the Wichita further south. Prior to American settlement of the region, the site was located in the territory of the Kiowa, the Wichita returned in 1864 due to the American Civil War and established a settlement on the banks of the Little Arkansas. During this period, trader Jesse Chisholm established a trading post at the site, after the war, the Wichita permanently relocated south to Indian Territory. In 1868, trader James R. Mead established another trading post at the site, and surveyor Darius Munger built a house for use as a hotel, community center, Business opportunities attracted area hunters and traders, and a new settlement began to form. That summer, Mead and others organized the Wichita Town Company, in 1870, Munger and German immigrant William Dutch Bill Greiffenstein filed plats laying out the citys first streets. Wichita formally incorporated as a city on July 21,1870, Wichitas position on the Chisholm Trail made it a destination for cattle drives traveling north from Texas to access railroads which led to markets in eastern U. S. cities. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway reached the city in 1872, as a result, Wichita became a railhead for the cattle drives, earning it the nickname Cowtown. Across the Arkansas River, the town of Delano became an entertainment destination for cattlemen thanks to its saloons, brothels
5.
Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball
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The Oklahoma Sooners mens basketball team represents the University of Oklahoma in mens NCAA Division I basketball. The Sooners play in the Big 12 Conference, the Sooners enjoyed moderate success on the court during this era, posting only 16 losing records in their first 72 seasons. They were coached by 9 different coaches during this period, beginning with Bennie Owen, the Sooners participated in the very first Final Four in 1939, and again in 1947, eventually losing 47-58 in the championship game to Holy Cross. The program gained prominence under Billy Tubbs when he took over the program in 1981. Star players Wayman Tisdale, Mookie Blaylock, and Stacey King helped the Sooners to enjoy several deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, Tubbs resigned on April 10,1994, indicating that he did not feel appreciated enough working at a football school. Tubbs base salary at Oklahoma in his season was $107,000 annually. Tubbs,59 years old at the time, left to take over the struggling Texas Christian University basketball program, Tubbs record at OU was 333-132 overall, 126-70 conference, with 10 NCAA Tournament Appearances, one Final Four appearance, and one National Title Game appearance. In the Big 8, Tubbs had 2 Conference Tournament titles and 5 Conference Regular Season titles, Tubbs averaged 24 wins per season and 9 conference wins per season. Kelvin Sampson became the 11th head coach at the University of Oklahoma on April 25,1994 and it was the second-best overall record posted by a first-year coach in Big 8 history. Sampson possesses the highest winning percentage in Oklahoma history and he guided OU to nine consecutive 20-win seasons. He averaged 24.4 wins over those nine campaigns and he directed the Sooners to postseason tournament berths in each of his 12 seasons, with a Sweet 16 showing in 1999, a Final Four appearance in 2002 and an Elite Eight appearance in 2003. His teams also played in the Big 12 Tournament title game on five occasions during the 10 seasons he coached in the Big 12, in 2001,2002, and 2003 the Sooners won that tournament. Sampson finished with a Big 12 Tournament record of 17-7, standouts Eduardo Nájera and Hollis Price helped the Sooners maintain a streak of 25 straight post season appearances, the longest in the nation. Sampson left OU in 2006 to take a job at Indiana. Sampsons record at OU was 279-109 overall, 128-60 conference, with 10 NCAA Tournament Appearances, in the Big 12, Sampson had 3 Conference Tournament Titles and 1 Conference Regular Season Title. During his final season at OU, Sampsons salary was approximately $900,000 annually, Sampson left OU in 2006 to become the head basketball coach at Indiana University, signing a 7-year, $10,500,000 contract, at $1,500,000 per season. Under Sampsons watch, Oklahoma was placed under an investigation by the NCAA for recruiting violations. At the end of their investigation, the NCAA issued a report citing more than 550 illegal calls made by Sampson, the NCAA barred Sampson from recruiting off campus and making phone calls for one year, ending May 24,2007
6.
New Orleans Pelicans
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The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays their games in the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans were established as the New Orleans Hornets in the 2002–03 season when then-owner of the Charlotte Hornets, George Shinn, relocated the franchise to New Orleans. Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City. The team returned to New Orleans full-time for the 2007–08 season, on January 24,2013, the franchise announced it would rename itself the Pelicans, effective after the conclusion of the 2012–13 season. Their achievements include one playoff victory and one division title. While the Charlotte Hornets put a team on the court throughout the 1990s. Many attributed this lapse in popularity to the owner, George Shinn. In 1997, a Charlotte woman claimed that Shinn had raped her, the consensus was that while Charlotte was as basketball-crazy as ever, fans took out their anger at Shinn on the team. On March 26,2001, both the Hornets and the Vancouver Grizzlies applied for relocation to Memphis, Tennessee, which was won by the Grizzlies. Shinn issued an ultimatum, unless the city built a new arena at no cost to him, the city initially refused, leading Shinn to consider moving the team to either Norfolk, Louisville, or St. Louis. Polls showed the referendum on its way to passage, however, just days before the referendum, Mayor Pat McCrory vetoed a living wage ordinance. The veto prompted many of the citys black ministers to oppose the referendum, while even the NBA acknowledged that Shinn had alienated fans, league officials felt such a demand would anger other owners. Before the Hornets were eliminated from the playoffs, the NBA approved the move, as part of a deal, the NBA promised that Charlotte would get a new team, which took the court two years later as the Charlotte Bobcats. He also said if he had it to do all over again. Shinn emphasized how he was making amends by committing to New Orleans saying, im not going to make one here. Were going to make this thing work, the Hornets opened their inaugural season in New Orleans on October 30,2002, against New Orleans original NBA franchise, the now-Utah Jazz
7.
Sacramento Kings
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The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the team in the major professional North American sports leagues located in Sacramento. The team play its games at the Golden 1 Center. The Kings are the oldest franchise in the NBA, and one of the oldest continuously operating professional basketball franchises in the nation and they originated in Rochester, New York as the Rochester Seagrams in 1923 and joined the National Basketball League in 1945 as the Rochester Royals. They jumped to the Basketball Association of America, forerunner of the NBA, as the Royals, the team was often successful on the court, winning the NBA championship in 1951. However, they found it difficult to turn a profit in the comparatively small market of Rochester. In 1972, the relocated to Kansas City, Missouri. In 1975, the Kings ceased playing home games in Omaha, the team again failed to find success in that market, and moved to Sacramento in 1985. The Royals defected to the NBLs rival, the Basketball Association of America, in 1948. In 1949, as a result of that absorption of the NBL by the BAA, the Royals became members of the newly formed NBA along with the Fort Wayne Pistons, Minneapolis Lakers. A year later, the BAA absorbed the remaining NBL teams to become the National Basketball Association, the move to the BAA took away Rochesters profitable exhibition schedule, and placed it in the same Western Division that Minneapolis was in. Of the two best teams in pro basketball, only one of them could play in the finals from 1949 to 1954. Minneapolis, with George Mikan, was almost always a little better at playoff time than the Royals, Harrison knew that the NBA was outgrowing Rochester, and spent most of the 1950s looking for a buyer for his team. The Royals won the NBA title in 1951 by defeating the New York Knicks 4 games to 3 and it is the only NBA championship in the franchises history. However, the title did not translate into profit for the Royals, the roster turned over in 1955, except for Bobby Wanzer, the team moved to the larger Rochester War Memorial. Now a losing team filled with rookies, the Royals still did not turn a profit, meanwhile, the NBA was putting pressure on Harrison to sell or relocate his team to a larger city. With this in mind, the 1956–57 season was the Royals last in Rochester, in April 1957, the Harrison brothers moved the Royals to Cincinnati
8.
NBA All-Rookie Team
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The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for players on their own team, the All-Rookie Team is generally composed of two five-man lineups, a first team and a second team. The players each receive two points for each first team vote and one point for second team vote. The top five players with the highest point total make the first team, in the case of a tie at the fifth position of either team, the roster is expanded. If the first team consists of six due to a tie. Ties have occurred several times, most recently in 2012, when Kawhi Leonard, Iman Shumpert, no respect is given to positions. For example, the first team had four forwards, and one guard in 2008, while the first team had four centers, nine All-Rookie Team members have won both the Rookie of the Year Award and the Most Valuable Player Award during their careers. Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld are the players to accomplish this feat in the same season. National Basketball Association portal General Specific
9.
John R. Wooden Award
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The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding mens and womens college basketball players. The program consists of the mens and womens Player of the Year awards, the awards, given by the Los Angeles Athletic Club, are named in honor of John Wooden, the 1932 national collegiate basketball player of the year from Purdue. Wooden later taught and coached basketball at Indiana State and UCLA. Coach Wooden, whose teams at UCLA won ten NCAA championships, was the first man to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and his 1948 Indiana State team was the NAIB National Finalist. The award, which was given only to male athletes, was first given in 1977. Starting in 2004, the award was extended to womens basketball, additionally, the Legends of Coaching Award was presented first in 1999. The 2015 presentation was broadcast on ESPN2 and the show was presented by Wendys at Los Angeles Club Nokia on Friday, each year, the Awards National Advisory Board, a 26-member panel, selects approximately 20 candidates for Player of the Year and All-American Team honors. The candidates must be students and have a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 or higher throughout their college career. Players who are nominated must have made outstanding contributions to team play, the selection ballot is announced prior to the NCAA basketball tournament. The voters consist of 1,000 sportswriters and sportscasters representing the 50 states, the top ten vote-getters are selected to the All-American Team, and the results are announced following the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament. The person who receives the most votes is named the Player of the Year, the Player of the Year is awarded a trophy consisting of five bronze figures. The players school receives a trophy, as well as a scholarship grant. The other top four members of the All-American Team receive an All-American Team trophy, a jacket, each coach of the top five All-American Team members also receives a jacket. The All-American Team members ranked six through ten receive an All-American Team trophy and a jacket, the criteria for the womens Player of the Year award and All-American Team honors are similar to those for the men. For the womens award, the National Advisory Board consists of 12 members, the voters are 250 sportswriters and sportscasters. In contrast to the mens All-American Team, only five members are selected for the womens team, the Player of the Year receives a trophy, and her school receives a duplicate trophy and a scholarship grant. The concept for the trophy originated with Wooden Award Chairman, Richard Duke Llewellyn, work began on the trophy in 1975, and sculptor Don Winton, who had sculpted many top sports awards, was given the task of designing the model of the trophy. The figures are bronze plated and attached to a base plate
10.
Naismith College Player of the Year
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The Naismith College Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top mens and womens collegiate basketball players. It is named in honor of the inventor of basketball, Dr. James Naismith, first awarded exclusively to male players in 1969, the award was expanded to include female players in 1983. By February, the list of nominees is narrowed down to 30 players based on performance, in March, four out of the 30 players are selected as finalists and are placed in the final ballot. The final winners are selected in April by both the board of selectors and fan voting via text messaging, the winners receive the Naismith Trophy. Since its beginning in 1969, the trophy has been awarded to 42 male and 23 female players, lew Alcindor of the University of California, Los Angeles and Anne Donovan of Old Dominion University were the first winners, respectively. Bill Walton of UCLA and Ralph Sampson of the University of Virginia have been the men to win this award multiple times. Eight women in all have won this award multiple times, Davis and Moore are the only ones of either sex to have won multiple times in non-consecutive years. Five winners of the award, all men, were born outside of the United States. S, the only three award winners who have been born outside the jurisdiction of the United States were, Andrew Bogut, born in Melbourne, Australia. Patrick Ewing, born in Kingston, Jamaica, buddy Hield, born in Freeport, Bahamas. Duncan did not move to the U. S. proper until he arrived at Wake Forest University, duke has had the most male winners with seven, while the Connecticut has had the most female winners, with nine awards won by six individuals. The award has been won by a freshman twice, Kevin Durant playing for Texas in 2007, women List of U. S. mens college basketball national player of the year awards Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award Official site
11.
Oscar Robertson Trophy
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The Oscar Robertson Trophy is given out annually to the outstanding mens college basketball player by the United States Basketball Writers Association. The trophy is considered to be the oldest of its kind and has given out since 1959. USBWA College Player of the Year was started in 1959, which makes it the oldest running trophy for the player of the year. The USBWA annually selects a player of the year and All-America teams for men and women in college basketball. The USBWA mens player of the award is now called the Oscar Robertson Trophy. The USBWA also selects a coach of the year for men and women. It was renamed after the college and professional legend Oscar Robertson in 1998, five nominees are presented and the individual with the most votes receives the award during the NCAA Final Four. He averaged 32.6 points per game in his year at Cincinnati. List of U. S. mens college basketball player of the year awards Oscar Robertson Trophy
12.
Associated Press
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The Associated Press is an American multinational nonprofit news agency headquartered in New York City that operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. The AP is owned by its contributing newspapers and radio and television stations in the United States, all of which stories to the AP. Most of the AP staff are members and are represented by the Newspaper Guild, which operates under the Communications Workers of America. As of 2007, news collected by the AP was published and republished by more than 1,700 newspapers, in addition to more than 5,000 television, the photograph library of the AP consists of over 10 million images. The AP operates 243 news bureaus in 120 countries and it also operates the AP Radio Network, which provides newscasts twice hourly for broadcast and satellite radio and television stations. Many newspapers and broadcasters outside the United States are AP subscribers, as part of their cooperative agreement with the AP, most member news organizations grant automatic permission for the AP to distribute their local news reports. The AP employs the inverted pyramid formula for writing that enables the news outlets to edit a story to fit its available publication area without losing the storys essentials. Cutbacks at rival United Press International in 1993 left the AP as the United States primary news service, although UPI still produces and distributes stories and photos daily. Other English-language news services, such as the BBC, Reuters, some historians believe that the Tribune joined at this time, documents show it was a member in 1849. The New York Times became a member shortly after its founding in September 1851, initially known as the New York Associated Press, the organization faced competition from the Western Associated Press, which criticized its monopolistic news gathering and price setting practices. The revelations led to the demise of the NYAP and in December 1892, when the AP was founded, news became a salable commodity. The invention of the press allowed the New York Tribune in the 1870s to print 18,000 papers per hour. During the Civil War and Spanish–American War, there was a new incentive to print vivid, Melville Stone, who had founded the Chicago Daily News in 1875, served as AP General Manager from 1893 to 1921. He embraced the standards of accuracy, impartiality, and integrity, the cooperative grew rapidly under the leadership of Kent Cooper, who built up bureau staff in South America, Europe and, the Middle East. He introduced the telegraph typewriter or teletypewriter into newsrooms in 1914, in 1935, AP launched the Wirephoto network, which allowed transmission of news photographs over leased private telephone lines on the day they were taken. This gave AP a major advantage over other media outlets. While the first network was only between New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, eventually AP had its network across the whole United States, in 1945, the Supreme Court of the United States held in Associated Press v. The decision facilitated the growth of its main rival United Press International, AP entered the broadcast field in 1941 when it began distributing news to radio stations, it created its own radio network in 1974
13.
Big 12 Conference
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The Big 12 Conference is a ten-school collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas. Its ten members, located in Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, additionally, the Big 12 has ten affiliate members, six for the sport of wrestling, one for womens gymnastics, and 3 for womens rowing. The Big 12 Conference is a 501 nonprofit organization incorporated in Delaware, the Big 12 was formerly composed of 12 schools, hence its name, it was formed in 1996 when four schools from the collapsing Southwest Conference joined with the pre-existing Big Eight Conference. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were grouped with the four newcomers in the Big 12 South, TCU and West Virginia joined from the Mountain West and Big East Conferences respectively to offset two of the departing schools, bringing the conference to its current strength. Attempts to rename the Big 12 to reflect its current strength would lead to confusion with the current Big Ten Conference, the Big 12 Conference commissioner is Bob Bowlsby. Full members Assoc. member Other Conference The Big 12 Conference sponsors championship competition in ten mens, nonetheless, it is an open coed sport in NCAA college athletics, with mens, womens, and coed teams in all NCAA divisions competing against each other. TCU and West Virginia both field coed teams, through 2017, West Virginia with 19 national titles and TCU with two, together have won over half of the NCAA titles awarded since the inaugural NCAA championship in 1980. West Virginia also won four national titles. The Big 12 began athletic play in the fall of 1996, from its formation until 2011, its 12 members competed in two divisions. Between 2011 and 2012 four charter members left the conference while two joined in 2013. The Big 12 is unique among the current Power Five conferences in that it only has 10 members, despite the name, causing some confusion. From 1987 to 2015,12 or more members were required for a championship game. Former Texas Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds and former football coach Mack Brown, along with Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops, critics argued it was a competitive advantage over other contract conferences. Conferences with a game have their division champions typically play one of their toughest games of the year in the last week of the regular season. Unlike the other Power 5 conferences in which a team plays a portion of the other teams in the conference each season. This theoretically allows for the declaration of a de facto champion without the need for a rematch between the top two teams in the conference. On June 3,2016, the conference announced it would reinstate the football game in the 2017 season. This followed the passage of a new NCAA rule allowing all FBS conferences to hold football championship games regardless of their membership numbers, the Big 12 population base is centered on the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, West Virginia and Iowa
14.
Basketball
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Basketball is a non-contact team sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of five players each. The objective is to shoot a ball through a hoop 18 inches in diameter and 10 feet high that is mounted to a backboard at each end of the court. The game was invented in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith, a team can score a field goal by shooting the ball through the basket being defended by the opposition team during regular play. A field goal scores three points for the team if the player shoots from behind the three-point line. A team can also score via free throws, which are worth one point, the team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but additional time is mandated when the score is tied at the end of regulation. The ball can be advanced on the court by passing it to a teammate and it is a violation to lift, or drag, ones pivot foot without dribbling the ball, to carry it, or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling. The game has many techniques for displaying skill—ball-handling, shooting, passing, dribbling, dunking, shot-blocking. The point guard directs the on court action of the team, implementing the coachs game plan, Basketball is one of the worlds most popular and widely viewed sports. Outside North America, the top clubs from national leagues qualify to continental championships such as the Euroleague, the FIBA Basketball World Cup attracts the top national teams from around the world. Each continent hosts regional competitions for teams, like EuroBasket. The FIBA Womens Basketball World Cup features the top womens basketball teams from continental championships. The main North American league is the WNBA, whereas the EuroLeague Women has been dominated by teams from the Russian Womens Basketball Premier League, in early December 1891, Canadian Dr. He sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied, after rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto a 10-foot elevated track. Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball and these laces could cause bounce passes and dribbling to be unpredictable. Eventually a lace-free ball construction method was invented, and this change to the game was endorsed by Naismith, dribbling was not part of the original game except for the bounce pass to teammates. Passing the ball was the means of ball movement. Dribbling was eventually introduced but limited by the shape of early balls. Dribbling only became a part of the game around the 1950s
15.
West Grand Bahama
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West Grand Bahama is one of 31 districts of The Bahamas. The district covers the western portion of Grand Bahama island, excluding the city of Freeport. West Ends development has been dominated by a hotel and marina located at the tip of Grand Bahama Island. The Florida-based Ginn Company sought to develop a new project in the area. In 2009, the now former Ginn Company defaulted on a $650 million Credit Suisse which a portion of the loan was used to fund Ginn Sur Mer. The project once pegged at $5 billion would have included thousands of sites,4 star resort hotel. The lawsuits filed in the U. S. and Bahamas courts are still ongoing, as for the name of each settlement, they basically got their name from the families that settled there. For example, Pinders Point was inhabited by the Pinders, russell town by the Russells and so on. At one point, there was even a town called Coopers town but over time, West Grand Bahama is divided into four town areas or townships. Each township has its own chairperson and they are, Township of West End Township of Eight Mile Rock West Township of Eight Mile Rock East Township of Pinders Point
16.
The Bahamas
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The Bahamas, known officially as the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is an archipelagic state within the Lucayan Archipelago. The capital is Nassau on the island of New Providence, the designation of the Bahamas can refer either to the country or to the larger island chain that it shares with the Turks and Caicos Islands. As stated in the mandate/manifesto of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the Bahamas is the site of Columbus first landfall in the New World in 1492. At that time, the islands were inhabited by the Lucayan, although the Spanish never colonised the Bahamas, they shipped the native Lucayans to slavery in Hispaniola. The islands were mostly deserted from 1513 until 1648, when English colonists from Bermuda settled on the island of Eleuthera, the Bahamas became a British Crown colony in 1718, when the British clamped down on piracy. After the American War of Independence, the Crown resettled thousands of American Loyalists in the Bahamas, they brought their slaves with them, Africans constituted the majority of the population from this period. Slavery in the Bahamas was abolished in 1834, Today the descendants of slaves and free Africans make up nearly 90% of the population, issues related to the slavery years are part of society. The Bahamas became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1973, retaining Queen Elizabeth II as its monarch, in terms of gross domestic product per capita, the Bahamas is one of the richest countries in the Americas, with an economy based on tourism and finance. The name Bahamas is derived from either the Taino ba ha ma, alternatively, it may originate from Guanahani, a local name of unclear meaning. In English, the Bahamas is one of two countries whose self-standing short name begins with the word the, along with The Gambia. Taino people moved into the uninhabited southern Bahamas from Hispaniola and Cuba around the 11th century and they came to be known as the Lucayan people. An estimated 30,000 Lucayan inhabited the Bahamas at the time of Christopher Columbus arrival in 1492, Columbuss first landfall in the New World was on an island he named San Salvador. Some researchers believe this site to be present-day San Salvador Island, an alternative theory holds that Columbus landed to the southeast on Samana Cay, according to calculations made in 1986 by National Geographic writer and editor Joseph Judge, based on Columbuss log. Evidence in support of this remains inconclusive, on the landfall island, Columbus made first contact with the Lucayan and exchanged goods with them. The Spanish forced much of the Lucayan population to Hispaniola for use as forced labour, the slaves suffered from harsh conditions and most died from contracting diseases to which they had no immunity, half of the Taino died from smallpox alone. The population of the Bahamas was severely diminished, in 1648, the Eleutherian Adventurers, led by William Sayle, migrated from Bermuda. These English Puritans established the first permanent European settlement on an island which they named Eleuthera—the name derives from the Greek word for freedom and they later settled New Providence, naming it Sayles Island after one of their leaders. To survive, the settlers salvaged goods from wrecks, in 1670 King Charles II granted the islands to the Lords Proprietors of the Carolinas in North America
17.
Married... with Children
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With Children is an American television live-action sitcom that aired on Fox, created by Michael G. Moye and Ron Leavitt. Originally broadcast from April 5,1987 to June 9,1997, it is the longest-lasting live-action sitcom on Fox, Most storylines involve Als schemes being foiled by his own cartoonish dim wit and bad luck. The series comprises 259 episodes and 11 seasons and its theme song is Love and Marriage by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, performed by Frank Sinatra from the 1955 television production Our Town. The first season of the series was videotaped at ABC Television Center in Hollywood, from season two to season eight, the show was taped at Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood, and the remaining three seasons were taped at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City. The series was produced by Embassy Communications during its first season, in 2008, the show placed number 94 on Entertainment Weeklys New TV Classics list. 1 David Garrison left the show during season four, but returned in four episodes as a special guest and he constantly attempts to relive his high-school Big Man On Campus days, when he was the All State Fullback. His most noted achievement was having scored four touchdowns in a game for Polk High. Peggy Bundy —Als wife who is always on his case about money and her big taste for things like clothes and male strippers have run Al into debt on numerous occasions. A recurring joke in the series is Als regret of having married Peggy in the first place, peggys best friend is Marcy, with whom she occasionally conspires against Al. Her family is a stereotypical backwoods clan of degenerates whom she forces the other Bundys to endure. Kelly Bundy —the Bundys firstborn, a dumb blonde who is often derided as promiscuous. Her stupidity manifests in many ways, from forgetting ideas on the spot to mispronouncing or misspelling simple words, like her mother, she is quick to steal Als money for expensive things. Her favorite hobby is belittling her lonely and sexless brother, though she stands up for him against anyone outside the family, Bud Bundy —the younger Bundy offspring, and the most intelligent family member, the first Bundy to attend college. His awkwardness and preoccupation with sex leads to failures with women. To improve his success with girls, Bud often uses his persona, Grandmaster B. When using the Grandmaster B persona, Bud usually wears dark sunglasses, ironically, she is just as chauvinistic as Al and the founder and leader of an anti-man support group called FANG. Despite her political correctness and structured life, Marcy harbors a dark, somewhat sexually deviant side, Al is repulsed by Marcy and frequently belittles her, likening her to a chicken, and mockingly confusing her for an adolescent male. At the outset of the show, Marcy is married to Steve Rhoades, after Steve is written off the show during the fourth season, he is replaced by Jefferson DArcy
18.
Kansas
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Kansas /ˈkænzəs/ is a U. S. state located in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas is named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribes name is said to mean people of the wind or people of the south wind. For thousands of years, what is now Kansas was home to numerous, tribes in the eastern part of the state generally lived in villages along the river valleys. Tribes in the part of the state were semi-nomadic and hunted large herds of bison. When it was opened to settlement by the U. S. Thus, the area was a hotbed of violence and chaos in its early days as these forces collided. The abolitionists eventually prevailed, and on January 29,1861, after the Civil War, the population of Kansas grew rapidly when waves of immigrants turned the prairie into farmland. By 2015, Kansas was one of the most productive agricultural states, producing high yields of wheat, corn, sorghum, and soybeans. Kansas, which has an area of 82,278 square miles is the 15th largest state by area and is the 34th most populous of the 50 United States with a population of 2,911,641, residents of Kansas are called Kansans, officially. Mount Sunflower is Kansass highest point at 4,041 feet, for a millennia, the land that is currently Kansas was inhabited by Native Americans. The first European to set foot in present-day Kansas was Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, in 1803, most of modern Kansas was secured by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Southwest Kansas, however, was still a part of Spain, Mexico, from 1812 to 1821, Kansas was part of the Missouri Territory. The Santa Fe Trail traversed Kansas from 1821 to 1880, transporting manufactured goods from Missouri and silver and furs from Santa Fe, wagon ruts from the trail are still visible in the prairie today. In 1827, Fort Leavenworth became the first permanent settlement of white Americans in the future state, the Kansas–Nebraska Act became law on May 30,1854, establishing the U. S. territories of Nebraska and Kansas, and opening the area to broader settlement by whites. Kansas Territory stretched all the way to the Continental Divide and included the sites of present-day Denver, Colorado Springs, Missouri and Arkansas sent settlers into Kansas all along its eastern border. These settlers attempted to sway votes in favor of slavery, the secondary settlement of Americans in Kansas Territory were abolitionists from Massachusetts and other Free-Staters, who attempted to stop the spread of slavery from neighboring Missouri. Directly presaging the American Civil War, these forces collided, entering into skirmishes that earned the territory the name of Bleeding Kansas, Kansas was admitted to the United States as a free state on January 29,1861, making it the 34th state to enter the Union. He was roundly condemned by both the conventional Confederate military and the partisan rangers commissioned by the Missouri legislature and his application to that body for a commission was flatly rejected due to his pre-war criminal record
19.
Bel Aire, Kansas
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Bel Aire is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States, and a suburb of Wichita. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 6,769, Bel Aire was founded in January 1955 when a group of local residents petitioned the county government to create it as an improvement district for water. On November 26,1980, Bel Aire formally incorporated as a city and this was despite a two-year legal dispute with the Wichita city government over whether or not it had the right to do so. The case ultimately went to the Kansas Supreme Court which ruled in Bel Aires favor, Bel Aire is located at 37°45′50″N 97°15′58″W at an elevation of 1,394 feet. It lies on the side of the East Fork of Chisholm Creek roughly 6 miles northeast of the Arkansas River in the Wellington-McPherson Lowlands region of the Great Plains. Located on the side of K-254 in south-central Kansas, Bel Aire is within the Wichita metropolitan area, bordered by Wichita to the south and west. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 6.86 square miles. Bel Aire is part of the Wichita, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area, as of the census of 2010, there were 6,769 people,2,465 households, and 1,854 families residing in the city. The population density was 991.1 inhabitants per square mile, there were 2,554 housing units at an average density of 373.9 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 81. 1% White,8. 6% African American,0. 9% Native American,4. 5% Asian,1. 4% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 4. 8% of the population. 21. 3% of all households were made up of individuals and 9. 6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.21. The median age in the city was 36 years. 28. 3% of residents were under the age of 18,6. 7% were between the ages of 18 and 24,26. 3% were from 25 to 44,26. 9% were from 45 to 64, and 11. 6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48. 2% male and 51. 8% female, as of the census of 2000, there were 5,836 people,1,976 households, and 1,618 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,680.8 people per square mile, there were 2,024 housing units at an average density of 929.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 85. 47% White,7. 32% African American,0. 45% Native American,3. 68% Asian,0. 02% Pacific Islander,1. 10% from other races, and 1. 97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3. 02% of the population,15. 4% of all households were made up of individuals and 5. 6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the family size was 3.30
20.
Wichita State Shockers men's basketball
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The Wichita State Shockers mens basketball team is the NCAA Division I college basketball program representing Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. The team is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. The Shockers have made 14 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Final Four twice, the Elite 8 four times, the team plays its home games at Charles Koch Arena, where it averaged 10,391 fans per game in 2012, ranking 38th nationally. The prior year, Wichita State competed in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, in 2015 Wichita state defeated the UNI Panthers in the regular season finale for their 9th Missouri Valley conference regular season title, becoming two-time defending MVC champions. Wichita State, then known as Fairmount College, first took the court in 1906 under head coach Willis Bates, during this time, the sports teams were known as the Wheatshockers. The first official game was held in the basement of Fairmount Hall, Fairmount lost to Washburn University by a score of 37–10. During this inaugural season, the Wheatshockers only won two games, Fairmount acquired a permanent home when Memorial Gymnasium was opened on January 15,1921 in a game against the American Legion of Wichita. The gym was later renamed Henrion Gymnasium in 1926 and that same year, the newly renamed Municipal University of Wichita joined the Central Conference in athletics. Shocker basketball achieved greater success with the arrival of Coach Ralph Miller, Littleton averaged 18.2 points per game as a freshman, a school record that still stands today. He was the first player west of the Mississippi to score 2,000 points in a season and is one of only five Wichita State players to have his number retired. He was also one of the first African American players in the Missouri Valley Conference, Littleton averaged 19 points per game during his career and he still owns 7 school records. Due to this success, Wichita State decided to construct a new home for the Shockers, through appropriated money by the WU Board of Regents, Wichita State was able to construct a new field house for the mens basketball team, costing $1.4 million. On December 3,1955, the Shockers played their first game in WU Field House in front of more than 9,000 fans, dave Stallworth entered the program in the 1961–62 season. Nicknamed The Rave, Stallworth became the Shockers first consensus All-American in 1964 and he finished with a career scoring average of 24.2 points per game and was second on the all-time scoring list with 1,936 points. During his 13-year stint at WSU, Ralph Miller became the winningest coach in Shocker basketball history, Miller is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and currently ranks as the eighth-winningest coach in college basketball history. The 1964–65 season—the first after Wichita joined the university system as Wichita State University—was the greatest in Shocker history until the 2013–14 season. On December 14,1964, Gary Thompson led Wichita State to its first-ever No.1 ranking, the 19–7 Shockers won the MVC and earned a berth into the Midwest Regional. After defeating Southern Methodist and an Oklahoma State team led by Henry Iba, there, the Shockers were matched against the defending national champion UCLA Bruins, losing 108–89
21.
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
22.
Three-point field goal
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A three-point field goal is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two points awarded for field goals made within the three-point line and the one point for each made free throw. In international FIBA and WNBA play, the three-point line is 6.75 m away from the basket on the arc part and 6.6 m from the straight parts. In both mens and womens National Collegiate Athletics Association basketball, the three-point line is simply a 180° circular arc centered on the basket,20 ft 9 in in radius. The three-point line was first tested at the level in a 1945 NCAA game between Columbia and Fordham but it was not kept as a rule. At the direction of Abe Saperstein, the American Basketball League became the first basketball league to institute the rule in 1961 and its three-point line was a radius of 25 feet from the baskets, except along the sides. The Eastern Professional Basketball League followed in its 1963–64 season, the three-point shot later became popularized by the American Basketball Association after its introduction in the 1967–68 season. Then commissioner of the ABA George Mikan stated the three-pointer would give the player a chance to score. During the 1970s, the ABA used the three-point shot, along with the slam dunk, in the 1979–80 season, the NBA adopted the three-point line despite the view of many that it was a gimmick. Chris Ford of the Boston Celtics is widely credited with making the first three-point shot in NBA history on October 12,1979, kevin Grevey of the Washington Bullets also made one on the same day. The sports international governing body, FIBA, introduced the three-point line in 1984, the NCAAs Southern Conference became the first collegiate conference to use the three-point rule, adopting a 22-foot line for the 1980–81 season. Ronnie Carr of Western Carolina University was the first to score a three-point field goal in basketball history on November 29,1980. Over the following five years, NCAA conferences differed in their use of the rule, used in conference play, it was adopted by the NCAA for the 1986–87 season at 19 ft 9 in, and was first used in the NCAA Tournament in 1987. In 2007, the NCAA lengthened the mens three point distance to 20 ft 9 in, with the coming into effect at the beginning of the 2008–09 season. American high schools, along with elementary and middle schools, adopted a 19 ft 9 in line nationally in 1987, a year after the NCAA. During the 1994–95, 1995–96, and 1996–97 seasons, the NBA attempted to address decreased scoring by shortening the distance of the line from 23 ft 9 in to a uniform 22 ft around the basket. From the 1997–98 season on, the NBA reverted the line to its distance of 23 ft 9 in. Ray Allen is currently the NBA all-time leader in career made three-pointers with 2,973, in 2008, FIBA announced that the distance would be increased by 50 cm to 6.75 m, with the change being phased in beginning in October 2010
23.
2015 NBA draft
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The 2015 NBA draft was held on June 25,2015 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It was televised nationally by ESPN, national Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur U. S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The draft lottery took place on May 19,2015 and this draft also gave the Los Angeles Lakers the second overall pick after jumping over the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks within the draft lottery. These players were not selected in the 2015 NBA draft, but have appeared in at least one regular-season or playoff game in the NBA, the draft was conducted under the eligibility rules established in the leagues new 2011 collective bargaining agreement with its players union. The CBA that ended the 2011 lockout instituted no immediate changes to the draft, since the 2011 CBA, the basic eligibility rules have been, All drafted players must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft. In terms of dates, players eligible for the 2015 draft must be born on or before December 31,1996. Any player who is not a player, as defined in the CBA. Player who are not automatically eligible must declare their eligibility for the draft by notifying the NBA offices in writing no later than 60 days before the draft, for the 2015 draft, this date fell on April 26. After this date, early entry players may attend NBA pre-draft camps and individual team workouts to show off their skills and obtain feedback regarding their draft positions. Under the CBA, a player may withdraw his name from consideration from the draft at any time before the final declaration date, under NCAA rules at that time, players only had until April 16 to withdraw from the draft and maintain their college eligibility. In January 2016, the NCAA changed its draft withdrawal date to 10 days after the end of the annual NBA Draft Combine in May, a player who has hired an agent will forfeit his remaining college eligibility, regardless of whether he is drafted. Also, while the CBA allows a player to withdraw from the draft twice, the aforementioned 2016 NCAA rule change also allowed players to declare for more than one draft without losing college eligibility. This year, a total of 48 collegiate players and 43 international players declared as early entry candidates before the April 26 deadline. Players who do not meet the criteria for players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria. If they graduated high school in the U. S. but did not enroll in a U. S. college or university. They have signed a contract with a basketball team outside of the NBA, anywhere in the world. Players who meet the criteria for players are automatically eligible if they meet any of the following criteria. In terms of dates, players born on or before December 31,1993 are automatically eligible for the 2015 draft and they have signed a contract with a professional basketball team outside of the NBA within the United States, and have played under that contract
24.
Scott Van Pelt
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Scott Van Pelt is an American sportscaster and sports talk show host. He co-anchored the 11 p. m. edition of SportsCenter on ESPN, served as the co-host of SVP & Russillo alongside Ryen Russillo on ESPN Radio, in June 2015, Van Pelt left his radio show to become a solo anchor for a midnight edition of SportsCenter. Scott Van Pelt was born in Brookeville, Maryland, and grew up in the Washington and he attended Flower Valley Elementary School in Rockville, Maryland. He graduated from Sherwood High School in Sandy Spring, Maryland and he is a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. The show was renamed SVP & Russillo in October 2012 and he is a studio presenter for Friday night College Football on ESPN college football games for the ESPN Network. In 2012, Van Pelt made the decision to stay with ESPN, in May 2015, the network announced Van Pelt would leave the radio show SVP & Russillo to become a solo anchor for a midnight-edition of SportsCenter, set to begin in late summer 2015. The midnight show will cover events from the day, but will include additional commentary from Van Pelt. Van Pelts family includes Lorenzo Cathie Mathis and Sam, ESPN bio Scott Van Pelt on Twitter Scott Van Pelt at the Internet Movie Database Interview with Justin Buck and George Miller
25.
Allen Fieldhouse
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Allen Fieldhouse is an indoor arena on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, Kansas. It is home of the Kansas Jayhawks mens and womens basketball teams, the arena is named after Dr. Forrest C. Phog Allen, a coach of the Jayhawks whose tenure lasted 39 years. President Bill Clinton in 2004, U. S. presidential candidate Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, ESPN The Magazine named Allen Fieldhouse the loudest college basketball arena in the country. The arena broke the Guinness World Record for loudest indoor arena on February 13,2017 against West Virgina at 130.4 dB. The prior record of 126.4 dB at Kentuckys Rupp Arena which lasted less than three weeks also had many Kansas fans present as the Jayhawks beat the #4 Wildcats 79-73. The Mens basketball program at the University of Kansas has a current record at Allen Fieldhouse, since 1994, the Jayhawks have gone 296–15 at home. Since 2007, they have gone 140–3, making Allen Fieldhouse the statistically greatest home-court advantage in all of sports during this time. The construction of Allen Fieldhouse began in 1952, but quickly ground to a halt because of a federal mandate restricting steel consumption following the Second World War and during the Korean War. However, university officials were able to find a loophole, by adding some rooms for gun and weapons storage, Allen Fieldhouse was dedicated on March 1,1955. Handicapped seating was moved courtside behind both baskets in 2001, the concourse was originally an indoor track. At times the Fieldhouse has been home to mens and womens basketball, indoor track and field, volleyball, since additional facilities were constructed to accommodate many of those needs, it is now used primarily for basketball. Max Falkenstien was a figure in the radio booth, working every home game in Allen Fieldhouse from its construction to his retirement in 2006,51 years later. Interior renovations include a new court, new windows. After 2006, new banners for the jerseys and conference. Renovations completed in 2009 include an expansion of the Booth Family Hall of Athletics and the creation of an atrium, as well as improved concessions, wider concourses. The building also received brand new locker rooms, training rooms, film rooms, a pedestrian bridge connecting the fieldhouse to the existing facility parking garage was also constructed. The improvements cost approximately $7.8 million, in December 2010, the Booth family announced they had purchased the founding document of the game of basketball, Dr. Naismiths original 13 Rules of Basketball
26.
Indiana Pacers
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The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first established in 1967 as a member of the American Basketball Association and they play their home games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The team is named after Indianas history with the Indianapolis 500s pace cars, the Pacers have won three championships, all in the ABA. The Pacers were Eastern Conference champions in 2000, the team has won nine division titles. Five Hall of Fame players – Reggie Miller, Chris Mullin, Alex English, Mel Daniels, in early 1967, a group of six investors pooled their resources to purchase a franchise in the proposed American Basketball Association. For their first seven years, they played in the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum, in 1974, they moved to the plush new Market Square Arena in downtown Indianapolis, where they played for 25 years. Early in the Pacers second season, former Indiana Hoosiers standout Bob Slick Leonard became the head coach. Leonard quickly turned the Pacers into a juggernaut and his teams were buoyed by the great play of superstars such as Mel Daniels, George McGinnis, Bob Netolicky, Rick Mount and Roger Brown. The Pacers were – and ended – as the most successful team in ABA history, in all, they appeared in the ABA Finals five times in the leagues nine-year history, a feat that was never bettered by any other ABA franchise. The Pacers were one of four ABA teams that joined the NBA in the ABA–NBA merger in 1976, for the 1976–77 season the Pacers were joined in the merged league by the Denver Nuggets, New York Nets, and San Antonio Spurs. The league charged a $3.2 million entry fee for each former ABA team, as a result of the merger, the four teams dealt with financial troubles. Additionally, the Pacers had some financial troubles which dated back to their days in the ABA. The new NBA teams also were barred from sharing in national TV revenues for four years, the Pacers finished their inaugural NBA season with a record of 36–46. Billy Knight and Don Buse represented Indiana in the NBA All-Star Game, however, this was one of the few bright spots of the Pacers first 13 years in the NBA. During this time, they had only three non-losing seasons and only two playoff appearances, a lack of continuity became the norm for most of the next decade, as they traded away Knight and Buse before the 1977–78 season even started. They acquired Adrian Dantley in exchange for Knight, but Dantley was traded in December, while the Pacers second-leading scorer, the early Pacers came out on the short end of two of the most one-sided trades in NBA history. In 1980, they traded Alex English to the Nuggets in order to reacquire former ABA star George McGinnis, McGinnis was long past his prime, and contributed very little during his two-year return
27.
DeMarcus Cousins
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DeMarcus Amir Cousins is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association. Nicknamed Boogie, he played basketball for the University of Kentucky. He left Kentucky after one season, and was selected with the fifth pick in the 2010 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings. In his first season with the Kings, Cousins was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, and from 2015 to 2017, he was named an NBA All-Star. He is also a gold medal winner as a member of the United States national team, winning his first in 2014 at the FIBA Basketball World Cup. Cousins attended LeFlore Magnet High School in his hometown of Mobile and he was a first-team Parade All-American in 2009, and played in the 2009 McDonalds All-American Boys Game, finishing with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Cousins also played in the 2009 Nike Hoop Summit at the Rose Garden in Portland, Cousins first committed to Alabama-Birmingham on February 28,2008, but never signed a letter of intent. Cousins decommitted from UAB and committed to Memphis on March 9,2009 and he reopened his recruitment after then Memphis coach John Calipari was hired at Kentucky. On April 7,2009, Cousins decided to follow John Calipari to Kentucky and he signed his letter of intent on April 15. At Kentucky, Cousins averaged 15.1 points,9.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, led by Cousins and John Wall, the Wildcats reached the Elite Eight of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. On July 7,2010, Cousins signed his contract with the Kings. Cousins was named the Rookie of the Month for July during the NBA Summer League, Cousins was also named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team at the end of the 2010–11 season. Cousins, who had been averaging 13.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game at the time of the dismissal, Cousins later denied asking to be traded. On January 5,2012, Westphal was fired from the Kings, on February 8,2012, Cousins was selected to play in the Rising Stars Challenge. He played for Team Chuck, with a mix of rookies and sophomores, Cousins was apparently informed of Elliotts remarks after the game. He left the room and waited on the court for Elliott to finish his post-game show before confronting him. Some criticized the suspension as overly harsh and based more on Cousins reputation than what happened, while others said he needed to grow up. Cousins apologized to Elliott in person before a game against the Spurs in March 2014, on December 22,2012, Cousins was suspended indefinitely from the Kings, who accused him of unprofessional behavior and conduct detrimental to the team
28.
Tyreke Evans
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Tyreke Jamir Evans is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball at the University of Memphis and was selected by the Kings with the 4th overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft. Evans was the 2010 NBA Rookie of the Year winner and was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in 2013, Evans grew up in Chester, Pennsylvania, and was mainly raised by his three older brothers. He attended American Christian Academy in Aston, Pennsylvania, and by his sophomore year began drawing comparisons to NBA All-Star Tracy McGrady, as a senior, he averaged 32.1 points,8.8 rebounds,5.7 assists and 4.3 steals. He was named the MVP of the McDonalds High School All-American Game and he was also a first-team Parade All-American. At the age of 16, he was featured in the documentary Gunning for That #1 Spot directed by Adam MCA Yauch of the Beastie Boys, Evans was chosen to be the keeper of the SLAM Magazine High School Diary for the 2008 season. Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals. com, Evans was listed as the No.3 point guard, in April 2008, Evans announced that he would attend the University of Memphis, after also considering Villanova University and the University of Texas. Evans transitioned from playing small forward in high school to guard in college and he struggled at times at the beginning of his freshman season at the shooting guard position. This continued until coach John Calipari inserted him as the point guard in the 11th game of the season. In 33 minutes, Evans nearly put up a triple-double, with 14 points,10 rebounds, the Tigers would not lose another game until falling to the Missouri Tigers in the NCAA Tournament. Evans was named the Conference USA Rookie of the Week eight times, Evans was the only freshman finalist for the 2009 United States Basketball Writers Associations national player of the year award, named in honor of Oscar Robertson. On March 31,2009, Evans declared himself eligible for the 2009 NBA draft, on June 25,2009, he was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the fourth overall pick. On December 1,2009, Evans was named NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played from the beginning of the season through November. During that time, he averaged 18.8 points,5.0 rebounds,4.7 assists, on December 21,2009, he was instrumental in leading the Kings back from a 35-point deficit to beat the Chicago Bulls, 102–98. Evans scored 9 of the Kings last 11 points, single-handedly outscoring the Bulls in the 4th quarter, on January 4,2010, Evans was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for the second straight month. On February 12, Evans won the 2010 Rookie/Sophomore Game MVP award after recording 26 points,6 rebounds,5 assists, in an act of sportsmanship, he chose to share the award with DeJuan Blair, who had scored 22 points and pulled down 23 rebounds. On March 11,2010, Evans recorded his first career triple-double in a win against the Toronto Raptors on Rally for RekeROY night, Evans scored 19 points,10 assists and 10 rebounds. Evans became just the player in NBA history to average at least 20 points,5 rebounds and 5 assists in his rookie year, joining Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan
29.
Langston Galloway
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Langston Galloway is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for Saint Josephs University, Galloway attended Christian Life Academy in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he was a two-time District 7 1-A Player of the Year. As a junior in 2008–09, he averaged 21.3 points, five rebounds and three assists per game. As a senior in 2009–10, he averaged 26.2 points, five assists and five steals per game as he helped CLA win the Class 1A title and earned Class 1A All-State first team honors. In his freshman season at Saint Josephs, Galloway earned Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team and he was also named the Hawks Co-MVP as he shared the John P. Hilferty Award with Carl Jones. In 33 games, he averaged 12.8 points,5.5 rebounds,2.9 assists and 1.7 steals in 34.3 minutes per game. In his sophomore season, he was named to the All-Atlantic 10 second team, in addition, he received the John P. Hilferty Award as SJUs MVP for the second straight year. In 34 games, he averaged 15.5 points,4.5 rebounds,2.2 assists and 1.0 steals in 35.7 minutes per game. In his junior season, he was named to the inaugural All-State NABC Good Works Team for his community involvement while also being named to the All-Big 5 second team. In 32 games, he averaged 13.8 points,3.6 rebounds,2.3 assists and 1.4 steals in 35.7 minutes per game. He was also co-recipient of the John P. Hilferty Award as SJUs MVP, in 34 games, he averaged 17.7 points,4.3 rebounds,1.6 assists and 1.1 steals in 36.2 minutes per game. Galloway finished his career as the second all-time leading scorer in Hawk history with 1,991 points. After going undrafted in the 2014 NBA draft, Galloway joined the New York Knicks for the 2014 NBA Summer League, on September 9, he signed with the Knicks, but was later waived by the team on October 25 prior to the start of the 2014–15 regular season. On November 3, he was acquired by the Westchester Knicks of the NBA Development League as a player of New York. On January 7,2015, Galloway signed a 10-day contract with the New York Knicks and he went on to make his NBA debut the same day, recording 7 points,2 rebounds,3 assists and 1 steal in a 101–91 loss to the Washington Wizards. He made his appearance for the Knicks the following night. He signed a second 10-day contract with the Knicks on January 17, on April 13, he had a season-best game with 26 points on 10-of-12 from the field and 6-of-6 from three-point range in a 112–108 win over the Atlanta Hawks. In July 2015, Galloway re-joined the Knicks for the 2015 NBA Summer League and his impressive preseason form and good defense shown during the 2014–15 season earned him a spot on the Knicks opening night roster for the 2015–16 season
30.
Omri Casspi
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Omri Moshe Casspi is an Israeli professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association. He is 6 ft 9 in tall, and plays the forward position. He was drafted 23rd overall in the 2009 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings, with his Kings debut in 2009, Casspi became the first Israeli to play in an NBA game. The Cleveland Cavaliers traded for him in June 2011 and he signed with the Houston Rockets in July 2013. In July 2014, Casspi was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans as part of a three-team trade and he then returned to Sacramento prior to the 2014–15 season. In February 2017, he was traded to to the Pelicans alongside DeMarcus Cousins, Casspi is Jewish, was born in Holon, Israel, and grew up in Yavne. He is the son of Shimon and Ilana, and has a brother, Eitan. Both of Casspis parents are Israeli-born and of Moroccan Jewish heritage, as a child, Casspi played for junior programs at Elitzur Yavne and Maccabi Rishon LeZion. When he was 13, he moved to the Maccabi Tel Aviv youth team, having previously played for Maccabi Tel Aviv youth team, Casspi made his professional debut at age 17 with Maccabi Tel Aviv during the 2005–06 season. In his rookie season as the player, he had averages of 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 9.4 minutes per game in the Israeli League. In 2006, he was loaned to Hapoel Galil Elyon for the 2006–07 season, going on to win the 2007 Discovery of the Year award and he averaged 11.1 points and 3.1 rebounds over 28 games. In April 2007, he scored 14 points for the World Select team at the Nike Hoop Summit in Memphis, Casspi returned to Maccabi for the 2007–08 season. The team reached the Euroleague Finals in 2008, Casspi received the 2008 Israeli League Sixth Man of the Year award, averaging 10.4 points and 4 rebounds per game. In February 2009, he finished in place in voting for the FIBA Europe Young Mens Player of the Year Award for the 2008–09 season, behind Ricky Rubio, Danilo Gallinari. Maccabi won a championship in 2009. In the same season, Casspis role in the increased in the Israeli League. Over 27 league games, Casspi averaged 12.8 points,4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists, all career-highs. In 2008, Casspi declared himself eligible for the 2008 NBA draft, on June 25,2009, Casspi was selected with the 23rd overall pick by the Sacramento Kings in the 2009 NBA draft, becoming the first Israeli player selected as a first-round draft pick
31.
Denver Nuggets
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The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the Denver Larks in 1967 as a franchise of the American Basketball Association. It changed its name again to the Nuggets in 1974, after the name change, the Nuggets played for the final ABA Championship title in 1976, losing to the New York Nets. The team has had periods of success, qualifying for the ABA Playoffs for all seasons from 1967 to the 1976 ABA playoffs where it lost in the finals. The team joined the NBA in 1976 after the ABA–NBA merger and qualified for the NBA playoffs in nine seasons in the 1980s. However, it has not made an appearance in a round since its last year in the ABA. The Nuggets play their games at Pepsi Center, which they share with the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League. In 1967, one of the ABAs charter franchises was awarded to a group in Kansas City, Missouri, however, Trindle was unable to find a suitable arena in the Kansas City area. League commissioner George Mikan suggested moving the team to Denver, after agreeing to name Denver native and former NBA player Vince Boryla as general manager, Trindle moved his team to Denver as the Denver Larks, named after Colorados state bird. The Trindle group was severely undercapitalized, leading Mikan to order the Larks to post a $100,000 performance bond or lose the franchise, hours before the deadline, Trindle sold a ⅔ controlling interest to Denver trucking magnate Bill Ringsby for $350,000. Ringsby then renamed the team the Rockets, after his companys long-haul trucks, playing at the Denver Auditorium Arena, the Rockets had early successes on the court, developing a solid fan base along the way. However, the team had a history of early playoff exits, early, they had a solid lineup led by Byron Beck and Larry Jones, then later by Beck and Ralph Simpson. Wright played four seasons with Denver, controversial rookie Spencer Haywood joined the team for the 1969–70 season. Haywood was one of the first players to turn pro before graduating from college, and the NBA initially refused to let him play in the league. Haywood averaged nearly 30 points and 19.5 rebounds per game in his only ABA season, being named ABA MVP, ABA rookie of the year, the team finished 51-33, winning their division, before exiting the playoffs in the 2nd round. Just before the start of the 1970–71 season, Haywood signed with the Seattle SuperSonics, the team tumbled to a 30-54 record and attendance suffered. Ringsby sold the team to San Diego businessmen Frank Goldberg and Bud Fischer in 1972
32.
Golden State Warriors
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The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Western Conference Pacific Division. The team was established in 1946 as the Philadelphia Warriors based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1962, the franchise relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area and was renamed the San Francisco Warriors. In 1971, the changed its geographic moniker to Golden State. Since 1972, the home court has been the Oracle Arena in Oakland. The team is nicknamed the Dubs, the Warriors have reached eight NBA Finals, winning four NBA championships in 1947,1956,1975 and most recently in 2015 when they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers. Golden States four NBA championships are the fifth most in history only the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls. Wilt Chamberlain and Stephen Curry have both named the NBAs Most Valuable Player while playing for the Warriors, for a total of three MVP awards. Golden State holds the NBA record for best regular season with 73–9, the Warriors were founded in 1946 as the Philadelphia Warriors, a charter member of the Basketball Association of America. They were owned by Peter A. Tyrrell, who owned the Philadelphia Rockets of the American Hockey League. Tyrrell hired Eddie Gottlieb, a longtime basketball promoter in the Philadelphia area, as coach, the owners named the team after the Philadelphia Warriors, an old basketball team who played in the American Basketball League in 1925. Led by early scoring sensation Joe Fulks, the won the championship in the leagues inaugural 1946–47 season by defeating the Chicago Stags. The NBA, which was created by a 1949 merger, officially recognizes that as its own first championship, Gottlieb bought the team in 1951. The Warriors won its championship in Philadelphia in the 1955–56 season. The Warrior stars of this era were future Hall of Famers Paul Arizin, Tom Gola, in 1959, the team signed draft pick Wilt Chamberlain. Known as Wilt the Stilt, he led the team in scoring six times, quickly began shattering NBA scoring records, in 1962, Franklin Mieuli purchased the majority shares of the team and relocated the franchise to the San Francisco Bay Area, renaming them the San Francisco Warriors. Prior to the 1963–64 NBA season, the Warriors drafted big man Nate Thurmond to go along with Chamberlain, the Warriors won the Western Division crown that season, but lost the 1964 NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics, four games to one. In the 1964–65 season, the Warriors traded Chamberlain to the Philadelphia 76ers for Connie Dierking, Lee Shaffer, Paul Neumann and $150,000 and won only 17 games
33.
Minnesota Timberwolves
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The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association, as a club of the leagues Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 1989, the team is owned by Glen Taylor, the Timberwolves play their home games at Target Center, their home since 1990. Despite losing in the first round in their first seven attempts, Garnett was also named the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for that season. The team has been in rebuilding mode for the past decade since missing the playoffs in 2005, Garnett returned to the Timberwolves in a February 2015 trade and finished his career there, retiring in the 2016 offseason. NBA basketball returned to the Twin Cities in 1989 for the first time since the Minneapolis Lakers departed for Los Angeles in 1960. The NBA had granted one of its four new teams on April 22,1987 to original owners Harvey Ratner. The franchise conducted a name the team contest and eventually selected two finalists, Timberwolves and Polars, in December 1986, the team then asked the 842 city councils in Minnesota to select the winner and Timberwolves prevailed by nearly 2-1. The team was named the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 23,1987. Minnesota is home to the largest population of timberwolves in the lower 48 states, the Timberwolves debuted on November 3,1989, losing to the Seattle SuperSonics on the road 106–94. Five days later, they made their debut at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Two nights later on November 10, the Wolves got their first win, the Timberwolves, led by Tony Campbell with 23.2 ppg, went on to a 22–60 record, finishing in sixth place in the Midwest Division. Playing in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the expansion Timberwolves set an NBA record by drawing over 1 million fans to their home games. This included a crowd of 49,551 on April 17,1990, the next season, the team moved into their permanent home, the Target Center, and improved somewhat, finishing 29–53. However, they fired their coach, Bill Musselman. They fared far worse in the 1991–92 NBA season under Musselmans successor, ex-Celtics coach Jimmy Rodgers, finishing with an NBA-worst 15–67 record. One of the few highlights from that era was when the Target Center served as host of the 1994 All-Star Game where Rider won the Slam Dunk Contest with his between-the-leg East Bay Funk Dunk. As winning basketball continued to elude the Wolves, Ratner and Wolfenson nearly sold the team to New Orleans interests in 1994 before NBA owners rejected the proposed move, eventually, Glen Taylor bought the team and named Kevin McHale general manager
34.
Phoenix Suns
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The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association as a team of the leagues Western Conference Pacific Division. Since 1992, the Suns have played their games at Talking Stick Resort Arena in downtown Phoenix. The Suns began play as a team in 1968. The franchise owns the NBAs fourth-best all-time winning percentage, winning 55 percent of its games, as a result, based on their all-time win-loss percentage, the Suns are the team with the highest winning percentage to have never won an NBA championship. The Suns were one of two franchises to join the NBA at the start of the 1968–69 season, alongside the Milwaukee Bucks, the team played its first 24 seasons at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, located northwest of downtown Phoenix. Besides, part of the group were entertainers, such as Andy Williams, Bobbie Gentry and Ed Ames. There were many critics, including then-NBA commissioner J. Walter Kennedy, who said that Phoenix was too hot, too small and they paid an entry fee of $2 million. Suns was preferred over Scorpions, Rattlers, Thunderbirds, Wranglers, Mavericks, Tumbleweeds, Mustangs and Cougars. Stan Fabe, who owned a printing plant in Tucson, designed the teams first iconic logo for a mere $200. However, they were disappointed with the results, in the 1968 NBA Expansion Draft, notable Suns pick-ups were future Hall of Famer Gail Goodrich and Dick Van Arsdale. Jerry Colangelo, a scout, came over from the Chicago Bulls as the Suns first general manager at the age of 28. Both Goodrich and Van Arsdale were selected to the All-Star Game in their first season with the freshly minted Suns. Goodrich returned to his team, the Lakers, after two seasons with the Suns, but Van Arsdale spent the rest of his playing days as a Sun. The Suns last-place finish that led to a coin flip for the number-one overall pick for the 1969 NBA draft with the expansion-mate Bucks. Milwaukee won the flip, and the rights to draft UCLA center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, while the Bucks went on to win the NBA Finals in 1971 and reach the Finals again in 1974, the Suns would not go to the Finals until 1976. The 1969–70 season posted better results for the Suns, finishing 39–43, the next two seasons, the Suns finished with 48- and 49-win seasons, however they did not qualify for the playoffs in either year, and would not reach the playoffs again until 1976. They also drafted center and eventual fan favorite Alvan Adams from the University of Oklahoma, the Suns and Buffalo Braves made a midseason trade, with Phoenix sending forward/center John Shumate to Buffalo in exchange for forward Gar Heard
35.
Los Angeles Clippers
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The Los Angeles Clippers, often abbreviated as the LA Clippers, are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Western Conference Pacific Division. The franchise was founded in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves, one of three teams to join the NBA that year. The Braves moved from Buffalo, New York to San Diego in 1978, in 1984, the Clippers moved to Los Angeles. Through much of its history, the failed to see significant regular season or playoff success. The Clippers fortunes turned in the early 2010s with the acquisition of core players Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and Chris Paul. In 2013, the franchise won its first division title, as the made the playoffs for the ninth time in franchise history. They repeated as champions in 2014. They played their games at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, along with another Buffalo team that would begin play that year. After two bad seasons, the Braves fortunes started to change under coach Jack Ramsay and star forward/center Bob McAdoo, McAdoo led the NBA in scoring three consecutive seasons and was named the leagues MVP in the 1974–75 season. The Braves qualified for the three times in a row, losing thrice to the eventual Eastern Conference champions. As a result, after an attempt to sell the team to an owner who intended to move it to South Florida. Brown, Jr. who decimated the roster, traded away all of its stars. Eventually in 1978, Brown dealt with Celtics owner Irv Levin so they would trade franchise ownerships, southern California resident Levin then decided to move the Braves to San Diego, something the league would have never allowed him to do with the Celtics. In 1978, San Diego welcomed the relocation of the Buffalo Braves franchise because the city had lost their Rockets to Houston seven years earlier, when the Clippers moved to Los Angeles in 1984, they kept their nickname. Playing at the San Diego Sports Arena, the Clippers posted a record of 43–39 in their first season in California under new head coach Gene Shue and it would be the Clippers last winning season for 13 years. It was also in that first season in southern California that long-time announcer Ralph Lawler began his association with the club. The 1979–80 season saw the Clippers begin to struggle despite adding center Bill Walton, Walton missed 68 games due to foot injuries
36.
Free throw
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In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points from a restricted area on the court, and are generally awarded after a foul on the shooter by the opposing team. Each successful free throw is one point. Free throws can normally be shot at a percentage by good players. In the NBA, most players make 70–80% of their attempts, the leagues best shooters can make roughly 90% of their attempts over a season, while notoriously poor shooters may struggle to make 50% of them. During a foul shot, a players foot must be completely behind the foul line, if a player lines up with part of his or her foot on the line, a violation is called and the shot doesnt count. Foul shots are worth one point, Rick Barry and youngest Canyon Barry, both career 90% shooters who used an unusual underhand method, believes that 80% is the minimum for a player to be considered good at the free throw. Mark Price, who broke Barrys career record, states that 75% is the minimum, tall players often shoot free throws poorly, though theoretically taller players should be better at making them. One possible explanation for this is that the release point of their shots can cause them to stand overly erect. Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain made just 51, on the other hand, there have also been big men who have been prolific scorers from free throws, who not surprisingly also have good outside shooting range. Some examples include Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki who, at 7 ft 0 in, has an average of 88% and Yao Ming who. There are many situations when free throws can be awarded, The first and most common is when a player is fouled while in the act of shooting. If the player misses the shot during the foul, the player receives two or three free throws depending on whether the shot was taken in front of or behind the three-point line. If, despite the foul, the still makes the attempted shot, the number of free throws is reduced to one. This is known as a three-point or four-point play, depending on the value of the made basket, the second is when the fouling team is in the team bonus situation. This happens when, in a period, a team commits a set number of fouls whether or not in the act of shooting. In the WNBA, the player shoots two free throws starting with the opponents fifth foul, or second team foul in the final minute if that team has committed under 5 fouls in a period. In NCAA mens basketball, beginning with the foul of the half, one free throw is awarded, if the player makes the free throw. This is called shooting a one-and-one, starting with the tenth foul of the half, two free throws are awarded
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