1.
Chicago
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Chicago, officially the City of Chicago, is the third-most populous city in the United States. With over 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the state of Illinois, and it is the county seat of Cook County. In 2012, Chicago was listed as a global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Chicago has the third-largest gross metropolitan product in the United States—about $640 billion according to 2015 estimates, the city has one of the worlds largest and most diversified economies with no single industry employing more than 14% of the workforce. In 2016, Chicago hosted over 54 million domestic and international visitors, landmarks in the city include Millennium Park, Navy Pier, the Magnificent Mile, Art Institute of Chicago, Museum Campus, the Willis Tower, Museum of Science and Industry, and Lincoln Park Zoo. Chicagos culture includes the arts, novels, film, theater, especially improvisational comedy. Chicago also has sports teams in each of the major professional leagues. The city has many nicknames, the best-known being the Windy City, the name Chicago is derived from a French rendering of the Native American word shikaakwa, known to botanists as Allium tricoccum, from the Miami-Illinois language. The first known reference to the site of the current city of Chicago as Checagou was by Robert de LaSalle around 1679 in a memoir, henri Joutel, in his journal of 1688, noted that the wild garlic, called chicagoua, grew abundantly in the area. In the mid-18th century, the area was inhabited by a Native American tribe known as the Potawatomi, the first known non-indigenous permanent settler in Chicago was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. Du Sable was of African and French descent and arrived in the 1780s and he is commonly known as the Founder of Chicago. In 1803, the United States Army built Fort Dearborn, which was destroyed in 1812 in the Battle of Fort Dearborn, the Ottawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi tribes had ceded additional land to the United States in the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis. The Potawatomi were forcibly removed from their land after the Treaty of Chicago in 1833, on August 12,1833, the Town of Chicago was organized with a population of about 200. Within seven years it grew to more than 4,000 people, on June 15,1835, the first public land sales began with Edmund Dick Taylor as U. S. The City of Chicago was incorporated on Saturday, March 4,1837, as the site of the Chicago Portage, the city became an important transportation hub between the eastern and western United States. Chicagos first railway, Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, and the Illinois, the canal allowed steamboats and sailing ships on the Great Lakes to connect to the Mississippi River. A flourishing economy brought residents from rural communities and immigrants from abroad, manufacturing and retail and finance sectors became dominant, influencing the American economy. The Chicago Board of Trade listed the first ever standardized exchange traded forward contracts and these issues also helped propel another Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln, to the national stage
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Carver Military Academy
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George Washington Carver Military Academy is a public 4–year military high school located in the Riverdale area on the far south side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Carver is named for African-American scientist and educator George Washington Carver, in establishing Carver Military Academy, Col. The initial graduating class of cadets referred to the hall outside the auditorium Daggett Domains as a result of Col. Daggetts decision to display all state flags there. Chaplain Col. Carver competes in the Chicago Public League and is a member of the Illinois High School Association, Carver sport teams are nicknamed Challengers. Carver High School won the Illinois boys state championship in 1962–63. Priest Lauderdale - Retired Center for the Atlanta Hawks Jason Avant – current football player for the NFLs Kansas City Chiefs, terry Cummings – Class of 1979, former DePaul star and NBA basketball player who played for 18 seasons, NBA Rookie of the Year. Yolanda Griffith – former ABL and WNBA basketball player, WNBA MVP, tim Hardaway – Class of 1985, former basketball player who became an NBA All-Star five times during his career. Marlbert Pradd - former pro player, selected by Chicago Bulls in 1967 NBA Draft. Cazzie Russell – Class of 1962, former pro player, #1 pick in the 1966 NBA Draft. School website Chicago Public Schools profile
3.
Michigan Wolverines men's basketball
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The Michigan Wolverines mens basketball team is the intercollegiate mens basketball program representing the University of Michigan. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the Wolverines play home basketball games at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan on the university campus. Michigan has won an NCAA Championship as well as two National Invitation Tournaments,14 Big Ten Conference championships and two Big Ten Tournament titles, in addition, it has won an NIT title and a Big Ten Tournament that were vacated due to NCAA sanctions. The team is coached by John Beilein. Michigan has had 31 All-Americans, selected 44 times, twelve All-Americans have been at least two-time honorees. Russell was the only three-time All-American, Michigan basketball players have been successful in professional basketball. Five players have gone on to become NBA champions for a total of nine times, rudy Tomjanovich coached both the 1994 and 1995 NBA Finals Champions. Not only has Glen Rice won both an NBA and NCAA championship, he is one of only nine basketball players to have won a state high school championship, NCAA title. Due to NCAA sanctions, records from the 1992 Final Four, the 1992–93 season, throughout this article asterisks denote awards, records and honors that have been vacated. As a result of public and alumni demand for a team, Michigan fielded a team of members of the then-current student body. However, after three years of demanding a program, the student body did not attend the games. Basketball returned in 1917 in what was considered the season of varsity basketball. The team was coached by Elmer Mitchell who instituted the intramural program at Michigan. The following year Mitchell led the team to a 16–8 record, E. J. Mather coached the team to three Big Ten titles in his nine seasons as coach. After inheriting Mitchells team, which he led to a 10–13 overall record during the 1919–20 season and this 1921 team won its first eight and last eight games to tie the Wisconsin Badgers and Purdue Boilermakers for the Big Ten title. The team won championships in 1925–26 and 1926–27. The 1926 squad, which was captained by Richard Doyle who became the teams first All-American, tied with Purdue, the 1927 team had a new All-American, Bennie Oosterbaan, and won the schools first back-to-back championships and first outright championship with a 14–3 overall record. Mather died after a battle with cancer in August 1928
4.
1966 NBA draft
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The 1966 NBA draft was the 20th annual draft of the National Basketball Association. The draft was held on May 11 and 12,1966 before the 1966–67 season, in this draft, ten NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U. S. college basketball players. A player who had finished his college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his class graduated. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams finished last in each division, with the order determined by a coin flip. The New York Knicks won the flip and were awarded the first overall pick. This draft was the first to use the coin flip method, the remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. An expansion franchise, the Chicago Bulls, took part in the NBA Draft for the first time and were assigned the last pick of each round, the draft consisted of 19 rounds comprising 112 players selected. Cazzie Russell from the University of Michigan was selected first overall by the New York Knicks, dave Bing from Syracuse University, who went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award in his first season, was drafted second by the Detroit Pistons. He was named in the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History list announced at the leagues 50th anniversary in 1996 and has also inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame. He was selected to three All-NBA Teams and seven All-Star Games and he became a politician after ending his playing career and won the election to become the mayor of Detroit in 2009. Russell won the NBA championship with the New York Knicks 1970 and he later was named to the All-Star Game in 1972. Lou Hudson, the 4th pick, and Archie Clark, the 37th pick, have also selected to both All-NBA Team and All-Star Game. Hudson was selected to six All-Star Games and one All-NBA Team while Clark was selected to two All-Star Games and one All-NBA Team. Three other players from this draft, 3rd pick Clyde Lee, 5th pick Jack Marin, Matt Guokas, the 9th pick, won the NBA championship with the Philadelphia 76ers in his rookie season. He and his father, Matt Guokas, Sr. became the first father, Matt Guokas, Sr. won the inaugural championship with the Philadelphia Warriors in 1947. The younger Guokas became a coach after ending his playing career. He coached the 76ers for three seasons and the Orlando Magic for four seasons, John Wetzel, the 75th pick, also became a head coach, he coached the Phoenix Suns for one season
5.
New York Knicks
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The New York Knickerbockers, commonly referred to as the Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in New York City. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its games at Madison Square Garden, located in the borough of Manhattan. They are one of two NBA teams located in New York City, the other is the Brooklyn Nets, along with the Boston Celtics, the Knicks are one of only two original NBA teams still located in its original city. The Knicks were successful during their years and were constant playoff contenders under the franchises first head coach Joe Lapchick. Beginning in 1950, the Knicks made three appearances in the NBA Finals, all of which were losing efforts. Lapchick resigned in 1956 and the team began to falter. It was not until the late 1960s when Red Holzman became head coach that the Knicks began to regain their former dominance, Holzman successfully guided the Knicks to two NBA championships, in 1970 and 1973. The Knicks of the 1980s had mixed success that included six playoff appearances, however, the playoff-level Knicks of the 1990s were led by future Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing, this era was marked by passionate rivalries with the Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, and Miami Heat. During this time, they were known for playing tough defense under head coaches Pat Riley, during this era, the Knicks made two appearances in the NBA Finals, in 1994 and 1999, though they were unable to win an NBA championship. Since 2000, the Knicks have struggled to regain their former glory, in 2012–13, the franchise won its first division title in 19 years, but was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Indiana Pacers. According to a 2016 Forbes report, the Knicks were the most-valuable NBA franchise, in 1946, basketball, particularly college basketball, was a growing and increasingly profitable sport in New York City. Hockey was another sport at the time and generated considerable profits, however. Max Kase, a New York sportswriter, became the editor at the Boston American in the 1930s. Kase developed the idea of a professional league to showcase college players upon their graduation. Brown, intrigued by the opportunity to attain additional income when the teams were not playing or on the road. Ned Irish, a college basketball promoter, retired sportswriter and then president of Madison Square Garden, was in attendance, Kase originally planned to own and operate the New York franchise himself and approached Irish with a proposal to lease the Garden. Irish explained that the rules of the Arena Managers Association of America stated that Madison Square Garden was required to own any professional teams played in the arena
6.
Small forward
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The small forward, also known as the three, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers. The small forward position is considered to be perhaps the most versatile of the five basketball positions. In the NBA, small forwards usually range from 66 to 69, the ideal position for a small forward would be between the key and three-point line. Many small forwards in professional basketball, however, are prolific scorers, therefore, accurate foul shooting is an imperative skill for small forwards, many of whom record a large portion of their points at the foul line. Small forwards who are defensive specialists are very versatile as they can often guard multiple positions using their size, speed, and strength such as Kawhi Leonard and Paul George
7.
Basketball positions
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The five basketball positions normally employed by organized basketball teams are the point guard, the shooting guard, the small forward, the power forward, and the center. While these position names are used, most modern teams use a point guard. The rules of basketball do not mandate them, and they are not used. Typically, the point guard is the leader of the team when on the court and this position requires substantial ball handling skills and the ability to facilitate the team during a play. The shooting guard, as the name implies, is often the best shooter and they are probably capable of shooting accurately from longer distances. Generally, they also have good ball-handling skills, the small forward often has an aggressive approach to the basket when handling the ball. The center is typically the larger of the two, during the 1980s, as team strategy evolved, more specialized roles developed, resulting in the five position designations utilized today. Team strategy and available personnel, however, still dictates the positions used by a particular team, for example, the Dribble drive motion offense and the Princeton offense utilize four interchangeable guards and one center. The point guard, also known as the one, is typically the teams best ball handler and passer, therefore, they often lead their team in assists and steals. They are often quick and are able to hit shots either outside the three-point line or in the paint, point guards are looked upon as the floor general or the coach on the floor. They should study the game and game film to be able to recognize the weaknesses of the defense, good point guards increase team efficiency and generally have a high number of assists. They are often referred to as dribblers or play-makers, in the NBA, point guards are usually the shortest players on the team and are mostly 6 feet 5 inches or shorter. The shooting guard is known as the two or the off guard. Along with the forward, a shooting guard is often referred to as a wing because of its use in common positioning tactics. As the name suggests, most shooting guards are good shooters from three-point range, besides being able to shoot the ball, shooting guards tend to have good ball handling skills and the ability to drive the ball to the basket, often creating their own shots off the dribble. A versatile shooting guard will have good passing skills, allowing them to point guard responsibilities known as combo guards. In the NBA, shooting guards usually range from 6 feet 4 inches to 6 feet 7 inches, the small forward is considered to be perhaps the most versatile of the main five basketball positions. Versatility is key for small forwards because of the nature of their role and this is why the small forward and shooting guard positions are often interchangeable and referred to as wings
8.
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
9.
Los Angeles Lakers
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The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association, as a club of the leagues Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA, as of 2015, the Lakers are the second most valuable franchise in the NBA according to Forbes, having an estimated value of $2.7 billion. The franchise began with the 1947 purchase of a disbanded team, the new team began playing in Minneapolis, calling themselves the Minneapolis Lakers in honor of the states nickname, Land of 10,000 Lakes. The team was propelled by center George Mikan, who is described by the NBAs official website as the leagues first superstar, after struggling financially in the late 1950s following Mikans retirement, they relocated to Los Angeles before the 1960–61 season. Led by Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, Los Angeles made the NBA Finals six times in the 1960s, but lost each series to the Boston Celtics, beginning their long and storied rivalry. After the retirement of West and Chamberlain, the team acquired another center, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had won multiple MVP awards and this team featured Hall of Famers in Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy, and a Hall of Fame coach, Pat Riley. After Abdul-Jabbar and Johnsons retirement, the team struggled in the early 1990s before acquiring Shaquille ONeal, led by ONeal, Bryant, and another Hall of Fame coach, Phil Jackson, Los Angeles won three consecutive titles between 2000 to 2002, securing the franchise its second three-peat. After losing both the 2004 and 2008 NBA Finals, the Lakers won two championships by defeating the Orlando Magic in 2009 and Boston in 2010. The Lakers hold the record for NBAs longest winning streak,33 straight games,21 Hall of Famers have played for Los Angeles, while four have coached the team. Four Lakers—Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, ONeal, and Bryant—have won the NBA MVP Award for a total of eight awards, Minneapolis sportswriter Sid Hartman played a key behind the scenes role in helping put together the deal and later the team. Inspired by Minnesotas nickname, Land of 10,000 Lakes, Hartman helped them hire John Kundla from College of St. Thomas, to be their first head coach, by meeting with him and selling him on the team. The Lakers had a roster which featured forward Jim Pollard, playmaker Herm Schaefer, and center George Mikan. In their first season, they led the league with a 43–17 record, in 1948, the Lakers moved from the NBL to the Basketball Association of America, and Mikans 28.3 point per game scoring average set a BAA record. In the 1949 BAA Finals they won the championship, beating the Washington Capitols four games to two, the following season, the team improved to 51–17, repeating as champions. In the 1950–51 season, Mikan won his third straight scoring title at 28.4 ppg, one of those games, a 19–18 loss against the Fort Wayne Pistons, became infamous as the lowest scoring game in NBA history. In the playoffs, they defeated the Indianapolis Olympians in three games but lost to the Rochester Royals in the next round, during the 1951–52 season, the Lakers won 40 games, finishing second in their division. They faced the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, which won in seven games
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Chicago Bulls
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The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 16,1966, the team plays its home games at the United Center, an arena shared with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League. The Bulls saw their greatest success during the 1990s and they are known for having one of the NBAs greatest dynasties, winning six NBA championships between 1991 and 1998 with two three-peats. All six championship teams were led by Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, the Bulls are the only NBA franchise to win multiple championships and never lose an NBA Finals series in their history. The Bulls won 72 games during the 1995–96 NBA season, setting an NBA record that stood until the Golden State Warriors won 73 games during the 2015–16 NBA season. The Bulls were the first team in NBA history to win 70 games or more in a season. Many experts and analysts consider the 1996 Bulls to be one of the greatest teams in NBA history, Michael Jordan and Derrick Rose have both won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award while playing for the Bulls, for a total of six MVP awards. The Bulls share rivalries with the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, the Bulls rivalry with the Pistons was highlighted heavily during the late 1980s and early 1990s. On January 16,1966 Chicago was granted an NBA franchise to be called the Bulls, the Chicago Bulls became the third NBA franchise in the city, after the Chicago Stags and the Chicago Packers/Zephyrs. The Bulls founder, Dick Klein, was the Bulls only owner to play professional basketball. He served as the Bulls president and general manager in their initial years, after the 1966 NBA Expansion Draft, the newly founded Chicago Bulls were allowed to acquire players from the previously established teams in the league for the upcoming 1966–67 season. The team started in the 1966–67 NBA season, and posted the best record by a team in NBA history. In their first two seasons, the Bulls played most of their games at the International Amphitheatre, before moving to Chicago Stadium. Fan interest was diminishing after four seasons, with one game in the 1967–68 NBA season having an attendance of 891. The Bulls under Williams and head coach Dick Motta qualified for four straight playoffs and had attendances grow to over 10,000, in 1972, the Bulls set a franchise win-loss record at 57 wins and 25 losses. During the 1970s, the Bulls relied on Jerry Sloan, forwards Bob Love and Chet Walker, point guard Norm Van Lier, the team made the conference finals in 1975 but lost to the Golden State Warriors,4 games to 3. After four 50-win seasons, Williams returned to Philadelphia, and Motta decided to become GM as well, the Bulls ended up declining, winning only 24 games in the 1975–1976 season
11.
Lancaster Red Roses (basketball)
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The Lancaster Red Roses were a professional basketball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. From 1946 to 1949 and from 1953 to 1955, they played in the Eastern Professional Basketball League, the Red Roses also played briefly as the Lancaster Rockets. They were members of the Eastern Basketball Association from 1975 to 1978, the Red Roses were members of the American Basketball League briefly in the 1946-47 season, where they were known as the Lancaster Roses. Even though the Lancaster Red Roses never won the EPBL championship, they drew many fans to the Lancaster Armory, their home court. Stan Whitey Von Neida, who set a record with 46 points in one game. Von Neida lead the Red Roses to the Presidents Cup finals, Lancaster and Wilkes-Barre met for the inaugural Presidents Cup finals, but there was a dispute over where the games would be played. In the semifinals, each competing team flipped a coin to determine who would host the third game. The final game of the Presidents Cup was played on a court, Rockne Hall in Allentown. After the 1946-47 season, the Red Roses and the Barons left the EPBL, after losing five of their first six games in the ABL, the Red Roses rejoined the Eastern League for 28-game season. Although the team retained most of its original ABL roster, they were without Whitey Von Neida, the Red Roses third season was a disaster. The team started league play two weeks after the rest of the teams had their home openers, and stumbled through a 2-3 record in their first five games. After Lancaster owner Rothermel Wise and business manager Benny Volk explained they could not make the trip due to road conditions. A few days later, the Red Roses filed for bankruptcy, claiming liabilities of $3,824.05, immediately the Red Roses franchise was terminated from the league, with a new entity, the Lancaster Rockets, assuming the rest of the Red Roses scheduled dates. The Continental Basketball Association also hosted the Lancaster Lightning from 1981-1985, after the 1985 season, the Lightning moved to Baltimore and eventually to Rockford, Illinois where they became the Rockford Lightning
12.
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
13.
Rebound (basketball)
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In basketball, a rebound, colloquially referred to as a board, is a statistic awarded to a player who retrieves the ball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds are also given to a player who tips in a shot on his teams offensive end. Rebounds in basketball are a part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made. A rebound can be grabbed by either a player or a defensive player. The majority of rebounds are defensive because the team on defense tends to be in position to recover missed shots. Offensive rebounds give the team another opportunity to score whether right away or by resetting the offense. A block is not considered a rebound, a ball does not need to actually rebound off the rim or backboard for a rebound to be credited. Rebounds are credited after any missed shot, including air balls, if a player takes a shot and misses and the ball bounces on the ground before someone picks it up, then the person who picks up the ball is credited for a rebound. Rebounds are credited to the first player that gains possession of the ball or to the player that successfully deflects the ball into the basket for a score. A rebound is credited to a team when it gains possession of the ball after any missed shot that is not cleared by a single player, great rebounders tend to be tall and strong. Because height is so important, most rebounds are made by centers and power forwards, the lack of height can sometimes be compensated by the strength to box out taller players away from the ball to capture the rebound. For example, Charles Barkley once led the league in rebounding despite usually being much shorter than his counterparts, also, some shorter guards can be excellent rebounders as well such as point guard Jason Kidd who led the New Jersey Nets in rebounding for several years. Great rebounders must also have a sense of timing and positioning. Great leaping ability is an important asset, but not absolutely necessary, players such as Larry Bird and Moses Malone were excellent rebounders, but were never known for their leaping ability. Bird has stated, Most rebounds are taken below the rim, the action can also be called blocking out. A team can be boxed out by players using this technique to stop the other team from rebounding. Because fighting for a rebound can be physical, rebounding is often regarded as grunt work or a hustle play. Overly aggressive boxing out or preventing being boxed out can lead to personal fouls, statistics of a players rebounds per game or rebounding average measure a players rebounding effectiveness by dividing the number of rebounds by the number of games played
14.
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
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The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to mens college basketball. The museum is a portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The hall is meant as a complement to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, on November 17,2006 the NABC honored around 180 players, coaches and other notable contributors to college basketball by inducting them into the founding class of the Hall of Fame. Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Dean Smith, John Wooden, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts has indicated it will help with the exhibits. The other interactive portions of the College Basketball Experience are called The Entry Experience, The Fan Experience, the NABC recently renamed the Guardians Classic college tournament the CBE Classic to help promote it
15.
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
16.
Chicago Sun-Times
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The Chicago Sun-Times is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the paper of the Sun-Times Media Group. The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city and it began in 1844 as the Chicago Daily Journal, which was the first newspaper to publish the rumor, now believed false, that a cow owned by Catherine OLeary was responsible for the Chicago fire. The Evening Journal, whose West Side building at 17-19 S. Canal was undamaged, in 1929, the newspaper was relaunched as the Chicago Daily Illustrated Times. The modern paper grew out of the 1948 merger of the Chicago Sun, founded December 4,1941 by Marshall Field III, and the Chicago Daily Times. The newspaper was owned by Field Enterprises, controlled by the Marshall Field family, when the Daily News ended its run in 1978, much of its staff, including Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Mike Royko, were moved to the Sun-Times. During the Field period, the newspaper had a populist, progressive character that leaned Democratic but was independent of the citys Democratic establishment, although the graphic style was urban tabloid, the paper was well regarded for journalistic quality and did not rely on sensational front-page stories. It typically ran articles from the Washington Post/Los Angeles Times wire service, the advice column Ask Ann Landers debuted in 1943. Ann Landers was the pseudonym of staff writer Ruth Crowley, who answered readers letters until 1955, eppie Lederer, sister of Dear Abby columnist Abigail van Buren, assumed the role thereafter as Ann Landers. Kups Column, written by Irv Kupcinet, also made its first appearance in 1943, Jack Olsen joined the Sun-Times as editor-in-chief in 1954, before moving on to Time and Sports Illustrated magazines and authoring true-crime books. Hired as literary editor in 1955 was Hoke Norris, who covered the civil-rights movement for the Sun-Times. Jerome Holtzman became a member of the Chicago Sun sports department after first being a boy for the Daily News in the 1940s. He and Edgar Munzel, another longtime sportswriter for the paper, famed for his World War II exploits, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Bill Mauldin made the Sun-Times his home base in 1962. The following year, Mauldin drew one of his most renowned illustrations, two years out of college, Roger Ebert became a staff writer in 1966, and a year later was named Sun-Times film critic. He continued in this role for the remainder of his life, after the friend wrote a story about it, Grizzard fired Banks. With that, the employees union intervened, a federal arbitrator ruled for Banks and 13 months later. The articles received considerable publicity and acclaim, but a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize met resistance from some who believed the Mirage series represented a form of entrapment. In March 1978, the afternoon publication the Chicago Daily News, sister paper of the Sun-Times
17.
College basketball
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The history of basketball is traced back to a YMCA International Training School, known today as Springfield College, located in Springfield, Massachusetts. The date of the first formal basketball game played at the Springfield YMCA Training School under Naismiths rules is generally given as December 21,1891, Basketball began to spread to college campuses by 1893. Governing bodies in Canada include U Sports and the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association, each of these various organizations are subdivided into from one to three divisions based on the number and level of scholarships that may be provided to the athletes. The first basketball games in the United States were played at YMCAs in 1891 and 1892, by 1893, the game was being played on college campuses. The original rules for basketball were very different from todays modern rules of the sport, in the beginning James Naismith established 13 original rules, The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands. The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands, but never with the fist, a player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, the ball must be held by the hands. The arms or body must not be used for holding it, no shouldering, holding, pushing, striking, or tripping in any way of an opponent is allowed. A foul will be called when a player is seen striking at the ball with the fist, or when violations of rules 3 and 4, if either side makes three consecutive fouls it shall count as a goal for the opponents. A goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the grounds into the basket and stays there, if the ball rests on the edges, and the opponent moves the basket, it shall count as a goal. When the ball out of bounds, it shall be thrown into the field. In case of dispute the umpire shall throw it straight into the field, the thrower-in is allowed five seconds. If he holds it longer, it shall go to the opponent, if any side persists in delaying the game, the umpire shall call a foul on them. The umpire shall be the judge of the men and shall note the fouls and he shall have power to disqualify men according to rule 5. The referee shall be judge of the ball and shall decide when the ball is in play, in bounds, to side it belongs. He shall decide when a goal has been made and keep account of the goals, the time shall be two fifteen-minute halves, with five minutes rest between. The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winner, the following is a list of some of the major NCAA Basketball rule changes with the year they went into effect. The first known college to field a team against an outside opponent was Vanderbilt University
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University of Michigan
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The University of Michigan, frequently referred to simply as Michigan, is a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817 in Detroit as the Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania,20 years before the Michigan Territory became a state, in 1821, the university was officially renamed the University of Michigan. It moved to Ann Arbor in 1837 onto 40 acres of what is now known as Central Campus, the University was a founding member of the Association of American Universities. Considered one of the foremost research universities in the United States, Michigans body of living alumni comprises more than 540,000 people, one of the largest alumni bases of any university in the world. Besides academic life, Michigans athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are known as the Wolverines. They are members of the Big Ten Conference, the University of Michigan was established in Detroit on August 26,1817 as the Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania, by the governor and judges of Michigan Territory. Judge Augustus B. Woodward specifically invited The Rev. John Monteith and Father Gabriel Richard, Monteith became its first President and held seven of the professorships, and Richard was Vice President and held the other six professorships. Concurrently, Ann Arbor had set aside 40 acres in the hopes of being selected as the state capital, but when Lansing was chosen as the state capital, the city offered the land for a university. What would become the university moved to Ann Arbor in 1837 thanks to Governor Stevens T. Mason, the original 40 acres was the basis of the present Central Campus. The first classes in Ann Arbor were held in 1841, with six freshmen, eleven students graduated in the first commencement in 1845. By 1866, enrollment increased to 1,205 students, many of whom were Civil War veterans, Women were first admitted in 1870. U-M also became the first American university to use the method of study. Among the early students in the School of Medicine was Jose Celso Barbosa, who in 1880 graduated as valedictorian and he returned to Puerto Rico to practice medicine and also served in high-ranking posts in the government. In 1920 the university reorganized the College of Engineering and formed a committee of 100 industrialists to guide academic research initiatives. The university became a choice for bright Jewish students from New York in the 1920s and 1930s. Because of its standards, U-M gained the nickname Harvard of the West. During World War II, U-Ms research supported military efforts, such as U. S. Navy projects in proximity fuzes, PT boats, and radar jamming. After the war, enrollment expanded rapidly and by 1950, it reached 21,000, as the Cold War and the Space Race took hold, U-M received numerous government grants for strategic research and helped to develop peacetime uses for nuclear energy
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Michigan Wolverines
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The Michigan Wolverines comprise 27 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAAs Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except water polo. Team colors are maize and blue, though these are different shades of maize, the winged helmet is a recognized icon of Michigan Athletics. UM has finished in the top ten of the Directors Cup standings in sixteen of the awards twenty-two seasons, Michigan has won 36 NCAA team titles. In NCAA D1 mens sports only, UM ranks sixth all-time in championships behind USC, UCLA, Stanford, Oklahoma State, and Arkansas. UMs official NCAA Division I national championships have come from ten different sports – this broad-based success matches the University of Texas for fourth place in the NCAA record book. Only UCLA and Stanford, each with titles in 16 varying sports, Michigan has appeared in the College World Series seven times. Notable alumni include George Sisler, Barry Larkin, Jim Abbott, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher J. J. Putz, the current coach of the Michigan Wolverines is Erik Bakich, who came to the University of Michigan after the 2012 season when Rich Maloney stepped down. Michigan has won 35 conference championships, made 22 NCAA Tournament appearances, for 13 seasons from 1990 to 2002, Michigan won a lone Big Ten title in 1997 and made just one NCAA appearance in 1999. In 2015, Coach Bakich led the program to its first NCAA tournament berth since 2008 after needing to win the Big Ten Tournament to qualify, the mens basketball team plays its games at Crisler Center. The Wolverines have won 14 Big Ten regular-season conference titles, as well as the inaugural Big Ten Tournament in 1998, the team has appeared in the NCAA Final Four on seven occasions and won the National Championship in 1989 under Steve Fisher. The program later vacated its 1992 and 1993 Final Four appearances due to NCAA violations, during the 1990s, the program became involved in a scandal involving payments from a booster named Ed Martin to four players, Chris Webber, Maurice Taylor, Robert Traylor, and Louis Bullock. The scandal ultimately resulted in four years probation and a ban from postseason play in the 2002–03 season. UM also voluntarily vacated regular season wins and NCAA tournament games from selected past seasons. Vacating the results of 113 games won while the four players were eligible, including the 1992 and 1993 Final Fours, the entire 1992–93 season, after the scandal, Michigan mens basketball would then go 10 years without making the NCAA tournament from 1999–2008. They would eventually end the drought in 2009 under current head coach John Beilein, in 2013, the program would reach its first Final Four in 20 years before falling to Louisville in the national championship, 82–76. Michigan traveled to St. Thomas for the Paradise Jam Tournament over Thanksgiving weekend in 2011 and they took on Prairie View A&M in their first game on Thanksgiving Day, and won 59–53. In their second game, they faced Washington State and won easily, on the final day of the tournament, they played Marquette, and won 71–51, to win the 2011 Paradise Jam Championship
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Big Ten Conference
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The Big Ten Conference, formerly Western Conference and Big Nine Conference, is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference includes the public university in each of 11 states stretching from New Jersey to Nebraska. The Big Ten Conference was established in 1895 when Purdue University president James H, in 1905, the conference was officially incorporated as the Intercollegiate Conference Athletic Association. Big Ten member institutions are predominantly major flagship research universities with large financial endowments, large student enrollment is also a hallmark of Big Ten universities, as 12 of the 14 members feature enrollments of 30,000 or more students. Northwestern University, one of just two members with a total enrollment of fewer than 30,000 students, is the lone private university among Big Ten membership. Collectively, Big Ten universities educate more than 520,000 total students and have 5.7 million living alumni, Big Ten universities engage in $9.3 billion in funded research each year. Big Ten universities are members of the Big Ten Academic Alliance. In 2014–2015, members generated more than $10 billion in research expenditures, Johns Hopkins University was invited in 2012 to join the Big Ten as an associate member participating in mens lacrosse only. In 2015, it was accepted as an associate member in womens lacrosse. Notre Dame is scheduled to join the Big Ten in 2017 as a member in mens ice hockey. Notes Notes Notes The University of Chicago was a co-founder of the conference, lake Forest College attended the original 1895 meeting that led to the formation of the conference, but did not join it. Full members Full members Sport Affiliate Other Conference Other Conference The Big Ten Conference sponsors championship competition in 14 mens and 14 womens NCAA sanctioned sports, Notes, * Notre Dame will join the Big Ten in the 2017–18 school year as an affiliate member in mens ice hockey. It continues to field its other sports in the ACC except in football where it will continue to compete as an independent, ° Johns Hopkins joined the Big Ten in 2014 as an affiliate member in mens lacrosse, with womens lacrosse to follow in 2016. Ohio State and Penn State, like most NCAA fencing schools, have coed teams,2, Mens rowing, whether heavyweight or lightweight, is not governed by the NCAA, but instead by the Intercollegiate Rowing Association. Rutgers Mens Rowing was downgraded to Club status in 2008,3, Unlike rifle, pistol is not an NCAA-governed sport. 4, Rifle is technically a mens sport, but mens, womens, Ohio State fields a coed team. The eligibility of student-athletes was one of the topics of discussion. The Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives was founded at a meeting on February 8,1896
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Crisler Center
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Crisler Center is an indoor arena located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the arena for the University of Michigans mens and womens basketball teams as well as its womens gymnastics team. Constructed in 1967, the arena seats 12,707 spectators and it is named for Herbert O. Fritz Crisler, head football coach at Michigan from 1938 to 1947 and athletic director thereafter until his retirement in 1968. Crisler Center was designed by Dan Dworsky, a member of the 1948 Rose Bowl team, among other structures that he has designed is the Federal Reserve Bank of Los Angeles. The arena is often called The House that Cazzie Built, a reference to player Cazzie Russell, russells popularity caused the teams fan base to outgrow Yost Fieldhouse and prompted the construction of the current facility. At Michigan mens basketball games, the seats behind the benches are home to the Maize Rage student section. Crisler Center has been the home of Michigan Wolverines mens basketball since its opening in 1967, the womens basketball team has been at Crisler Center since 1974. It has also been the home of Michigans wrestling, womens volleyball, the gymnastics team hosted events at Crisler Center from 1978-1989. The wrestling team called Crisler Center its home from 1967-1989, the womens gymnastics team competed at Crisler Center from 1978-1989 before moving to Cliff Keen Arena in 1990 before ultimately returning to Crisler Center as their primary home in 2004. Despite being on a Big Ten Conference campus, the facility hosted the 1980–1982 Mid-American Conference mens basketball tournament and it has also hosted Big Ten and NCAA gymnastics championships, the 1999 Big Ten wrestling championship, and other events. Prior to the opening of Cliff Keen Arena, the arena was the home to the mens and womens gymnastics teams. The womens gymnastics team continues to hold significant meets in the arena, Crisler Center was also the site of the famous ten-for-two John Sinclair Freedom Rally, featuring John Lennon & Yoko Ono in 1971. The 2014 NCAA Mens Gymnastics championship was held at Crisler Center, Michigans Mens Gymnastics team won their second consecutive national championship in that meet. The University recently completed a renovation to the Crisler Center. In 2011, the seats were replaced and capacity was reduced, a new scoreboard was added along with the construction of an athletic facility in between the arena and Michigan Stadium called the Junge Family Champions Center. Along with the Junge Center, the University added the Mortenson Family Plaza on the roof of the Junge Center, the outside walls were torn down and the concourse was expanded. A new grand entrance along with new boxes were expected to be ready by January 2013, the renovations also included renovations to the control room, updating the controllers for game stats and content for the University of Michigan football stadium and the Crisler Center. Part of the Crisler renovation also included the construction of the William Davidson Player Development Center, the $23.2 million facility boasts 2 full courts with 10 baskets, weight room, sports medicine training room, and two identical wings for Mens and Womens basketball offices
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Kappa Alpha Psi
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Kappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African-American membership. Since the fraternitys founding on January 5,1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the president of the national fraternity is known as the Grand Polemarch, who assigns a Province Polemarch for each of the twelve provinces of the nation. The Kappa Alpha Psi Journal is the magazine of the fraternity since 1914. The Journal is published four times a year in February, April, frank M. Summers was the magazines first editor and later became the Fourteenth Grand Polemarch. The former editor of the magazine was Jonathan Hicks, the current editor of the magazine is Earl T. Tildon. Kappa Alpha Psi is a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, Kappa Alpha Psi celebrated its 100th anniversary on January 5,2011, and is one of only four predominantly African American collegiate fraternities to do so. The founders endeavored to establish the fraternity with a foundation before embarking on plans of expansion. By the end of the first year, the ritual was completed, frederick Mitchell name is on the application for the Incorporation of the Fraternity but withdrew from school and thus never became a member of the Fraternity. Instead, these young men organized their own fraternity, the organization known today as Kappa Alpha Psi was nationally incorporated under the name of Kappa Alpha Nu on May 15,1911. The name of the organization was changed to its current name in 1915, the motto of the Fraternity is, Achievement in every field of human endeavor. During this time there were very few African-American students at the majority white campus at Bloomington, Indiana, African-American students were denied membership on athletic teams with the exception of track and field. The racial prejudice and discrimination encountered by the founders strengthened their bond of friendship, by 1913, the fraternity expanded with the second undergraduate chapter opened at the University of Illinois—Beta chapter, then the University of Iowa—Gamma chapter. After this, Kappa Alpha Psi chartered undergraduate chapters on Black college campuses at Wilberforce University—Delta Chapter, in 1920, Xi Chapter was chartered at Howard University. In 1921, the fraternity installed the Omicron chapter at Columbia University, the fraternitys first chapter in the South was established in 1921 at Morehouse College— Pi Chapter. Kappa Alpha Psi expanded through the Midwest, South, and West at both white and black colleges, some believe the Greek letters Kappa Alpha Nu were chosen as a tribute to Alpha Kappa Nu, but the name became an ethnic slur among racist factions. Founder Elder Watson Diggs, while observing a young initiate compete in a meet, overheard fans referring to the member as a kappa alpha nig. Kappa Alpha Psi has been the name since April 15,1915. In 1947, at the Los Angeles Conclave, the National Silhouettes of Kappa Alpha Psi were established as an auxiliary group, in 1980, the Silhouettes were officially recognized and granted a seat on the Board of Directors of the Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation
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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
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Jerry Lucas
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Jerry Ray Lucas is an American former basketball player and memory education expert. As a collegian, Lucas led the Ohio State Buckeyes to the 1960 college national championship and he remains today the only three-time Big Ten Player of the Year, and was also twice named NCAA Player of the Year. He was inducted to the Springfield Basketball Hall Of Fame in 1980, after his basketball career ended in the mid-1970s, Lucas took to becoming a teacher and writer in the area of image-based memory education. His book written with Harry Lorayne, The Memory Book, was a national best-seller, Lucas has also conducted seminars demonstrating memory techniques, and has written 30 books and educational products and games for children. He is known today as Doctor Memory, Lucas was born in Middletown, Ohio, then a community of 30, 000+ halfway between Dayton and Cincinnati. Middletown then called itself The Basketball Capital of Ohio, based on the success of the teams from the towns one high school. The Middies had already won five Ohio state high school championships, 1945–55, local support for the team was remarkably high in the early and mid-1950s. A tall youth hailing from a family of men, Lucas was greatly encouraged to take up the game at a young age. He was already six-feet tall by age 13, Lucas had also begun to demonstrate an active mind at a young age. A fidgety boy on family car rides, Lucas began to develop games to occupy him perhaps as early as age nine. I saw a sign at a gas station, and decided to rearrange the letters of each word into alphabetical order, the word price would become c-e-i-p-r. These and other mental exercises began to develop his intelligence at a young age. In addition to local support for Middletown High basketball, the city was also home to remarkable summer outdoor basketball scene at Sunset Park. Previous Middletown players who had gone on to play at the college level recruited other players to play there in the summer. By the time Lucas was age 15, Sunset Park was one of the best summer basketball scenes in the region between Dayton and Cincinnati, by then, Lucas had grown to 67 and had the opportunity to scrimmage against college players, advancing his game greatly. Lucas was, in fact, outplaying good college big men before he had played his first game for Middletown High, during this time, his eyesight was tested and found to be at least 20-10, according to Lucas. His remarkable eye sight allowed him to practice shooting where the ball would graze one side of the rim or another. A game of HORSE with Lucas then included shots where the only hits the front of the rim or another area rather than simply going in as a made shot
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Magic Johnson
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Earvin Magic Johnson Jr. is an American retired professional basketball player and current president of basketball operations of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. He played point guard for the Lakers for 13 seasons, after winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA draft by the Lakers. He won a championship and an NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in his rookie season, Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after announcing that he had contracted HIV, but returned to play in the 1992 All-Star Game, winning the All-Star MVP Award. After protests from his players, he retired again for four years. Johnsons career achievements include three NBA MVP Awards, nine NBA Finals appearances, twelve All-Star games, and ten All-NBA First and he led the league in regular-season assists four times, and is the NBAs all-time leader in average assists per game, at 11.2. Johnson was a member of the 1992 United States mens Olympic basketball team, after leaving the NBA in 1992, Johnson formed the Magic Johnson All-Stars, a barnstorming team that travelled around the world playing exhibition games. Johnson was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, Johnson became a two-time inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame—being enshrined in 2002 for his individual career, and again in 2010 as a member of the Dream Team. He was rated the greatest NBA point guard of all time by ESPN in 2007 and his friendship and rivalry with Boston Celtics star Larry Bird, whom he faced in the 1979 NCAA finals and three NBA championship series, are well documented. Since his retirement, Johnson has been an advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and safe sex, as well as an entrepreneur, philanthropist, broadcaster and motivational speaker. Named by Ebony magazine as one of Americas most influential businessmen in 2009, Johnson has numerous business interests. Johnson also is part of a group of investors purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012. Earvin Johnson Jr. was born in Lansing, Michigan to Earvin Sr. a General Motors assembly worker, and Christine, Johnson, who had six siblings, was influenced by his parents strong work ethic. Earvin Jr. would often help his father on the garbage route, Johnson grew up in Lansing, and came to love basketball as a youngster. His favorite basketball player was Bill Russell, whom he admired more for his many championships than his athletic ability and he also idolized players such as Earl Monroe and Marques Haynes, and practiced all day. Magic Johnson came from an athletic family and his father played high school basketball in his home state of Mississippi, and Johnson learned the finer points about the game from him. Johnsons mother, originally from North Carolina, had played basketball as a child. By the time he had reached the grade, Johnson had begun to think about a future in basketball. He had become a dominant junior player, once scoring 48 points in a game
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is an American retired professional basketball player who played 20 seasons in the National Basketball Association for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers. During his career as a center, Abdul-Jabbar was a record six-time NBA Most Valuable Player, a record 19-time NBA All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA selection, and an 11-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. A member of six NBA championship teams as a player and two as an assistant coach, Abdul-Jabbar twice was voted NBA Finals MVP, in 1996, he was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. NBA coach Pat Riley and players Isiah Thomas and Julius Erving have called him the greatest basketball player of all time, drafted by the one-season-old Bucks franchise in the 1969 NBA draft with the first overall pick, Alcindor spent six seasons in Milwaukee. After winning his first NBA championship in 1971, he adopted the Muslim name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at age 24, using his trademark skyhook shot, he established himself as one of the leagues top scorers. In 1975, he was traded to the Lakers, with whom he played the last 14 seasons of his career, Abdul-Jabbars contributions were a key component in the Showtime era of Lakers basketball. Over his 20-year NBA career his team succeeded in making the playoffs 18 times and past the 1st round in 14 of them and he remains the all-time leading scorer in the NBA, and is ranked 3rd all-time in both rebounds and blocks. In 2007, ESPN voted him the greatest center of all time, in 2008, they named him the greatest player in basketball history. Abdul-Jabbar has also been an actor, a coach. In 2012, he was selected by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to be a U. S. global cultural ambassador, in 2016, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr. was born in New York City, the child of Cora Lillian, a department store price checker. At birth, he weighed 12 pounds 11 ounces and was 22 1⁄2 inches long and he was raised as a Roman Catholic and attended Power Memorial Academy, a Catholic high school in Manhattan. From an early age, Lew Alcindor began his record-breaking basketball accomplishments and this earned him a nickname—The tower from Power. His 2,067 total points were a New York City high school record, the team won the national high school boys basketball championship when Alcindor was in 11th grade, and was runner-up his senior year. Alcindor played on the UCLA freshman team only because the rule was in effect. In his first college game, Lew set a UCLA single game record with 56 points, in 1967 and 1968, he also won USBWA College Player of the Year which later became the Oscar Robertson Trophy. Alcindor became the player to win the Helms Foundation Player of the Year award three times. The 1965–66 UCLA Bruin team was the preseason #1, but on November 27,1965, the freshman team led by Alcindor defeated the varsity team 75–60 in the first game in the new Pauley Pavilion
