1.
National Basketball Association
–
The National Basketball Association is the major mens professional basketball league in North America, and is widely considered to be the premier mens professional basketball league in the world. It has 30 teams, and is a member of USA Basketball. The NBA is one of the four professional sports leagues in the United States. NBA players are the worlds best paid athletes by average annual salary per player, the league was founded in New York City on June 6,1946, as the Basketball Association of America. The league adopted the name National Basketball Association on August 3,1949, the leagues several international as well as individual team offices are directed out of its head offices located in the Olympic Tower at 645 Fifth Avenue in New York City. NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are directed out of offices located in Secaucus, the Basketball Association of America was founded in 1946 by owners of the major ice hockey arenas in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Canada. On November 1,1946, in Toronto, Canada, the Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers at Maple Leaf Gardens, the first basket was made by Ossie Schectman of the Knickerbockers. During its early years, the quality of play in the BAA was not significantly better than in competing leagues or among leading independent clubs such as the Harlem Globetrotters. For instance, the 1948 ABL finalist Baltimore Bullets moved to the BAA and won that leagues 1948 title, Following the 1948–49 season, the BAA took in the remainder of the NBL, Syracuse, Anderson, Tri-Cities, Sheboygan, Denver, and Waterloo. The new league had seventeen franchises located in a mix of large and small cities, as well as arenas and smaller gymnasiums. The process of contraction saw the leagues smaller-city franchises move to larger cities, the Hawks shifted from the Tri-Cities to Milwaukee in 1951, and then to St. Louis in 1955. The Rochester Royals moved from Rochester, New York, to Cincinnati in 1957, japanese-American Wataru Misaka broke the NBA color barrier in the 1947–48 season when he played for the New York Knicks. He remained the only player in league history prior to the first African-American, Harold Hunter. During this period, the Minneapolis Lakers, led by center George Mikan, won five NBA Championships, to encourage shooting and discourage stalling, the league introduced the 24-second shot clock in 1954. If a team does not attempt to score a goal within 24 seconds of obtaining the ball, play is stopped. In 1957, rookie center Bill Russell joined the Boston Celtics, who already featured guard Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach, and went on to lead the club to eleven NBA titles in thirteen seasons. Center Wilt Chamberlain entered the league with the Warriors in 1959 and became a dominant individual star of the 1960s, russells rivalry with Chamberlain became one of the greatest rivalries in the history of American team sports. The 1960s were dominated by the Celtics, led by Russell, Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach, Boston won eight straight championships in the NBA from 1959 to 1966
2.
Banatski Brestovac
–
Banatski Brestovac is a village located in the Municipality of Pančevo, in the South Banat District of Serbia. It is situated in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, the village has a Serbian ethnic majority and its population numbers 3,251 people. The name of the village refers to the stands of elm trees which surrounded the village, in Serbian, the village is known as Banatski Brestovac, in Hungarian as Beresztóc and in German as Brestowatz. The village is located near the Ponjavica river at 44°43′37″N 20°48′26″E, since 1995, there is a protected nature park Ponjavica south of the village. The official year of founding of Brestovac is 1717, but it is only documented a settlement with 12 uninhabited houses in that time. After World War I was that area a part of provisional Torontalsko-tamiške županja, in 1922 of Belgrade oblast, in the time after World War II its belonged to the Srez Pančevo of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The communal area of Banatski Brestovac was a part of the region of the Pančevo municipality from all these centuries to the present. There is an impression of the old village which is recorded on the map of the Franciscan land survey from the early 19th century at the National Archives of Austria, in 1902, cadastral maps of the village were recorded which are located at the National Archives of Hungary. The main occupation of the people is in agriculture, as many other local settlements. Since several years, there is an event named Paprikijada in the village, organized by an economic. During the event, all kinds of paprika are sold, culinary tastings of dishes offered, List of places in Serbia List of cities, towns and villages in Vojvodina Banatski Brestovac on the Official Website by the Municipality of Pančevo
3.
Socialist Republic of Serbia
–
The Socialist Republic of Serbia was one of the six constitutional republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It was the largest republic in terms of population and territory and its capital, Belgrade, was also the federal capital of Yugoslavia. From 1945 to 1963, the republic was known as Peoples Republic of Serbia. The republic had two provinces, Vojvodina and Kosovo, for most of its existence in the SFRY, Serbia was loyal and generally subordinate to the federal government. This changed after the death of Josip Broz Tito in 1980, the League of Communists was split on how to respond. In 1989, Milošević was elected as President of the republic and he demanded that the federal Yugoslav government act for the interests of Serbia in Kosovo by sending in the Yugoslav Peoples Army to take control of the province. Serbia opposed such action and demanded a one-member, one-vote system in the Yugoslav League of Communists, ethnic tensions increased and the League of Communists of Yugoslavia collapsed, followed by the fall of the government of Yugoslavia by 1991. After 1990, the state was simply as Republic of Serbia. In 1992, when the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was formed, in 2003 this state union was re-formed into Serbia and Montenegro, and in 2006 Serbia became an independent state. Within Socialist Republic of Serbia two autonomous provinces existed, Socialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, the central part of the Socialist Republic of Serbia located outside of the two autonomous provinces was generally known as Serbia proper. Geographically SR Serbia bordered Hungary to the north, Romania and Bulgaria to the east, within Yugoslavia it bordered SR Macedonia to the south and SR Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia to the west. Afterwards, the Serbian League of Communists selected Milosevic as its leader, Milosevic took a hard stand on Albanian nationalism in Kosovo and pressured the Yugoslav government to give him emergency powers to deal with Kosovo separatists. Furthermore, he reduced the autonomy of the provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina. The tactic failed and Slovenia, along with its ally Croatia and this caused the Yugoslav Communist party to fall apart, and then the state of Yugoslavia itself one year later
4.
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
–
Covering an area of 255,804 km², the SFRY was bordered with Italy to the west, Hungary to the north, Bulgaria and Romania to the east and Albania and Greece to the south. In addition, it included two autonomous provinces within Serbia, Kosovo and Vojvodina, the SFRY traces back to 29 June 1943 when the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia was formed during World War II. On 29 November 1945, the Federal Peoples Republic of Yugoslavia was proclaimed after the deposal of King Peter II thus ending the monarchy. Following the death of Tito on 4 May 1980, rising ethnic nationalism in the late 1980s led to dissidence among the multiple ethnicities within the constituent republics. This led to the federation collapsing along the borders, followed by the final downfall and breakup of the federation on 27 April 1992. The term former Yugoslavia is now commonly used retrospectively, the name Yugoslavia, an Anglicised transcription of Jugoslavija, is a composite word made-up of jug and slavija. The Serbo-Croatian, Slovene and Macedonian word jug means south, while slavija denotes a land of the Slavs, thus, a translation of Jugoslavija would be South-Slavia or Land of the South Slavs. The term is intended to denote the lands occupied by the six South Slavic nations, Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, Montenegrins, Slovenes, the full official name of the federation varied significantly between 1945 and 1992. Yugoslavia was formed in 1918 under the name Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, the name deliberately left the republic-or-kingdom question open. In 1963, amid pervasive liberal constitutional reforms, the name Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was introduced, the state is most commonly referred to by the latter name, which it held for the longest period of all. The most common abbreviation is SFRY, though SFR Yugoslavia was also used in an official capacity, particularly by the media. On 6 April 1941, Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis powers led by Nazi Germany, by 17 April 1941, Yugoslav resistance was soon established in two forms, the Royal Yugoslav Army and the Yugoslav Partisans. The Partisan supreme commander was Josip Broz Tito, and under his command the movement soon began establishing liberated territories which attracted the attentions of the occupying forces. The coalition of parties, factions, and prominent individuals behind the movement was the Peoples Liberation Front. The Front formed a political body, the Anti-Fascist Council for the Peoples Liberation of Yugoslavia. The AVNOJ, which met for the first time in Partisan-liberated Bihać on 26 November 1942, during 1943, the Yugoslav Partisans began attracting serious attention from the Germans. In two major operations of Fall Weiss and Fall Schwartz, the Axis attempted to stamp-out the Yugoslav resistance once, on both occasions, despite heavy casualties, the Group succeeded in evading the trap and retreating to safety. The Partisans emerged stronger than before and now occupied a significant portion of Yugoslavia
5.
University of Belgrade
–
The University of Belgrade is the oldest and the largest university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, the University has nearly 90,000 students and over 4,200 members of teaching staff. Since its founding, the University has educated more than 330,000 bachelors, the University comprises 31 faculties,12 research institutes, the university library, and 9 university centres. The faculties are organized into 4 groups, social sciences and humanities, medical sciences, natural sciences and mathematics, on the prestigious Shanghai Ranking, the University of Belgrade ranks between 201st and 300th place, according to the most recent global ranking. In 2014 it ranked 151-200 specifically in the areas of mathematics and physics, the University of Belgrade was established in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School by Dositej Obradović, Serbian key figure in the Age of Enlightenment. It was the highest ranking institution in Serbia between 1808 and 1905, as the first Higher School, the Belgrade Lyceum, and the second Higher School. It was initially located at the Countess Ljubicas Residence building and then moved to another significant site in Belgrade, the Captain Miša’s Mansion, todays seat of the university. The second Higher School was established as the successor of the Lyceum and was a combination of a gymnasium and a college. Under the law, it was defined as an institute for higher. The Minister of Education had control over this institution and it was managed by the Rector, during its early history it had three departments, Philosophy, Engineering and Law. The Higher School formally became the University of Belgrade through the Law on the University from February 27,1905, in addition to the Philosophy, Law and Electrical Engineering departments, this law introduced the Orthodox Theology and Medical schools. This is how the legal education in Serbia emerged in the year 1808. Before enrolling the legal department, it was compulsory to graduate at the department where the studies lasted two years, so the legal studies lasted a total of five years. Since 1853, the legal education became independent from the studies of philosophy, from 1841 to 1863, before enrolling the legal department, it was compulsory to graduate at the department for philosophy, where the studies lasted two years. The lectures were held by professors who had earned their diplomas in Austria, Germany. During the 1850s, the Philosophy Department developed into a particular college, the University of Belgrades Faculty of Philosophy is todays continuation of this department. The first academic lecture on engineering in Serbia was held in 1894. Professor Stevan Marković was the first lecturer and founder of the Engineering Department at the Higher School, only four years later, Professor Marković also established the first Serbian electrical engineering laboratory
6.
OKK Beograd
–
OKK Beograd is a Serbian professional basketball club. It is part of the multi-sports Belgrade-based sport club OSD Beograd, the club was founded in 1945 under the name KK Metalac. In 1950, club has changed name to KK BSK, and then in 1958 to OKK Beograd, OKK Beograd made most of its achievements during a so-called golden era - a period between 1957 and 1965. In less than a decade, OKK Beograd won four Yugoslav League championships, in 1958,1960,1963 and 1964, accompanied by two Yugoslav Cups in 1960 and 1962. The club also reached the semifinals of a European Champions Cup on three occasions, but failed to reach the finals, losing to Academic Sofia in 1959, Spartak Brno in 1964, after 1965, the core of the team went abroad and the results dropped. However, the club did reach the finals of the first ever Korać Cup in 1972, although OKK Beograd remained among the top Serbian and Yugoslav teams, the next trophy was not won until 1993, with the victory in the Yugoslav Cup. Several members of OKK Beograd have been inducted into FIBA Hall of Fame, including player Korać, coach Nikolić and contributors Šaper, OKK Beograd has its own Radivoj Korać Hall in Palilula, but plays league matches in SC Šumice
7.
KK Partizan
–
KK Partizan is a Serbian professional basketball club based in Belgrade. It is part of the multi-sports Belgrade-based club Partizan, the club competes in the KLS and Adriatic League. Since 1945, Partizan has won around 45 trophies, and is the holder of the 21 national champion titles and they have also won 14 national basketball cups and 6 Adriatic championships, and notably the European Champion trophy at the Final Four of the Euroleague in Istanbul in 1992. Same year club took national championship and cup, and won Triple Crown, KK Partizan was not allowed to defend the Euroleague title in the 1992–93 season, because of UN sanctions. They also won 3 Korać Cups in 1978,1979 and 1989, in September 2009, KK Partizan became the first Serbian team to play an official game against NBA teams. The club was founded on 4 October 1945, as a section of the Sports Association of the Central House of the Yugoslav Army. KK Partizan officially ceased to be a club of the Army in 1953, since the sports society became independent. Although with a roster, including players who played for the national team of Yugoslavia. In the early 1970s, when players started to run the club. He made a selection of young players led by Dražen Dalipagić. He gathered around him other young professionals, and in late 1970s and this period in the clubs history included a few trophies. The first of these was the title of Yugoslav champion in 1975–76 season, after a calm period due to a change of generations, by the end of the 1980s under the leadership of new club director, Dragan Kićanović involved young experts, such as Duško Vujošević. After losing in the semifinals to Maccabi Tel Aviv, Partizan won over Aris, in 1989, enforced by young Predrag Danilović, Partizan won the FIBA Korać Cup for the third time, triumphing over Wiwa Vismara Cantù. After losing the first game in Italy, Partizan celebrated the return leg in Belgrade with 101–82 and that same season, Partizan won the Yugoslav Cup over new European champions Jugoplastika. Vlade Divac and Žarko Paspalj in late 1989, along with Dražen Petrović from Cibona became the first players from the territory of Yugoslavia who pursued their careers in the NBA league. For the new coach, management chose a team captain and former team player with almost no coaching experience. His professional counselor became former Partizan coach and player, top European basketball expert, FIBA decided not to allow teams from the former Yugoslavia to play their home games at their home venues, because of open hostilities in the region. Belgrades Black and Whites have opted to be hosts in the Madrid suburb of Fuenlabrada, obradovićs team began a long season of European and domestic matches, often traveling thousands of kilometers in just a few days, with performance gradually improving
8.
Missouri Tigers men's basketball
–
The Missouri Tigers mens basketball team represents the University of Missouri in the SEC. Prior to the 2012–2013 season, the team represented the school in the Big 12 Conference. They are located in Columbia, Missouri, playing games at Mizzou Arena. The team last played in the NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament in 2013, the Tigers next season in 2017–18 will be their first under new head coach Cuonzo Martin, who was hired away from California to replace the fired Kim Anderson. The Missouris mens basketball program was a member of the Big 12 Conference. Following the 2016–17 season, the Tigers had a record of 1, 593–1,133. 2Missouri vacated all wins from the 2013–2014 season in 2015, the Tigers have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 26 times. However, their appearance in 1994 has been vacated by the NCAA making their official record 19–25, * Vacated by the NCAA The NCAA began seeding the tournament with the 1979 edition. The Tigers have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament eight times, the Tigers appeared in one of the only two ever National Commissioners Invitational Tournaments
9.
Los Angeles Clippers
–
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
10.
Detroit Pistons
–
The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Central Division. The team plays its games at The Palace of Auburn Hills and was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons in 1941. The Pistons joined the Basketball Association of America in 1948, in 1949, the NBL and BAA merged to become the NBA, and the Pistons became part of the merged league. Since moving to Detroit in 1957, the Pistons have won three NBA championships in 1989,1990 and 2004. The Detroit Pistons franchise was founded as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, owners Fred Zollner and his sister Janets Zollner Corporation was a foundry, manufacturing pistons, primarily for car, truck and locomotive engines. The Zollner Pistons were NBL champions in 1944 and 1945 and they also won the World Professional Basketball Tournament in 1944,1945 and 1946. In 1948, the became the Fort Wayne Pistons, competing in the Basketball Association of America. In 1949, Fred Zollner brokered the formation of the National Basketball Association from the BAA, there are suggestions that Pistons players conspired with gamblers to shave points and throw various games during the 1953–54 and 1954–55 seasons. In particular, there are accusations that the team may have intentionally lost the 1955 NBA Finals to the Syracuse Nationals, in the decisive Game 7, the Pistons led Syracuse 41–24 early in the second quarter, then the Nationals rallied to win the game. Syracuse won on a throw by George King with twelve seconds left in the game. After the 1956–57 season, Zollner decided that Fort Wayne was too small to support an NBA team, although it was the fifth largest city in the United States at the time, Detroit had not seen professional basketball in a decade. In 1947, they had lost the Detroit Gems of the NBL, Zollner decided to keep the Pistons name, believing it made sense given Detroits status as the center of the automobile industry. The new Detroit Pistons played in Olympia Stadium for their first four seasons, the franchise was a consistent disappointment, struggling both on the court and at the box office. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Pistons were characterized by strong individuals. In fact, in their first 27 years in Detroit, they only had three winning seasons, some of the superstars who played for the team included Dave DeBusschere, Dave Bing, Jimmy Walker, and Bob Lanier. At one point DeBusschere was the youngest player-coach in the history of the NBA, DeBusschere became a key player in leading the Knicks to two NBA titles. Detroit qualified for the postseason in four seasons, but never advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs
11.
Serbia men's national basketball team
–
The Serbian national basketball team represents Serbia in international basketball matches and is controlled by the Basketball Federation of Serbia. Serbia is currently ranked third in the FIBA World Rankings, with the start of Yugoslav Wars in 1991, the mighty team of Yugoslavia was disbanded. It was formed of two stated of Serbia and Montenegro, and had less then half the population of former country, at the 1996 Summer Olympics the team lost with 69–95 to the United States in gold-medal game. The national team won the medal at the EuroBasket 1997,1998 FIBA World Championship, EuroBasket 2001. Later, the Yugoslavian national team won the tournament by defeating New Zealand in the semi-finals, on 4 February 2003, the federal assembly of Yugoslavia created a loose state union—the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. The following years were underwhelming as the team failed to make the podium of the tournament. At the EuroBasket 2003 it came in 6th place, but due the world champion status, however, it was eliminated in the group stage with 1–4 score, finishing in 11th place. After two consecutive tournament disappointments, hope for the comeback came at the EuroBasket 2005 where the team of Serbia. Also, legendary Željko Obradović became national head coach again, however, the national team was surprisingly eliminated in the play-off stage by France with 71–74 loss, and finished in 9th place. Obradović stepped down shortly after the tournament, and blamed the bad atmosphere among the star players for yet another failure. The national team participated at the 2006 FIBA World Championship on a card due to the results in the past. However, the team of Serbia and Montenegro once again failed to impress. On 21 May 2006, Montenegrins voted in an independence referendum, in late 2013, a Serbian basketball hall of famer Aleksandar Đorđević was confirmed as a successor to Ivković. Đorđević led the team to two medals at the 2014 FIBA World Championshipand the 2016 Summer Olympics. Serbia won two Fiba World Cup 1998,2002, and the official tournament Fiba Diamond Ball 2004
12.
Georgia national basketball team
–
The Georgia mens national basketball team represents the country of Georgia in international basketball competitions. It is controlled by Georgian Basketball Federation, the GBF, that was established on June 4,1991 after Georgia became independent from Soviet Union, the country is a FIBA member since 1992. The first official game was played against Poland in 1995, the team made its EuroBasket debut in 2011. They qualified for three following tournaments in 2013,2015 and 2017 as well, until 1991 Georgia was a part of Soviet Union and players born in Georgia played for the Soviet Union national basketball team. The team also played in EuroBasket Division B three times and gained promotion in 2009 after defeating Belarus in play-offs, after the expansion of EuroBasket in 2011 from 16 to 24 teams, Georgia qualified to competition for the first time and since then they played at every tournament. The team played five matches in Group D and they won games against Belgium and Ukraine, lost three matches and advanced in the second round, but lost all three matches. After finishing second in qualifying group, Georgia qualified for its second Eurobasket tournament, after comfortable 84–67 victory in the opening match over Poland, Georgia lost four remaining matches and finished the tournament. To this date Eurobasket 2013 was the tournament, when Georgia could not win more than one match. Georgia qualified to Eurobasket for the third time in 2014. In group after three losses, Georgia defeated Macedonia 90–75. In EuroBasket 2017 qualification Georgia topped its group after 90–84 victory over Montenegro, roster for the EuroBasket 2017 qualification. com Georgia Basketball Records at FIBA Archive Georgia v Croatia - Group C - Game Highlights - EuroBasket 2015 Youtube. com video
13.
Phoenix Suns
–
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
14.
Cleveland Cavaliers
–
The Cleveland Cavaliers, also known as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavs compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the leagues Eastern Conference Central Division, the team began play in 1970. Many past and present top NBA players, including LeBron James, Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, the franchise has won five Central Division championships, three Eastern Conference championships, one NBA championship, and have reached the playoffs 20 times in their 46-year history. The 2016 NBA Finals victory over the Golden State Warriors marked the first time in Finals history a team had come back to win the series after trailing three games to one, the Cavaliers began play in 1970 as an expansion team. Their 46-year history has been marked by stretches of strong play and periods of poor play. In the 1970s, under the ownership of Nick Mileti, the team won its first division title in 1976 and they won Game 7, 87–85, on a shot by Snyder with four seconds to go. Injuries, particularly an ankle injury to Chones, led to this teams demise, as the Cavaliers would lose the Eastern Conference Finals to the Boston Celtics, 4–2. It is widely believed among both Cavaliers fans and players that the Miracle team would have won the 1976 NBA Championship had Chones stayed healthy, the remainder of the 1970s were marked by early playoff losses and eventually Fitchs resignation. The early 1980s were marked by Ted Stepiens ownership, Stepien also oversaw the hiring and firing of a succession of coaches and was involved in making a number of poor trade and free agent signing decisions. The ensuing chaos had an effect on both the Cavaliers on-court performance and lack of local support, losing over 50 games in three straight years. The 1981–82 and 1982–83 combined to lose 24 straight games, which at the time was the NBAs all-time longest losing streak, george and Gordon Gund purchased the Cavaliers from Stepien in 1983. The team was in a transition as they went through nine head coaches from 1980 to 1986, during the 1986 offseason, the Cavaliers acquired Brad Daugherty, Mark Price, Ron Harper and Larry Nance. The Cavaliers entered into a period of decline from the mid-1990s through the early 2000s, the team appeared in the playoffs the next two years, but could not get past the first round. In the 1997 off-season, the team added Shawn Kemp and Wesley Person, as well as a class that included Derek Anderson, Cedric Henderson, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas. This team lost in the first round of the playoffs in 1998, in the early 2000s, the team added Andre Miller, Lamond Murray, Chris Mihm and Carlos Boozer, but could not make it to the playoffs. The 2002–03 season saw the Cavaliers finish 17–65, tied for the worst record in the NBA, the Cavaliers luck changed as they landed the number 1 pick in the 2003 NBA draft. With it, the team selected heralded forward and future NBA MVP LeBron James, in 2005, the team would be sold to businessman Dan Gilbert. That year, the team also hired head coach Mike Brown, over the next few years, the Cavaliers built a team around James and Žydrūnas Ilgauskas by adding players including Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, and Anderson Varajao
15.
Orlando Magic
–
The Orlando Magic is an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise has played in the NBA playoffs for more than half of its existence. Orlando has been the second most successful of the four expansion teams brought into the league in 1988 and 1989 in terms of winning percentage, after fellow Floridian team Miami Heat. In September 1985, Orlando businessman Jim L. Hewitt approached Philadelphia 76ers general manager Pat Williams as they met in Texas on his idea of bringing an NBA team to Orlando. Intrigued by the project, Williams signed on as the front man of the investment group one year later as he left the 76ers, on June 19,1986, the two held a news conference to announce their intention of seeking an NBA franchise. At the same time Hewitt and Williams decided to hold a contest in the Orlando Sentinel newspaper to get names for their new franchise. Out of a total of 4,296 submitted entries, the names were subsequently narrowed to four, Heat, Tropics, Juice, the last one, which had been submitted by 11 people, was picked after Williams brought his 7-year-old daughter Karyn to visit in Orlando. On July 27,1986, it was announced that the committee chose the Magic to be the new name of the Orlando franchise in the NBA, the name Magic alludes to the citys biggest tourist attraction and economic engine Walt Disney World, along with its Magic Kingdom. Hewitt added that You look at all the aspects of Central Florida, and you find it really is an exciting place, a magical place. Many, including Williams himself at first, thought that Miami or Tampa were better locations in Florida for a franchise, given Orlando was a small town lacking a major airport and a suitable arena. Meanwhile, Williams gave presentations to NBA commissioner David Stern and the owners of the teams of the league that the town was viable. The Magic were one of the four new expansion franchises awarded by the NBA in 1987 along with the Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, the Magic became the first ever major-league professional sports franchise in the Orlando area, following an expansion fee of reportedly $32.5 million. The Magic hired Matt Guokas as the teams first coach, who helped the Magic select 12 players in the NBA Expansion Draft on June 15,1989. On June 27,1989, the Magic chose Nick Anderson with the 11th pick in the first round, the very first game played was an exhibition game on October 13,1989 against the then reigning champions Detroit Pistons, which the Magic won. Anderson was quoted as saying the atmosphere and the people watching the game was like Game 7 of the NBA Finals. On November 4,1989, the Magic played their first season game at the Orlando Arena against the visiting New Jersey Nets, the Magics first victory came two days later, as the Magic defeated the New York Knicks 118–110. The inaugural team compiled a record of 18–64 with players including Reggie Theus, Scott Skiles, Terry Catledge, Sam Vincent, Otis Smith, in the 1990 NBA draft, the Orlando Magic selected Dennis Scott with the fourth overall pick
16.
Utah Jazz
–
The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Western Conference Northwest Division. Since 1991, the team has played its games at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The franchise began play in 1974 as the New Orleans Jazz, a team based in New Orleans. The Jazz were one of the least successful teams in the league in their early years, although 10 seasons elapsed before the Jazz qualified for their first playoff appearance in 1984, they did not miss the playoffs again until 2004. During the late 1980s, John Stockton and Karl Malone arose as the players for the team. Both Stockton and Malone moved on in 2003, after missing the playoffs for three consecutive seasons the Jazz returned to prominence under the on-court leadership of point guard Deron Williams. However, partway through the 2010–11 NBA season, the Jazz began restructuring after Sloans retirement, the team has made the playoffs once since then, in 2012 under coach Tyrone Corbin. Quin Snyder was hired as coach in June 2014. Valued in 2015 at $850 million by Forbes, the Jazz rank as the 20th most valuable franchise in the NBA ahead of the Indiana Pacers, on June 7,1974, the New Orleans Jazz were admitted as an expansion franchise into the National Basketball Association. Team officials selected the name because of its definition in the dictionary, the team began its inaugural season in New Orleans in the 1974–75 season. Maravich struggled with injuries from that season onward. Venue issues were a problem for the team while it was based in New Orleans. Later, they played games in the cavernous Louisiana Superdome, but things were no better, due to demand for the stadium, onerous lease terms. Years later, founding owner Sam Battistone claimed that there was no plan in case the Jazz ever qualified for the playoffs. The pick would have been the Jazzs had they not traded it to acquire Gail Goodrich two years earlier, despite being barely competitive, the Jazz drew well during their first five years. However, by 1979 the franchise was sinking financially, barry Mendelson, the teams executive vice president for most of the early years, said one factor in the financial trouble was an 11 percent amusement tax, highest in the U. S. at the time. The team also could not attract much local corporate support—an important factor even in those days—or local investors, Battistone concluded that the franchise could not be viable in New Orleans and decided to move elsewhere
17.
2004 NBA Finals
–
The 2004 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2003–04 National Basketball Association season. The Finals were between the Los Angeles Lakers of the Western Conference and the Detroit Pistons of the Eastern Conference, the series was played under a best-of-seven format, so the first team to collect four game victories would win the series. Although the Lakers were the favorite, the Pistons won the series four games to one to win their first title since 1990. Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups was named as the NBA Finals MVP, the series was noted for the perceived underdog, the Pistons, dominating a Lakers team that had four future Hall of Famers. Pistons owner William Davidson became the first owner in sports history to win two championships in one year, eight days earlier, the other team that Davidson owned, the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League had won the Stanley Cup in seven games over the Calgary Flames. The Lakers had won championships from 2000 to 2002. In the 2003 offseason, the Lakers made major changes, with varying results. The Lakers were afterwards considered the favorites to win the NBA title, then, they faced the Minnesota Timberwolves and their superstar forward Kevin Garnett. The Lakers won the series 4–2 to advance to the Finals, the Pistons won two back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990, but with retirements and departures of several stars, they faded from playoff prominence. The team hired former star Joe Dumars as general manager of the team in 2000 and he was named the NBA Executive of the Year in 2003 for returning the Pistons to prominence. In his place, Dumars hired legendary coach Larry Brown, who had most recently led the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals in 2001, the Pistons, who were already a good defensive team, became a defensive force to be reckoned with. They became the first team in NBA history to hold five consecutive opponents under 70 points, and finished the season with a 54–28 record, the Pistons easily overcame the Milwaukee Bucks 4–1, but struggled against the New Jersey Nets and narrowly escaped 4–3. In a defensive series with Indiana, the Pistons offense proved more productive and this is only used in the Finals, all other playoff games are held in a 2–2–1–1–1 format. The Pistons became the team to sweep the middle three games since the NBA started using the 2-3-2 format in 1985. But they became the first to do so at home, the three times this had occurred it was done by road teams. With this, Detroit became the team to have both swept the middle three games at home and on the road. This was the first Finals series to be played on the current Sunday–Tuesday–Thursday rotation since 1990, NBA on NBC switched to a Wednesday-Friday-Sunday rotation in 1991, which was used through 2003, save for Monday games in 1999 and 2000. It is also the last series to have Game 1 be played on a Sunday, from 2005 to 2010, the championship series started on either the first or second Thursday in June
18.
Basketball
–
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
19.
EuroBasket
–
The championship was first held in 1935 and has been regularly contested every two years since 1947, starting in 2017, it will change to a four-year cycle. EuroBasket 1991 was the first EuroBasket tournament in which currently active NBA players, all EuroBasket tournaments from the 1991 edition onward, are thus considered as fully professional level tournaments. Through 2017, it alternates between serving as a qualifying tournament for the Summer Olympic Games and the FIBA Basketball World Cup. The most successful nation is the now defunct Soviet Union with fourteen titles, spain are the reigning champions, having won their third title in 2015. 24 European teams take part in the final competition, the qualification format that existed until EuroBasket 2011 permitted 16 teams to compete. Eight spots were determined by the host nation and the top seven finishers of the previous EuroBasket, the remaining Division A teams compete in a qualification tournament. There, they were divided into four groups, each group played a double round-robin. The top team in each group qualified for EuroBasket, the best three of the four runners-up also qualified. Of the ten teams that did not qualify in the qualification tournament, the remaining four competed in a relegation round, with two being sent to Division B for the next qualification cycle. The final spot was determined by the qualifying round. The six teams were divided into two groups of three, with each playing a double round-robin. The top team in each group played in the final against the groups top team. EuroBasket has used a number of different formats, ranging from the simple round-robin used in 1939, to a three-stage tournament, the current format begins with a preliminary round. The twenty-four qualified teams are placed into four groups of six, the top four teams in each group advance to the knockout stage. The knockout stage is a 16-team single-elimination tournament, with a medal game for semifinal losers. The medal table below lists the teams according to the respective table published by FIBA. Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia are defunct, no team carried over the records of the three countries. Below are the lists of all players voted as the MVP, krešimir Ćosić and Pau Gasol are the only players to win the MVP award twice
20.
Serbian Cyrillic alphabet
–
The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet is an adaptation of the Cyrillic script for the Serbian language, developed in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two used to write standard modern Serbian, Bosnian and Montenegrin, the other being Latin. During the same period, Croatian linguists led by Ljudevit Gaj adapted the Latin alphabet, in use in western South Slavic areas, using the same principles. As a result of this joint effort, Cyrillic and Latin alphabets for Serbo-Croatian have a complete one-to-one congruence, with the Latin digraphs Lj, Nj, and Dž counting as single letters. Vuks Cyrillic alphabet was adopted in Serbia in 1868, and was in exclusive use in the country up to the inter-war period. Both alphabets were co-official in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and later in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in Serbia, Cyrillic is seen as being more traditional, and has the official status. It is also a script in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro, along with Latin. The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet was used as a basis for the Macedonian alphabet with the work of Krste Misirkov, Cyrillic is in official use in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Serbian language in Croatia is officially recognized as a minority language, however, Cyrillic is an important symbol of Serbian identity. In Serbia, official documents are printed in Cyrillic only even though, according to a 2014 survey, Glagolitic appears to be older, predating the introduction of Christianity, only formalized by Cyril and expanded to cover non-Greek sounds. Cyrillic was created by the orders of Boris I of Bulgaria by Cyrils disciples, the earliest form of Cyrillic was the ustav, based on Greek uncial script, augmented by ligatures and letters from the Glagolitic alphabet for consonants not found in Greek. There was no distinction between capital and lowercase letters, the literary Slavic language was based on the Bulgarian dialect of Thessaloniki. Part of the Serbian literary heritage of the Middle Ages are works such as Vukan Gospels, St. Savas Nomocanon, Dušans Code, Munich Serbian Psalter, the first printed book in Serbian was the Cetinje Octoechos. Vuk Stefanović Karadžić fled Serbia during the Serbian Revolution in 1813, there he met Jernej Kopitar, a linguist with interest in slavistics. Kopitar and Sava Mrkalj helped Vuk to reform the Serbian language and he finalized the alphabet in 1818 with the Serbian Dictionary. Karadžić also translated the New Testament into Serbian, which was published in 1868 and he wrote several books, Mala prostonarodna slaveno-serbska pesnarica and Pismenica serbskoga jezika in 1814, and two more in 1815 and 1818, all with the alphabet still in progress. In his letters from 1815-1818 he used, Ю, я, Ы and Ѳ, in his 1815 song book he dropped the Ѣ. The alphabet was adopted in 1868, four years after his death
21.
Serbian Americans
–
Serbian Americans are United States citizens of Serb ethnic ancestry. As of 2012, there are 199,080 American citizens of Serbian ancestry who identify as having Serb ancestry. However, the number may be higher, as some 328,547 people who identify as Yugoslavs living in the United States, another notable early Serb in America was Basil Rosevic, who founded a shipping company, the Trans-Oceanic Ship Lines, around the year 1800. In the early 1800s, many Serb sailors and fishermen from Montenegro, in 1841, Serbs founded the Greek Orthodox Parish with Greek immigrants in New Orleans, further solidifying their presence in the region. Serbian Americans fought in the American Civil War, primarily on the side of the Confederacy, as most Serbs living in America were in Louisiana, several Confederate military units were formed by Serbs in Louisiana, such as the Cognevich Company, and the First and Second Slavonian Rifles. At least 400 Serbs and Montenegrins fought in three units during the Civil War. Several other known Serbian soldiers in the Civil War came from Alabama and Florida, other Serbs settled in Alabama and Mississippi, as well as California, where they joined the Gold Rush. Serb immigrants first came in significant numbers to the United States in the late 1800s from the Adriatic regions of Austria-Hungary and areas of the Balkans. During this time, most Serb immigrants to the United States settled in industrial cities or in California. Serb men often found employment in mines, and numerous Serb families moved to mining towns throughout the country, in 1943, many Serbian-American miners were killed in the Smith Mine disaster in Montana. In the 1910 census, there were 16,676 Serbs from Austria-Hungary,4,321 from Serbia, serbian-Americans volunteered in the First Balkan War. During World War I, as many as 15,000 Serbian-American volunteers returned to the Balkans to fight for the Allied cause in their homeland. During World War I, Pupins Consulate in New York served as a center of Serbian-American diplomacy, in the 1912–18 period, thousands of Serbian-American volunteers came from Alaska and California. After World War II many Serbs immigrated to the United States from Yugoslavia after the country came under the rule of Communist leader Josip Broz Tito. Since then, many Serbian American cultural and religious organizations have formed in the United States. With the fall of Communism and the disintegration of Yugoslavia, Serbs in the United States have established several interest groups, a total of 187,738 citizens of the United States declared Serb ethnicity in 2010. It is highly likely that among the citizens who declared Yugoslavian ethnicity are additional ethnic Serbs, major centers of Serbian settlement in the United States include Indianapolis, Chicago, New York City, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Jackson, California. Various ethnic organizations put the number of Serbian Americans at more than 350,000, notable Serbian Americans among others include recipients of the Medal of Honor such as World War I veteran Jake Allex
22.
National Collegiate Athletic Association
–
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a non-profit association which regulates athletes of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations, and individuals. It also organizes the programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The organization is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 2014, the NCAA generated almost a billion dollars in revenue. 80 to 90% of this revenue was due to the Division I Mens Basketball Tournament and this revenue is then distributed back into various organizations and institutions across the United States. In August 1973, the current three-division setup of Division I, Division II, under NCAA rules, Division I and Division II schools can offer scholarships to athletes for playing a sport. Division III schools may not offer any athletic scholarships, generally, larger schools compete in Division I and smaller schools in II and III. Division I football was divided into I-A and I-AA in 1978. Subsequently, the term Division I-AAA was briefly added to delineate Division I schools which do not field a football program at all, in 2006, Divisions I-A and I-AA were respectively renamed the Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision. Inter-collegiate sports began in the US in 1852 when crews from Harvard University, as other sports emerged, notably football and basketball, many of these same concepts and standards were adopted. Football, in particular, began to emerge as a marquee sport, the IAAUS was officially established on March 31,1906, and took its present name, the NCAA, in 1910. For several years, the NCAA was a group and rules-making body, but in 1921, the first NCAA national championship was conducted. Gradually, more rules committees were formed and more championships were created, a series of crises brought the NCAA to a crossroads after World War II. The Sanity Code – adopted to establish guidelines for recruiting and financial aid – failed to curb abuses, postseason football games were multiplying with little control, and member schools were increasingly concerned about how the new medium of television would affect football attendance. The complexity of problems and the growth in membership and championships demonstrated the need for full-time professional leadership. Walter Byers, previously an executive assistant, was named executive director in 1951. Byers wasted no time placing his stamp on the Association, as college athletics grew, the scope of the nations athletics programs diverged, forcing the NCAA to create a structure that recognized varying levels of emphasis. In 1973, the Associations membership was divided into three legislative and competitive divisions – I, II, and III, five years later in 1978, Division I members voted to create subdivisions I-A and I-AA in football. Until the 1980s, the association did not offer womens athletics, instead, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, with nearly 1000 member schools, governed womens collegiate sports in the United States
23.
NCAA Division I
–
Division I is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States. This level was called the University Division of the NCAA, in contrast to the lower level College Division. For football only, Division I was further subdivided in 1978 into Division I-A, Division I-AA, in 2006, Division I-A and I-AA were renamed Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision, respectively. FCS teams are allowed to award scholarships, a practice technically allowed. FBS teams also have to meet attendance requirements, while FCS teams do not need to meet minimum attendance requirements. Another difference is post season play, starting with the 2014 postseason, a four-team playoff called the College Football Playoff, replaced the previous one game championship format. Even so, Division I FBS football is still the only NCAA sport in which a champion is not determined by an NCAA-sanctioned championship event. All D-I schools must field teams in at least seven sports for men and seven for women or six for men and eight for women, with at least two team sports for each gender. Division I schools must meet minimum financial aid awards for their athletics program, Several other NCAA sanctioned minimums and differences that distinguish Division I from Divisions II and III. Each playing season has to be represented by each gender as well, there are contest and participant minimums for each sport, as well as scheduling criteria. Mens and womens teams have to play all but two games against Division I teams, for men, they must play one-third of all their contests in the home arena. The NCAA has limits on the financial aid each Division I member may award in each sport that the school sponsors. Equivalency sports, in which the NCAA limits the total financial aid that a school can offer in a sport to the equivalent of a set number of full scholarships. Roster limitations may or may not apply, depending on the sport, the term counter is also key to this concept. The NCAA defines a counter as an individual who is receiving financial aid that is countable against the aid limitations in a sport. The number of scholarships that Division I members may award in sport is listed below. In this table, scholarship numbers for head-count sports are indicated without a point, for equivalency sports, they are listed with a decimal point. An exception exists for players at non-scholarship FCS programs who receive aid in another sport, participants in basketball are counted in that sport, unless they also play football
24.
College basketball
–
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
25.
NBA Finals
–
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association played between the Western and Eastern champions of the Conference Finals. The first team to win four games in the game series is declared the league champion and is awarded the Larry OBrien Championship Trophy. Winners from 1946 to 1983 received the Walter A. Brown Trophy redesigned in 1977 to the current form, the NBA Finals has been played at the end of every NBA and Basketball Association of America season in history, the first being held in 1947. Most NBA Finals series were played under the 2–2–1–1–1 format prior to 1985, the series was named the BAA Finals from 1947 to 1949 and then changed to the NBA World Championship Series from 1950 to 1982. The following two years, the league used Showdown 83 and Showdown 84 and it returned to NBA World Championship Series in 1985, before settling on NBA Finals in 1986. During the first decade the Minneapolis Lakers had the first NBA dynasty, the team also featured George Mikan, one of the greatest players in NBA history. The Boston Celtics went 11–1 in the NBA Finals during 13 seasons and they won eight straight NBA championships from 1959 through 1966. With the establishment of the Celtics dynasty in 1957, Bill Russell became the star of the league, Game 7 of the NBA Finals was decided on a Celtics basket in the final seconds of the second overtime. For most of the late 1950s and 1960s, the Celtics always seemed to have the hand on Wilt Chamberlains teams. The following season, he joined the Philadelphia 76ers, the former Syracuse Nationals team that had moved to cover the vacancy created with the departure of the Warriors, a clash between the two stars in the playoffs was in 1966 and Boston won it 4–1. Chamberlains coach told him to play a game, not an individual game. His new-found team spirit brought them to a new record of 68 wins the season, and they defeated the Celtics and then advanced to, and won. In 1968, Boston overcame a 3–1 deficit against Philadelphia to once again arrive in the Finals and they went on to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers for the sixth straight time,4 games to 2. In 1969, the Celtics overcame even longer odds, Boston was an aging team and had injuries to a number of players. They barely qualified for the playoffs, finishing fourth in the East, the Lakers, who in the offseason added Chamberlain to join West and Elgin Baylor, won the West and were prohibitive favorites to finally win it all for the first time since relocating to L. A. They won the first two games at the Los Angeles Forum, however, when the series shifted to Boston Garden, the Celtics won Game 3 110–105. Game 4 was the point, as the Lakers led 87–86 and had the ball with 10 seconds to play. But after a turnover, Sam Jones put up a shot hit the front of the rim, the back heel, rolled around
26.
Belgrade
–
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and its name translates to White city. The urban area of the City of Belgrade has a population of 1.34 million, one of the most important prehistoric cultures of Europe, the Vinča culture, evolved within the Belgrade area in the 6th millennium BC. In antiquity, Thraco-Dacians inhabited the region, and after 279 BC Celts conquered the city and it was conquered by the Romans during the reign of Augustus, and awarded city rights in the mid-2nd century. In 1521, Belgrade was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and became the seat of the Sanjak of Smederevo and it frequently passed from Ottoman to Habsburg rule, which saw the destruction of most of the city during the Austro-Ottoman wars. Belgrade was again named the capital of Serbia in 1841, northern Belgrade remained the southernmost Habsburg post until 1918, when the city was reunited. As a strategic location, the city was battled over in 115 wars, Belgrade was the capital of Yugoslavia from its creation in 1918, to its final dissolution in 2006. Belgrade has an administrative status within Serbia and it is one of five statistical regions of Serbia. Its metropolitan territory is divided into 17 municipalities, each with its own local council, City of Belgrade covers 3. 6% of Serbias territory, and 22. 5% of the countrys population lives within its administrative limits. It is classified as a Beta- global city, chipped stone tools found at Zemun show that the area around Belgrade was inhabited by nomadic foragers in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic eras. Some of these belong to the Mousterian industry, which are associated with Neanderthals rather than modern humans. Aurignacian and Gravettian tools have also discovered there, indicating occupation between 50,000 and 20,000 years ago. The first farming people to settle in the region are associated with the Neolithic Starčevo culture, there are several Starčevo sites in and around Belgrade, including the eponymous site of Starčevo. The Starčevo culture was succeeded by the Vinča culture, a more sophisticated farming culture that grew out of the earlier Starčevo settlements which is named for a site in the Belgrade region. Evidence of early knowledge about Belgrades geographical location comes from ancient myths, the rock overlooking the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers has been identified as one of the place in the story of Jason and the Argonauts. The Paleo-Balkan tribes of Thracians and Dacians ruled this area prior to the Roman conquest, Belgrade was inhabited by a Thraco-Dacian tribe Singi, after the Celtic invasion in 279 BC, the Scordisci took the city, naming it Singidūn. In 34–33 BC the Roman army led by Silanus reached Belgrade, jovian reestablished Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, ending the brief revival of traditional Roman religions under his predecessor Julian the Apostate. In 395 AD, the passed to the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire
27.
University of Missouri
–
The University of Missouri is a public land-grant research university located in Columbia, Missouri, U. S. It was founded in 1839 as the first public institution of higher education west of the Mississippi River, as the largest university in the state, it enrolled 32,777 students in 2016, offering over 300 degree programs in 19 academic colleges in the 2014–2015 school year. It is the campus of the University of Missouri System, which also maintains campuses in Kansas City, Rolla. MU is one of the nations top-tier R1 institutions and one of the 34 public universities to be members of the Association of American Universities, there are more than 300,000 MU alumni living worldwide with over one half continuing to reside in Missouri. The university was ranked 103rd among national universities in the 2016 U. S. News & World Report rankings, starting in December 1953, it boasts the countrys only university-owned TV network affiliate, operated by the Missouri School of Journalism. In 1908, the worlds first school of journalism was founded by Walter Williams as the Missouri School of Journalism, the University of Missouri Research Reactor Center is the worlds most powerful university research reactor. MU is one of six public universities in the United States with a school of medicine, veterinary medicine, engineering, agriculture. The university also owns the University of Missouri Health Care system, the only athletic program that operates a NCAA Division I FBS football team in Missouri is known as the Missouri Tigers and competes as a member of the Southeastern Conference. The schools mascot, Truman the Tiger, is named after Missourian, according to the NCAA, the American tradition of homecoming was established at the university in 1911, the tradition has since been adopted nationwide. In 1839, the Missouri Legislature passed the Geyer Act to establish funds for a state university and it would be the first public university west of the Mississippi River. To secure the university, the citizens of Columbia and Boone County pledged $117,921 in cash, the land on which the university was eventually constructed was just south of Columbias downtown and owned by James S. Rollins. He was later called the Father of the University, as the first public university in the Louisiana Purchase, the school was shaped by Thomas Jeffersons ideas about public education. In 1862 the American Civil War forced the university to close for much of the year, residents of Columbia formed a home guard militia that became known as the Fighting Tigers of Columbia. They were given the name for their readiness to protect the city and university, in 1890, the universitys newly formed football team took the name the Tigers after the Civil War militia. In 1870 the institution was granted land-grant college status under the Morrill Act of 1862, the act led to the founding of the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy as an offshoot of the main campus in Columbia. It developed as the present-day Missouri University of Science and Technology, in 1888 the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station opened. This grew to encompass ten centers and research farms around Missouri, by 1890 the university encompassed a normal college, engineering college, arts and science college, school of agriculture and mechanical arts. School of medicine, and school of law, on January 9,1892, Academic Hall, the institutions main building, burned in a fire that completely gutted the building, leaving little more standing than six stone Ionic columns
28.
Alvin Gentry
–
Alvin Harris Gentry is an American basketball coach who is head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans in the National Basketball Association. Gentry was a college basketball player, who has led four different National Basketball Association teams. He served as a head coach for the Miami Heat at the end of the 1994–95 season, and later coached the Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers. Gentry was born in Shelby, North Carolina, where he grew up and his first cousin is former NC State and NBA star David Thompson. Gentry played college basketball at Appalachian State University, where he was a point guard under Press Maravich, in 1978 he spent one year as a graduate assistant at the University of Colorado. After one year working in business, he returned to the bench when he received his first full-time collegiate assistant coaching job at Baylor University under Jim Haller in 1980. After one year at Baylor, Gentry returned to the University of Colorado as an assistant coach from 1981-1986 under Tom Apke, from 1986-1989, Gentry served as an assistant at the University of Kansas under Larry Brown, where they won the 1988 NCAA National Championship. Gentry and his wife Suzanne have two sons and he also has one daughter from a previous marriage. In 1989 he began his NBA coaching career as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs under Larry Brown and it was in San Antonio that Gentry met his future/current wife, Suzanne Harris. They have two children, Ryan and Jack, Gentry joined Gregg Popovich, R. C. Buford, and Ed Manning as part of Larry Browns assistant coaching staff for the Spurs when Brown left Kansas before the 1988–89 NBA season, after two seasons in San Antonio, Gentry left to become an assistant for the Los Angeles Clippers beginning in the 1990–91 season. For the 1991 season Gentry joined Kevin Lougherys staff as an assistant coach for the Miami Heat and he then moved to Detroit following the 1994–95 season where he served as an assistant for two and a half seasons before being named head coach late in the 1997–98 season. Gentry returned to San Antonio as head assistant coach following the 1999–2000 season, but that assignment was brief, as Gentry accepted the head coaching position for the Los Angeles Clippers weeks after taking the San Antonio job. He did a job with the Clippers his first two years, leading them to 31 wins and 39 wins respectively in those two seasons. Those seasons were marked by the play of young players, such as Darius Miles, Elton Brand. In Gentrys third season, however, the team regressed, Gentry later became an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns for six years, serving under head coaches Mike DAntoni and Terry Porter. When Porter was fired in his first season as head coach and he was named Suns head coach for the 2009-2010 season. Gentrys record in his first year as coach during the 2009-2010 season was 54 wins
29.
Larry Brown (basketball)
–
Lawrence Harvey Larry Brown is an American basketball coach, who was most recently head mens basketball coach at Southern Methodist University. He is the coach in basketball history to win both an NCAA national championship and an NBA title. He also won an ABA championship as a player with the Oakland Oaks in the 1968–69 season, and he is also the only person ever to coach two NBA franchises in the same season. Before coaching, Brown played collegiately at the University of North Carolina and he has been a basketball coach since 1972. Brown was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach on September 27,2002, Brown is Jewish, and was born in Brooklyn, New York. A5 ft 9 in point guard, he attended Long Beach High School and then played at the University of North Carolina under legendary coaches Frank McGuire and Dean Smith. During that time Brown was selected for the 1964 Summer Olympics team, on which he played and with which he won a gold medal, Brown was named MVP of the ABAs first All-Star Game in 1968, and was named to the All-ABA Second Team the same year. Brown led the ABA in assists per game during the leagues first three seasons, and when he ended his career, Brown was the ABAs all-time assist leader. His total of 2,509 assists places him seventh on the ABAs career list, Browns first head coaching job was at Davidson College in North Carolina in 1969. Unfortunately for Wildcat fans, it would only last during the summer offseason, Brown moved on to the ABA and coached with the Carolina Cougars and then the Denver Nuggets, who later joined the NBA in 1976, for five and a half seasons from 1974 to 1979. He then moved on to coach for UCLA, leading his freshman-dominated 1979–80 team to the NCAA title game before falling to Louisville, 59–54. However, that appearance was vacated by the NCAA after two UCLA players were found to be ineligible—one of the few times a Final Four squad has had its record vacated. Brown was the coach for the NBAs New Jersey Nets for two years following that, from 1981 to 1983. Brown began his tenure at the University of Kansas, replacing the fired Ted Owens, who had overseen back-to-back losing seasons in 1981-82 and 1982-83. In the meantime Brown signed the most coveted high school player in the country, Danny Manning, to play for KU after signing his father, Ed Manning, perhaps Browns finest team at Kansas was the 1985-86 team. This squad put together a 35-4 record, the first 30-win season in KU history, in the 1987-88 season, Kansas got off to a mediocre 12–8 start, including 1–4 in the Big 8, and the end of the Jayhawks 55-game homecourt winning streak in Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas then proceeded to defeat 11th-seed Xavier, 14th-seed Murray State, and 7th-seed Vanderbilt before meeting rival Kansas State, KU upset the 4th-seeded Wildcats 71-58 in the Elite Eight to reach the Final Four in Kansas Citys Kemper Arena. Once there, Kansas upset the East Regions #2 seed Duke, 66-59, Manning, who scored 31 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in the final, was named Most Oustanding Player of the Tournament
30.
2006 NBA All-Star Game
–
The 2006 NBA All-Star Game was played on Sunday, February 19,2006 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, home of the Houston Rockets. The game was the 55th annual All-Star game, the theme song was by Houston native Chamillionaire who made a new version of his hit Turn It Up. Trailing by 21 points, the East rode the hot shooting of LeBron James, the 21-year-old James, who scored 29 points and grabbed six rebounds, became the youngest player to win MVP. With the score tied, Dwyane Wade, who finished with 20 points, tracy McGrady of the Houston Rockets led all players with a game-high 36 points. ^INJ Jermaine ONeal was unable to due to injury. ^REP Gilbert Arenas was named as ONeals replacement. ^1 Vince Carter was named as starter, replacing ONeal, the Eastern Conference team was coached by Flip Saunders of the Detroit Pistons, along with Sidney Lowe, Ron Harper and Don Zierden as assistant coaches. Ted Arzonico of the Orlando Magic was the athletic trainer, the Western Conference team was coached by Avery Johnson of the Dallas Mavericks. Del Harris, Rolando Blackman and Joe Prunty served as assistant coaches, the T-Mobile Rookie challenge was played on Friday, February 17,2006 with the Sophomores beating the Rookies 106–96. Andre Iguodala was named MVP with a game-high 30 points, * Did not participate due to injury. The Rooks were coached by Sidney Lowe of the Detroit Pistons, the Sophomores were coached by Del Harris of the Dallas Mavericks, along with Moses Malone as the assistant coach. Dirk Nowitzki won with a score of 18, beating Gilbert Arenas, * Did not participate due to a family illness. Nate Robinson won, beating Andre Iguodala in a dunk-off after the first ever tie in a Slam Dunk Contest, robinsons win was highly questioned as he had missed several dunks and many speculate that Robinson was only awarded the title because of his small stature. Dwyane Wade won, beating LeBron James in the final round, Dwyane Wade won with a time of 26.1 seconds. The San Antonio team won the competition with a time of 25.1 seconds
