1.
Long Island
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Long Island is an island located just off the northeast coast of the United States and a region within the U. S. state of New York. Stretching east-northeast from New York Harbor into the Atlantic Ocean, the island comprises four counties, Kings and Queens to the west, then Nassau, more generally, Long Island may also refer collectively both to the main Island as well as its nearby, surrounding outer barrier islands. North of the island is the Long Island Sound, across from which lie the states of Connecticut, across the Sound, to the northwest, lies Westchester County on mainland New York. To the west, Long Island is separated from the Bronx and the island of Manhattan by the East River. To the extreme southwest, it is separated from the New York City borough of Staten Island and the U. S. state of New Jersey by Upper New York Bay, the Narrows, to the east lie Block Island and numerous smaller islands. Its population density is 5,595.1 inhabitants per square mile, Long Island is culturally and ethnically diverse. Some of the wealthiest and most expensive neighborhoods in the Western Hemisphere are located on Long Island, nine bridges and 13 tunnels connect Brooklyn and Queens to the three other boroughs of New York City. Ferries connect Suffolk County northward across Long Island Sound to the state of Connecticut, the Long Island Rail Road is the busiest commuter railroad in North America and operates 24/7. At the time of European contact, the Lenape people inhabited the western end of Long Island, giovanni da Verrazzano was the first European to record an encounter with the Lenapes, after entering what is now New York Bay in 1524. In 1609, the English navigator Henry Hudson explored the harbor, adriaen Block followed in 1615 and is credited as the first European to determine that both Manhattan and Long Island are islands. Native American land deeds recorded by the Dutch from 1636 state that the Indians referred to Long Island as Sewanhaka, sewan was one of the terms for wampum, and is also translated as loose or scattered, which may refer either to the wampum or to Long Island. The name t Lange Eylandt alias Matouwacs appears in Dutch maps from the 1650s, later, the English referred to the land as Nassau Island, after the Dutch Prince William of Nassau, Prince of Orange. It is unclear when the name Nassau Island was discontinued, the very first settlements on Long Island were by settlers from England and its colonies in present-day New England. Lion Gardiner settled nearby Gardiners Island, the first settlement on the geographic Long Island itself was on October 21,1640, when Southold was established by the Rev. John Youngs and settlers from New Haven, Connecticut. Peter Hallock, one of the settlers, drew the long straw and was granted the honor to step ashore first and he is considered the first New World settler on Long Island. Southampton was settled in the same year, Hempstead followed in 1644, East Hampton in 1648, Huntington in 1653, and Brookhaven in 1655. While the eastern region of Long Island was first settled by the English, until 1664, the jurisdiction of Long Island was split, roughly at the present border between Nassau County and Suffolk County. The Dutch founded six towns in present-day Brooklyn beginning in 1645 and these included, Brooklyn, Gravesend, Flatlands, Flatbush, New Utrecht, and Bushwick
2.
Providence, Rhode Island
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Providence is the capital of and most populous city in the U. S. state of Rhode Island, founded in 1636, and one of the oldest cities in the United States. It is located in Providence County and is the third most populous city in New England, after Boston, Providence has a city population of 179,154, it is also part of the Providence metropolitan area which extends into southern Massachusetts. The Providence metropolitan area has an population of 1,604,291. This can be considered, in turn, to be part of the Greater Boston commuting area, Providence was founded by Roger Williams, a religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He named the area in honor of Gods merciful Providence, which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him, the city is situated at the mouth of the Providence River at the head of Narragansett Bay. Providence was one of the first cities in the country to industrialize and became noted for its tool, jewelry. The city was nicknamed the Beehive of Industry, it began rebranding itself as the Creative Capital in 2009 to emphasize its educational resources. The area that is now Providence was first settled in June 1636 by Roger Williams and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies of the United States, Williams and his company felt compelled to withdraw from Massachusetts Bay Colony. Providence quickly became a refuge for persecuted religious dissenters, as Williams himself had been exiled from Massachusetts, Providence residents were among the first Patriots to spill blood in the leadup to the American Revolution during the Gaspée Affair of 1772. Rhode Island was the first of the thirteen colonies to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown on May 4,1776. It was also the last of the thirteen colonies to ratify the United States Constitution on May 29,1790, following the war, Providence was the countrys ninth-largest city with 7,614 people. The economy shifted from maritime endeavors to manufacturing, in particular machinery, tools, silverware, jewelry, by the start of the 20th century, Providence boasted some of the largest manufacturing plants in the country, including Brown & Sharpe, Nicholson File, and Gorham Silverware. Providence residents ratified a city charter in 1831 as the population passed 17,000. From its incorporation as a city in 1832 until 1878, the seat of city government was located in the Market House, located in Market Square, the city offices quickly outgrew this building, and the City Council resolved to create a permanent municipal building in 1845. The city offices moved into the City Hall in 1878, during the Civil War, local politics split over slavery as many had ties to Southern cotton. Despite ambivalence concerning the war, the number of military volunteers routinely exceeded quota, by the early 1900s, Providence was one of the wealthiest cities in the United States. Immigrant labor powered one of the nations largest industrial manufacturing centers, Providence was a major manufacturer of industrial products from steam engines to precision tools to silverware, screws, and textiles. From 1975 until 1982, $606 million of local and national Community Development funds were invested throughout the city.4 million ft² Providence Place Mall, despite new investment, poverty remains an entrenched problem as it does in most post-industrial New England cities
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Chaminade High School
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Chaminade High School is a Roman Catholic college preparatory high school for boys in Mineola, New York, United States. The school was founded in 1930 by the Society of Mary, the school is named after William Joseph Chaminade, S. M. who founded the Marianist order in 1817, and who was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2000. Operated by the Marianists, Chaminade is independent of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, the student body numbers over 1,700, mostly from Long Island]], and neighboring New York City. The administration and faculty consists of both Marianists and lay men and women, in senior year students take an additional year of either art or music appreciation. Chaminade is known for its rigorous academic program, and average SAT scores are consistently well above the national average, historically,100 percent of Chaminade graduates are accepted into college, and each year more than 99 percent attend college. In 2014, all 399 graduates were accepted to college, and 284 students were awarded one or more scholarship, Chaminade has a large and diverse selection of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, with more than 90 percent of the students participating in at least one activity. Additionally, more than half of students participate on at least one interscholastic athletic team, the school newspaper is called Tarmac, a term for airport pavement. All students take four years of religion, beginning with biblical and salvation history, followed by Christian humanism, students have the opportunity for the sacrament of reconciliation every Tuesday and Thursday, while eucharistic adoration is offered every Monday to students and faculty. A short prayer service is offered daily before lunch. Eichner, then president of Chaminade, established a permanent school endowment known as the Torch Fund, together with Gary Eck, the director of development at the time, Eichner envisioned a time when the schools tuition would be capped, if not eventually lowered. The Torch Funds principal has grown substantially over the years, for the 2016-2017 school year, interest from the fund pays $1,650 of the tuition cost for each student, resulting in parents having to pay $10,453 tuition per student. Other== Chaminades musical performance groups include three concert bands, an orchestra, a pep band, a jazz band, a bagpipe corps, junior and senior glee clubs. The school produces two plays each year, a production in the Fall and a musical production in the Spring. Student publications include the newspaper, the yearbook, and the literary magazine. In 2014, Tarmac was named the one high school newspaper in New York State by the New York Press Association. The schools Robert C. Wright Speech and Debate Team competes in local and national events, Chaminade owns a theater pipe organ having 3 manuals and 15 ranks, in the schools 1,200 seat Darby Auditorium. The organ consists of a Robert Morton console with ranks by Wurlitzer, Robert Morton, Austin, Chaminades Activity-Athletic Center opened in 2007, with a main arena that seats 1,500 for basketball games and 2,500 for Masses and non-athletic events. The facility incorporates a 1/10 mile indoor track suspended over the arena, a wrestling room
4.
Mineola, New York
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Mineola is a village in Nassau County, Long Island, New York, USA. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census, the name is derived from an Algonquin word meaning a pleasant place. Most of the Incorporated Village of Mineola is in the Town of North Hempstead, Old Country Road runs along the villages southern border. The area serviced by the Mineola Post Office extends farther south into the adjacent village of Garden City, New York, offices of many Nassau County agencies are in both Mineola and Garden City. The central, flat, grassy part of Long Island was originally named Hempstead Plains, in the 19th century various communities were started. One of them was called Hempstead Branch, and finally, Mineola, Long Island was part of Henry Hudsons original claim in the name of the Dutch East India Company dating as far back as 1609. In the 18th century the Dutch and English settlers worked to clear farmland to start their life on the Hempstead Plains and it was in 1858 when this land was named after an Algonquin Indian Chief, Miniolagamika meaning, Pleasant Village. The name was shortened and altered to Mineola. From about 1787 until the 1870s, the area was the county seat for Queens County, in a section known as Clowesville. The western portion of Queens became a borough of New York City in 1898, voters selected Mineola to be the county seat for the new county of Nassau in November 1898, winning out over Hicksville and Hempstead. The Garden City Company donated four acres of land for the county buildings just south of the Mineola train station, Mineola officially became the County Seat on July 13,1900, as Governor Theodore Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Nassau County Court House. A celebration was held to commemorate the occasion on the barren 5-acre site at the corner of Old Country Road, many dignitaries were present to witness this event such as Frederick Hicks, Congressman Townsend Scudder, Colonel William Youngs and Supervisors William Jones and Edwin Willits. Mineola was legally incorporated in 1906 and run by a president, the land on which the County buildings sat was not included as part of the village. The land and the buildings have a Mineola postal address, but are within the present day Village of Garden City, winthrop-University Hospital, founded in 1896 by local physicians and residents as Nassau Hospital, was Long Islands first voluntary hospital. In 1897, it admitted 91 patients, performed 27 operations, the original hospital was constructed in 1900. Renamed Winthrop in the 1980s, it is now a nationally recognized award-winning hospital, Mineola was also a familiar place to many of the most famous pilots in history. The Aero Club of America chose the area for the level plains, glenn Curtiss brought the area to national attention in July 1909 with his second Scientific American Award flight of over 23 minutes and 15 miles. He also made some of the first public flights in America in his Golden Flyer and it was the Guards first genuine aviation unit
5.
Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball
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The Holy Cross Crusaders mens basketball team represents the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, in NCAA Division I competition. The team competes in the Patriot League and plays their games in the Hart Center. The program boasts such alumni as Boston Celtics legends Bob Cousy and Tom Heinsohn. Basketball first appeared at Holy Cross in 1900 but was discontinued several times until its reinstatement in 1939, the team entered the NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Tournament as the last seed in the 8-team tournament. Along with UConn, Holy Cross is one of the two New England colleges to ever win the NCAA tournament, in the first match, Holy Cross defeated the Navy 55 to 47, in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden. In the semi-final match, Holy Cross faced the City College of New York, the Crusaders, led by Kaftans 30-point game, defeated the Beavers 60 to 45. In the championship game, Holy Cross faced a Bruce Drake coached University of Oklahoma team in another game at Madison Square Garden. Kaftan followed up his semi-final game performance with 18 points in the title game, Holy Cross finished the 1947 championship season with 23 straight wins and became the first college from the New England area to win a national college basketball title. 35,000 people watched a parade in the honor on Holy Cross Day in Worcester. Future NBA legend Cousy was named AP and UP player of the year, in 1989, the NCAA voted teammate George Kaftan to the all-decade team of the 1940s. The Crusaders followed up their championship by advancing to the 1948 NCAA Tournaments Final Four, after advancing to the Elite Eight in 1953, the Crusaders would wait 63 years before claiming another win in the NCAA Tournament. In 1954, Holy Cross won the NIT Tournament behind another future NBA Hall-of-famer and this is widely recognized as the Colleges second national title in basketball due to the prestige of the NIT at the time. The following year,1978, Sports Illustrated ranked Holy Cross, following the teams championship years of the 40s and 50s, the Crusaders have been ranked only occasionally by the Associated Press. After appearing in 65 of 116 total weekly polls in the 1950s, the Crusaders have not been nationally ranked since January 1978. Holy Cross could have joined the newly founded Big East Conference in 1980, Holy Cross stayed independent until joining the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to start the 1983–84 season. It moved to the Patriot League in 1991, in recent decades, the mens basketball team has been the leading varsity program of the Holy Cross athletic department. The mens basketball team has won six Patriot League titles since the formation in 1991. In 2016, the Crusaders, led by stars Malachi Alexander, Anthony Thompson, the Crusaders then defeated Southern University marking the first NCAA win for the program since 1953
6.
Boston Celtics
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The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 and one of eight NBA teams to survive the leagues first decade, the Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which they share with the National Hockey League s Boston Bruins. The franchises 17 championships are the most of any NBA franchise, as a percentage of championships won, the Celtics are the most successful franchise to date in the major four traditional North American professional sports leagues. The Celtics have played the Lakers a record 12 times in the Finals, including their most recent appearances in 2008 and 2010, four Celtics players have won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for an NBA record total of 10 MVP awards. Their mascot Lucky the Leprechaun is a nod to the teams Irish heritage, in 1950, the Celtics signed Chuck Cooper, becoming the first NBA franchise to draft a black player. The Celtics struggled during their years, until the hiring of coach Red Auerbach. In the franchises early days, Auerbach had no assistants, ran all the practices, did all the scouting—both of opposing teams and college draft prospects—and scheduled all the road trips. One of the first great players to join the Celtics was Bob Cousy, Cousy eventually became the property of the Chicago Stags, but when that franchise went bankrupt, Cousy went to the Celtics in a dispersal draft. After the 1955–56 season, Auerbach made a stunning trade and he sent perennial All-Star Ed Macauley to the St. Louis Hawks along with the draft rights to Cliff Hagan in exchange for the second overall pick in the draft. Auerbach also acquired Holy Cross standout, and 1957 NBA Rookie of the Year, Russell and Heinsohn worked extraordinarily well with Cousy, and they were the players around whom Auerbach would build the champion Celtics for more than a decade. With Bill Russell, the Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals and defeated the St. Louis Hawks in seven games, Russell went on to win 11 championships, making him the most decorated player in NBA history. In 1958, the Celtics again advanced to the NBA Finals, however, with the acquisition of K. C. Jones that year, the Celtics began a dynasty that would last for more than a decade. In 1959, the Celtics won the NBA Championship after sweeping the Minneapolis Lakers, during that time, the Celtics met the Lakers in the Finals five times, starting an intense and often bitter rivalry that has spanned generations. In 1964, the Celtics became the first NBA team to have an all African-American starting lineup. On December 26,1964, Willie Naulls replaced an injured Tommy Heinsohn, joining Tom Satch Sanders, K. C. Jones, Sam Jones, the Celtics defeated St. Louis 97–84. Boston won its next 11 games with Naulls starting in place of Heinsohn, the Celtics of the late-1950s–60s are widely considered as one of the most dominant teams of all time. Auerbach retired as coach after the 1965–66 season and Russell took over as player-coach, with his appointment, Russell also became the first African-American coach in any U. S. pro sport
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.
Norwich University
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Norwich University – The Military College of Vermont is a private university located in Northfield, Vermont. It is the oldest private college in the United States. The university was founded in 1819 at Norwich, Vermont, as the American Literary, Scientific and it is the oldest of six senior military colleges, and is recognized by the United States Department of Defense as the Birthplace of ROTC. The university was founded in 1819 at Norwich, Vermont by Captain Alden Partridge, military educator, Partridge believed in the American System of Education, a traditional liberal arts curriculum with instruction in civil engineering and military science. After leaving West Point because of disapproval of his system, he returned to his native state of Vermont to create the American Literary, Scientific. He believed that a militia was an urgent necessity and developed the American system around that idea. His academy became the inspiration for a number of military colleges throughout the nation, including The Citadel, today, Norwich offers substantial online distance graduate programs and is similar in many regards to The Citadel in mission, online offerings, student body composition, and size. Partridge was the father of ROTC and the Citizen-Soldier concept. All entering freshman entering the Corps of Cadets are called Rooks, the institution of Rookdom consists of two three-month processes that mold civilians into Norwich Cadets, Rook Basic Training and Basic Leadership Training. Culmination of Rook Basic Training marks the halfway point toward Recognition and occurs before Thanksgiving break, Recognition into the Corps of Cadets typically occurs around the twenty-third week. Partridges educational beliefs were considered radical at the time, and this led to his views with the federal government while he was the superintendent of West Point. Upon creation of his own school, he immediately incorporated classes of agriculture and modern languages in addition to the sciences, liberal arts, Partridge founded six other military institutions during his quest to reform the fledgling United States military. In 1825 the academy moved to Middletown, Connecticut, to provide naval training to the schools growing corps of cadets. Beginning in 1826, the offered the first program of courses in civil engineering in the US. In 1829, the state of Connecticut declined to grant Captain Partridge a charter, in 1834 Vermont granted a charter and recognized the institution as Norwich University. During the 1856 academic year, the first chapter of the Theta Chi Fraternity was founded by cadets Frederick Norton Freeman and Arthur Chase. With the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, Norwich cadets served as instructors of the state throughout the Northeast. Norwich turned out hundreds of officers and soldiers who served with the armies in the American Civil War
9.
Providence Friars men's basketball
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The Providence Friars mens basketball team represents Providence College in NCAA Division I competition, and they are a founding member of the Big East Conference. They play their games at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence. Since 2011, the coach is Ed Cooley. The Friars have made two Final Four appearances in the NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Tournament, in 1973 and 1987, Four former players or coaches—Dave Gavitt, John Thompson, Rick Pitino, and Lenny Wilkens—are enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In addition, two-time NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Tournament champion, current Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan, Providence Friars basketball can be traced back to 1921, when the four-year-old school fielded its first basketball team on an informal basis. He was replaced by Al McClellan, who coached the team to four New England championships –1929,1930,1932, and 1935 – and had an overall winning percentage over.700. In 1938, McClellan left and was replaced by Ed Crotty, by 1955, Cuddys record fell to 9–12 and he was replaced by Joe Mullaney, at the same time, the school opened its first on-campus gym, Alumni Hall. In 1959, Mullaney and the Friars defeated ranked Villanova on the road, two years later, led by another future hall of famer, John Thompson, as well as future Boston Mayor Ray Flynn, the Friars won their second NIT title. With a 24–2 record in 1964–65, the four ranked Friars reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament. In 1966–67, Jimmy Walker led the nation in scoring and became the schools first 2 and that season also marked the last in Mullaneys run of nine consecutive 20-win seasons. Two years later, Mullaney was hired as the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA. Following Mullaneys departure, Dave Gavitt, an assistant under Mullaney who then head coach at Dartmouth. In his second year, Gavitt began a string of eight consecutive 20-win seasons, for the 1972–73 season, the team began playing in downtown Providence at the brand-new 12, 000-seat arena, the Providence Civic Center. The next year, the Friars posted a 28–4 record and made their second straight Sweet Sixteen appearance, the team continued its top-flight status with back-to-back 20-win seasons in 1976–77 and 1977–78, earning NCAA Tournament bids each year, one coming after defeating top-ranked Michigan in 1976. After a 10–16 season in 1978–79, Gavitt left Providence to become the first commissioner of the Providence-based Big East Conference and he finished his 10-year career at Providence with a 209–84 record. After spending the first six decades of their existence as an independent, the conference originally consisted of Providence, Boston College, Georgetown, St. Johns, Seton Hall, Syracuse, and Connecticut. New head coach Gary Walters led the team to an 11–16 record in 1979–80 and his next stint with the Friars would not be as successful, and consisted of only one winning season against three losing. In 1985, New York Knicks assistant coach Rick Pitino was hired as the latest Friars head coach, in his first season the Friars compiled a 17–14 record and made their first NIT appearance in a decade
10.
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
11.
Kentucky Colonels
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The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the leagues nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels, the Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of any franchise in the leagues history, but the team did not join the NBA in the 1976 ABA–NBA merger. The downtown Louisville Convention Center was the Colonels original venue for the first three seasons before moving to Freedom Hall for the seasons, beginning with the 1970–71 schedule. The Kentucky Colonels were only one of two ABA teams, along with the Indiana Pacers, to play for the duration of the league without relocating, changing its team name or folding. The Colonels were also the major league franchise in Kentucky since the Louisville Breckenridges left the National Football League in 1923. The Louisville-based Colonels started their time in the ABA as a colorful franchise, among the things they were known for was their mascot Ziggy, a prize-winning Brussels Griffon dog that was owned by original team owners Joe and Mamie Gregory. Some fans of the Colonels believed Ziggy was the owner of the club. Ziggy went to meetings and had a front row seat for games. The dog was even part of the logo for their first seasons. They were equally famous for publicity stunts, their most famous coming in 1968 when Penny Ann Early, the teams performance on the court was understandably overshadowed. Perhaps it was deserved, as they were mostly an average team and they were among the best long range shooters of their time, and benefitted greatly from the ABAs three-point line. Carrier spent 5 seasons with the club, while Dampier was a Colonel for all of their years, the early color of their franchise began to wane during the 1970–71 season, when they signed another Wildcat star in All-American Dan Issel. They also dropped the green uniforms in favor of a Blue. Issels signing helped the Colonels become well known as a basketball team. In spite of a record in the regular season, they made a serious run at the 1971 ABA championship. They fell just short, however, and lost to the Utah Stars in 7 games and they proved to be even better in 1971, with the signing of ferocious big man Artis Gilmore. Gilmores signing would help make the Colonels a legitimate powerhouse for years to come, the Colonels won 68 games in his rookie campaign under coach Joe Mullaney, their record turned out to be best in the leagues entire history. Yet, in the playoffs, they were upset by the New York Nets in the first round, Kentucky recovered and made another championship run during the 1972–73 playoffs, but lost a physical series to the Indiana Pacers in 7 games,4 games to 3
12.
Utah Stars
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The Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association team based in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround. The team was founded as the Anaheim Amigos, a member of the ABA based in Anaheim. They played at the Anaheim Convention Center, the teams colors were orange and black. The Anaheim Amigos were founded by Art Kim, a Hawaii native who had long active in basketball as a player, Amateur Athletic Union administrator. The Amigos lost the very first ABA game to Oakland, 132-129 and they finished their first season with 25 wins and 53 losses, good for fifth place in the Western Division but not good enough to make the playoffs. The Amigos lost $500,000 in their first season, largely due to attendance, they only averaged 1,500 fans per game in a 7. Chamberlain did not sign with the Stars, with 33 wins and 45 losses, the Stars improved from their first season but again finished fifth in the Western Division and did not make the playoffs. First year players Mack Calvin and Willie Wise signed with the Stars, the Stars finished fourth in the Western Division with a record of 43-41, earning the first winning season in franchise history and a playoff berth. Kirst had not anticipated the fast turnaround, and did not book the Sports Arena for several dates and they had to play several first and second round games in their old home in Anaheim, as well as at the Long Beach Sports Arena in Long Beach. This turned out to be their game as the Los Angeles Stars. Despite a promising young roster, the Stars were more or less an afterthought in a market whose first choices were the Los Angeles Lakers and UCLA Bruins, they only averaged 2,500 fans per game. In June 1970, Kirst sold the team to Colorado cable TV pioneer Bill Daniels, zelmo Beaty suited up for the team and the Stars finished second in the Western Division with their best record yet,57 wins and 27 losses. The Stars won their first division championship, winning the Western Division with a record of 60-24, the Stars defeated the Dallas Chaparrals 4 games to none in the Western Division semifinals before falling to the Indiana Pacers in the Western Division finals,4 games to 3. The Stars hosted the ABA All Star Game and again won the Western Division with a record of 55-29, the Stars defeated the San Diego Conquistadors 4 games to none in the Western Division semifinals but lost in the Western Division finals 4 games to 2 to the Indiana Pacers. In 1973–74 the Stars finished with a record of 51-33 and won first place in the ABAs Western Division for the third year under new coach Joe Mullaney. It was the Stars third straight Western Division title, the Stars then lost the championship to the New York Nets 4 games to 1. This was the Stars final full ABA season, Daniels was almost broke due to a series of failed business ventures and an unsuccessful run for governor of Colorado
13.
Spirits of St. Louis
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The Spirits of St. Louis were one of two teams still in existence at the end of the American Basketball Association that did not survive the ABA–NBA merger. They were a member of the ABA in its last two seasons, 1974–75 and 1975–76, while playing their games at the St. Louis Arena. The Spirits were the third incarnation of a franchise that was known as the Houston Mavericks. However, only one player from the 1973–74 Cougars followed the team to St. Louis, the Spirits were a colorful team featuring a number of players, both on and off the court, who were fairly successful in their basketball careers. Among them were Moses Malone, acquired during their second and final season, maurice Lucas spent most of his time in the ABA as a Spirit, then later became an all-star in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers. Other well-known players that played for the team included former Boston Celtics sixth man Don Chaney, carr, and Ron Boone, who held the record for consecutive games played in pro basketball for many years. One of the most colorful players on the team was forward Marvin Barnes, famous for stories about his off-court behavior, a couple of off-court personalities from the team became well known as well. One of the coaches in 1975 was former NBA player Rod Thorn, on radio, the team featured Bob Costas as an announcer. Costas would go on to a successful career working for NBC television. After a slow start in their season, 1974–75, the Spirits reached the playoffs with a late rush. But the team squandered this good start the following year, at seasons end, negotiations were under way to move the franchise to Salt Lake City, Utah, and rename the team the Utah Rockies. In the summer of 1976, with the ABA at the point of collapse after 9 years. But the senior circuit decided to only four teams from the rival league. Brown, owner of the Kentucky Colonels, by giving him a $3.3 million settlement in exchange for shutting his team down, on June 27,2007, it was extended for another 8 years, ensuring another $100 million+ windfall for the Silnas. In 2014, the Silnas reached agreement with the NBA to greatly reduce the perpetual payments and take a lump sum of $500 million. In the last few years before the lump sum agreement, the Silnas were receiving $14.57 million a year, despite being owners of a team that hadnt played one minute of basketball in more than 35 years. The Silnas will, however, still be receiving a now much smaller portion of the revenue through a new partnership with the former ABA teams the Nets, Nuggets. On October 8,2013, ESPN presented a documentary about the team, Free Spirits, as a result, – and on the advice of their attorneys – the Silnas refused to be interviewed for the program, directed by Daniel Forer
14.
Buffalo Braves
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The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball franchise based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Atlantic Division from 1970 until 1978. In 1978, Braves owner John Y, Brown, Jr. swapped franchises with then-Boston Celtics owner Irv Levin, who then moved the team to San Diego, where it was renamed the San Diego Clippers. The franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1984, and is now known as the Los Angeles Clippers, the Braves were one of three NBA expansion franchises that began play in the 1970–71 season. The NBA had two teams in Western New York, the Rochester Royals and the Syracuse Nationals. The teams first head coach was Hall of Famer Dolph Schayes and the franchises first star players were Bob Kauffman and Don May, murphy would eventually be inducted into the Hall of Fame. As is typical of expansion teams, the Braves finished with a dismal record, 22–60, seven games ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers, their expansion cousins. The Braves repeated their 22–60 record in the 1971–72 season, Buffalo drafted center Elmore Smith from Kentucky State University and local favorite Randy Smith from Buffalo State College. Johnny McCarthy replaced Schayes one game into the season as the head coach. The team did worse in the 1972–73 season, as it went 21–61 under new head coach Dr. Jack Ramsay. The Braves big move that season was drafting forward/center Bob McAdoo from North Carolina, the team finally made its first playoff appearance in 1973–74, in which it faced the Boston Celtics in the first round and lost in six games. That season, McAdoo posted averages of 30.6 points and 15.1 rebounds, also, that season, the Braves rookie Ernie DiGregorio won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. The Braves made trips to the playoffs in both 1974–75 and 1975–76, the latter of which would be their last playoff berth playing in Buffalo, even so, by 1976 Snyder was facing severe pressure to sell the team and get it out of Buffalo. This in turn angered the NBA, who pressured Snyder to resolve the issue in short order, the June 15,1976 issue of Buffalos Courier-Express blasted the headline Braves Go to Florida, Leaving Hockey Town. Snyder had a deal to sell the team for $6.1 million to hotel owner Irving Cowan. However, the city of Buffalo filed a $10 million damage suit to block the move, later that summer, Snyder finally sold 50% of the franchise to businessman John Y. Brown, Jr. who had owned the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association. Ramsay, unwilling to have his career hurt by the change in ownership, a provision in the team sale agreement stipulated that if Brown sold the contract of any Braves player, then the money would go to Snyder and the purchase price would be reduced
15.
Brown Bears men's basketball
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The Brown Bears mens basketball team is the basketball team that represents Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. The schools team competes in the Ivy League. The Brown Bears have appeared in the NCAA Tournament two times, including the tournament in 1939. The Brown Bears have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament one time, the Brown Bears have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational one time. The Brown Bears have appeared in the CollegeInsider. com Postseason Tournament, one time
16.
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
17.
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
18.
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
19.
College of the Holy Cross
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The College of the Holy Cross or Holy Cross is a private, undergraduate Roman Catholic, Jesuit liberal arts college located in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England, U. S. News & World Report ranked Holy Cross 25th in the U. S. among liberal arts colleges in 2014. Holy Cross is the only Catholic college among the top 50 liberal arts schools on the U. S. News list, opened as a school for boys under the auspices of the Society of Jesus, it was the first Jesuit college in New England. Today, Holy Cross is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and is part of the Colleges of Worcester Consortium. Holy Cross sports teams are called the Crusaders, and their color is purple. Holy Cross was founded by Benedict Joseph Fenwick, SJ, second Bishop of Boston, from the beginning of his tenure as the second Bishop of Boston, Benedict Joseph Fenwick of the Society of Jesus intended to establish a Catholic college within the boundaries of his diocese. The site of the college, Mount Saint James, was occupied by a Roman Catholic boarding school, run by the Rev. James Fitton, with his lay collaborator, Joseph Brigden. Fitton sold the land to Bishop Fenwick and the Diocese of Boston to be used to found the Roman Catholic college that the bishop had wanted in Boston, Fenwick gave the College the name of his cathedral church, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. & supply them with everything but clothes, will not this be a bold undertaking. It will stand on a beautiful eminence & will command the view of the town of Worcester. Within three years, the enrollment had increased to 100 students, initially the education was more at the elementary and high school level, later it became a higher level institution. Since its founding, Holy Cross has produced the fifth most members of the Catholic clergy out of all American Catholic colleges. The first class graduated in 1849, led by the valedictorian James Augustine Healy, the son of an Irish planter in Georgia and his common-law wife. His father sent all his sons north for their education at Holy Cross College, Healy graduated with his close friend Colby Kane, who would also go on to join the clergy, and was influential in many of Healys early writings on Eucharistic transubstantiation. Fenwick Hall, the main building, was completely destroyed by fire in 1852. Funds were raised to rebuild the College, and in 1853, petitions to secure a charter for the college from the state Legislature were denied in 1847 for a variety of causes, including anti-Catholicism on the part of some legislators. The increased rate of immigration from Ireland during the famine years roused resistance from residents of Massachusetts. Initially, Holy Cross diplomas were signed by the president of Georgetown University, after repeated denials, a charter was finally granted on March 24,1865, by Governor John A
20.
Bob Cousy
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Robert Joseph Bob Cousy is an American retired professional basketball player and member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Cousy played point guard with the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, Cousy was initially drafted as the third overall pick in the first round of the 1950 NBA draft by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, but after he refused to report, he was picked up by Boston. He was also named to 12 All-NBA First and Second Teams, also known as Cooz, he was regularly introduced at Boston Garden as Mr. Basketball. After his playing career, he coached the Royals for several years, Cousy then became a broadcaster for Celtics games. Upon his election to the Hall of Fame in 1971 the Celtics retired his #14 jersey and he was also the first president of National Basketball Players Association. Cousy was the son of poor French immigrants living in New York City. He grew up in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattans East Side and his father Joseph was a cab driver, who earned extra income by moonlighting. The elder Cousy had served in the German Army during World War I, shortly after the war, his first wife died of pneumonia, leaving behind a young daughter. He married Julie Corlet, a secretary and French teacher from Dijon, at the time of the 1930 census, the family was renting an apartment in Astoria, Queens, for $50 per month. The younger Cousy spoke French for the first 5 years of his life and he spent his early days playing stickball in a multicultural environment, regularly playing with African Americans, Jews and other ethnic minority children. These experiences ingrained him with a strong anti-racist sentiment, an attitude he prominently promoted during his professional career, when he was 12, his family moved to a rented house in St. Albans, Queens. That summer, the elder Cousy put a $500 down payment for a $4,500 house four blocks away and he rented out the bottom two floors of the three-story building to tenants to help make his mortgage payments on time. Cousy took up basketball at the age of 13, as a student at St. Pascals elementary school, the following year, he entered Andrew Jackson High School in St Albans. His basketball success was not immediate, and in fact he was cut from the team in his first year. The next year, however, he was cut during the tryouts for the school basketball team. That same year, he out of a tree and broke his right hand. The injury forced him to play left-handed until his hand healed, in retrospect, he described this accident as a fortunate event and cited it as a factor in making him more versatile on the court. During a Press League game, the school basketball coach saw him play
21.
NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
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The tournament was created in 1939 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, and was the idea of Ohio State University coach Harold Olsen. Played mostly during March, it has one of the most famous annual sporting events in the United States. The tournament teams include champions from 32 Division I conferences, and 36 teams which are awarded at-large berths, the 68 teams are divided into four regions and organized into a single-elimination bracket, which pre-determines, when a team wins a game, which team it will face next. Each team is seeded, or ranked, within its region from 1 to 32, after an initial four games between eight lower-ranked teams, the tournament occurs during the course of three weekends, at pre-selected neutral sites across the United States. The Final Four is usually played during the first weekend of April and these four teams, one from each region, compete in a pre-selected location for the national championship. The tournament has been at least partially televised since 1969, currently, the games are broadcast by CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV under the trade-name NCAA March Madness. Since 2011, all games are available for viewing nationwide and internationally, such as in the Philippines, as television coverage has grown, so too has the tournaments popularity. Currently, millions of Americans fill out a bracket, attempting to predict the outcome of all 67 games of the tournament. With 11 national titles, UCLA has the record for the most NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Championships, the University of Kentucky is second, with eight national titles. The University of North Carolina is in place, with six titles, while Duke University. The University of Connecticut is sixth with four national titles, the University of Kansas and University of Louisville are tied with three championships. During that time Villanova, Michigan, UNLV, Duke, Arkansas, Arizona, Connecticut, Maryland, Syracuse, the NCAA has changed the tournament format several times since its inception, most often representing an increase of the number of teams. This section describes the tournament as it has operated since 2011, for changes during the course of its history, and to see how the tournament operated during past years, go to Format history, below. A total of 68 teams qualify for the tournament played during March, thirty-two teams earn automatic bids as their respective conference champions. Of the 32 Division I all-sports conferences, all 32 currently hold championship tournaments to determine which team receives the automatic qualification. The Ivy League was the last Division I conference that did not conduct a tournament, through the 2015–16 season, if two or more Ivies shared a regular-season championship, a one-game playoff was used to decide the tournament participant. Since 2017, the league conducts their own postseason tournament, the committee also determines where all sixty-eight teams are seeded and placed in the bracket. The tournament is divided into four regions and each region has at least sixteen teams, the committee is charged with making each of the four regions as close as possible in overall quality of teams from wherever they come from
22.
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
23.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States, which simultaneously serves as the nations prime federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the U. S. Department of Justice, Intelligence Community and reports to both the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence. A leading U. S. counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and criminal investigative organization, although many of the FBIs functions are unique, its activities in support of national security are comparable to those of the British MI5 and the Russian FSB. At an FBI field office, a senior-level FBI officer concurrently serves as the representative of the Director of National Intelligence. Despite its domestic focus, the FBI also maintains a significant international footprint and these overseas offices exist primarily for the purpose of coordination with foreign security services and do not usually conduct unilateral operations in the host countries. The FBI can and does at times carry out secret activities overseas, just as the CIA has a domestic function. The FBI was established in 1908 as the Bureau of Investigation and its name was changed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1935. The FBI headquarters is the J. Edgar Hoover Building, located in Washington, in the fiscal year 2012, the Bureaus total budget was approximately $8.12 billion. In 1896, the National Bureau of Criminal Identification was founded, the 1901 assassination of President William McKinley created an urgent perception that America was under threat from anarchists. The Departments of Justice and Labor had been keeping records on anarchists for years, the Justice Department had been tasked with the regulation of interstate commerce since 1887, though it lacked the staff to do so. It had made little effort to relieve its staff shortage until the breakage of the Oregon land fraud scandal at approximately the turn of the 20th Century, President Roosevelt instructed Attorney General Charles Bonaparte to organize an autonomous investigative service that would report only to the Attorney General. Bonaparte reached out to other agencies, including the Secret Service, for personnel, on May 27,1908, the Congress forbade this use of Treasury employees by the Justice Department, citing fears that the new agency would serve as a secret police department. Again at Roosevelts urging, Bonaparte moved to organize a formal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Investigation was created on July 26,1908, after the Congress had adjourned for the summer. Attorney General Bonaparte, using Department of Justice expense funds, hired thirty-four people, including veterans of the Secret Service. Its first Chief was Stanley Finch, Bonaparte notified the Congress of these actions in December 1908. The bureaus first official task was visiting and making surveys of the houses of prostitution in preparation for enforcing the White Slave Traffic Act, or Mann Act, in 1932, the bureau was renamed the United States Bureau of Investigation. The following year it was linked to the Bureau of Prohibition, in the same year, its name was officially changed from the Division of Investigation to the present-day Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI. J. Edgar Hoover served as Director from 1924 to 1972, a combined 48 years with the BOI, DOI, Hoover was substantially involved in most major cases and projects that the FBI handled during his tenure
24.
Vermont
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Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It borders the other U. S. states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north. Lake Champlain forms half of Vermonts western border with the state of New York, Vermont is the 2nd-least populous of the U. S. states, with nearly 50,000 more residents than Wyoming. The capital is Montpelier, the least populous state capital in the U. S, the most populous municipality, Burlington, is the least populous city in the U. S. to be the most populous within a state. As of 2015, Vermont continued to be the producer of maple syrup in the U. S. It was ranked as the safest state in the country in January 2016, for thousands of years inhabited by indigenous peoples, including the Algonquian-speaking Abenaki and Mohawk, much of the territory that is now Vermont was claimed by Frances colony of New France. France ceded the territory to Great Britain after being defeated in 1763 in the Seven Years War, for many years, the nearby colonies, especially the provinces of New Hampshire and New York, disputed control of the area. Settlers who held land titles granted by New York were opposed by the Green Mountain Boys militia, ultimately, those settlers prevailed in creating an independent state, the Vermont Republic. Founded in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War, the republic lasted for 14 years, aside from the original 13 states that were formerly colonies, Vermont is one of only four U. S. states that were previously sovereign states. Vermont was also the first state to join the U. S. as its 14th member state after the original 13, while still an independent republic, Vermont was the first of any future U. S. state to partially abolish slavery. It played an important geographic role in the Underground Railroad, sights in Vermont Vermont is located in the New England region of the northeastern United States and comprises 9,614 square miles, making it the 45th-largest state. It is the state that does not have any buildings taller than 124 feet. Land comprises 9,250 square miles and water comprises 365 square miles, making it the 43rd-largest in land area, in total area, it is larger than El Salvador and smaller than Haiti. The west bank of the Connecticut River marks the eastern border with New Hampshire. 41% of Vermonts land area is part of the Connecticut Rivers watershed, Lake Champlain, the major lake in Vermont, is the sixth-largest body of fresh water in the United States and separates Vermont from New York in the northwest portion of the state. From north to south, Vermont is 159 miles long and its greatest width, from east to west, is 89 miles at the Canada–U. S. Border, the narrowest width is 37 miles at the Massachusetts line, the states geographic center is approximately three miles east of Roxbury, in Washington County. There are fifteen U. S. federal border crossings between Vermont and Canada, the origin of the name Vermont is uncertain, but likely comes from the French les Verts Monts, meaning the Green Mountains
25.
Providence College
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Providence College is a private, coeducational, Roman Catholic university located about two miles west of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, United States, the states capital city. With a 2012–2013 enrollment of 3,852 undergraduate students and 735 graduate students and it is the only college or university in North America administered by the Dominican Friars. Brian Shanley has been the president since 2005. In athletics, Providence College competes in the NCAAs Division I and is a member of the Big East Conference. In December 2012, the College announced it and six other Catholic colleges would leave the Big East Conference to form its own league, taking them the Big East name. In 1917, Providence College was founded as a school through the efforts of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence. Under second president William D. Noon, O. P. the college added its first lay faculty member and opened its first dormitory, Providence College athletics soon received their moniker as the Friars. With black and white as team colors, the school had early success in basketball, football, in 1933, the school received regional accreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The college conferred its first Master of Arts, Doctor of Philosophy, and Master of Science degrees by 1935, unit #1188 arrived on campus in the Summer of 1943, allowing the college to continue operation. A class of approximately 380 soldiers-in-training studied engineering at Providence College for a year before going overseas, Robert J. Slavin, O. P. served as president from 1947 to 1961. During his tenure in 1955, Providence acquired the House of Good Shepard property that pushed the boundaries of campus to Huxley Avenue. Slavin also oversaw the establishment of the Reserve Officers Training Corps on campus in 1951, the athletics program of the college gained acceptance into the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 1948. Prior to the opening of Alumni Hall in 1955, the basketball team played in local Providence high schools. The college also hired Joe Mullaney as the basketball coach. Dore, O. P. opened the doors of the graduate school as well as a new dormitory building. President William P. Haas, O. P. opened Phillips Memorial Library in 1969, in 1967, the college added its first lay faculty members in its Departments of Theology and Philosophy, as well as its first full-time female faculty member. Two years later, the student dress code was abolished, in 1970, the college decided to admit women starting with the 1971–1972 school year. The same year, the first female administrator was hired, by 1975, the first year women graduated after completing a four year course of study, women had attained highly visible positions in school organizations
26.
National Invitation Tournament
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The National Invitation Tournament is a mens college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City each March and April, over time it became eclipsed by the NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament – known today informally as March Madness and The Big Dance. The NIT has since been regarded more as a tournament for teams that did not receive a berth in the NCAA tournament. A second, much more recent NIT tournament is played in November, formerly the Preseason NIT, it was founded in 1985. Like the postseason NIT, its final rounds are played at Madison Square Garden, both tournaments were operated by the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association until 2005, when they were purchased by the NCAA, and the MIBA disbanded. Unless otherwise qualified, the terms NIT or National Invitation Tournament refer to the tournament in both common and official use. The first NIT was won by the Temple University Owls over the Colorado Buffaloes and this became the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association in 1948. Originally the tournament invited a field of 6 teams, with all games played at Madison Square Garden in downtown Manhattan. The field was expanded to 8 teams in 1941,12 in 1949,14 in 1965,16 in 1968,24 in 1979,32 in 1980, in 2007, the tournament reverted to the current 32-team format. Some conferences, such as the Southeastern Conference, were racially segregated, from its onset and at least into the mid-1950s, the NIT was regarded as the most prestigious showcase for college basketball. The winner of the National Invitation Tournament was regarded as more of a national champion than the actual, titular, national champion, several teams played in both the NIT and NCAA tournaments in the same year, beginning with Colorado and Duquesne in 1940. Colorado won the NIT in 1940 but subsequently finished fourth in the NCAA West Region, in 1949, some Kentucky players were bribed by gamblers to lose their first round game in the NIT. This same Kentucky team went on to win the NCAA, the champions of both the NCAA and NIT tournaments played each other for a few years during World War II. From 1943 to 1945, the American Red Cross sponsored a charity game between each years tournament champions to raise money for the war effort. The series was described by Ray Meyer as not just benefit games, the NCAA champion prevailed in all three games. The Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected the NIT champion as its champion for 1938. In 1943 the NCAA tournament moved to share Madison Square Garden with the NIT in an effort to increase the credibility of the NCAA Tournament. In 1945, The New York Times indicated that many teams could get bids to enter either tournament, the team played in the NIT instead, which it won
27.
Dave Gavitt
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David Roy Dave Gavitt was an American college basketball coach and athletic director at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island. He was also known as the first commissioner of the Big East Conference. He spent two years as an assistant basketball coach at Worcester Academy before becoming an assistant coach at Providence under the legendary Joe Mullaney in 1962. He left in 1966 to become assistant coach and then coach at his alma mater before taking over for Mullaney at Providence in 1969. Under his ten-year tenure, the Friars advanced to the eight straight years. In 1973, Gavitts team made it to the Final Four for the first time in school history. He also served as director of athletics at PC from 1971 to 1982, in 1979, Gavitt, along with several other college athletics administrators, helped to form the Big East Conference as a means to better compete with the major schools in the country. He became the conferences first commissioner, from 1979 to 1990, under his direction, the Big East steadily expanded and was an almost immediate success, as several schools became basketball powerhouses. During his tenure, six of the schools participated in the Final Four. Also, from 1982 to 1984, he was chairman of the NCAA Division I Basketball Committee and it was under his guidance that the tournament expanded to sixty-four teams, in order to provide better opportunity for small conference teams to participate. Gavitt has also involved in Olympic basketball. In 1980, he was selected as the coach of the Olympic basketball team. He would also go on to serve on the Olympic governing body and it was during his tenure that he developed the concept of the Dream Team, an Olympic basketball team composed of the NBAs best. He is a member of the Providence College Athletic Hall of Fame, National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame, Gavitt was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on September 8,2006. He became the former member of the Friar athletic program. The court at the Dunkin Donuts Center, Friars home court, in Providence, Gavitt died on September 16,2011 from congestive heart failure in a hospital near his hometown of Rumford, Rhode Island. Dave Gavitt To Be Inducted Into The Basketball Hall of Fame Gavitt, attleboro, MA, Colonial Lithograph Inc.2005
28.
Big East Conference
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The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in all sports except football, which is not sponsored. The conference has officially recognized as a Division I multi-sport conference. Butler University, Creighton University, and Xavier University also joined the conference on its July 1,2013 launch date. The football-playing members of the old Big East, along several other schools, formed the American Athletic Conference. However, both conferences claim 1979 as their founding date, as part of the separation agreement, the basketball schools were able to retain the basketball records while the football schools retained the football records respectively. Val Ackerman, former WNBA president, has been commissioner since June 26,2013, on the same day Ackerman was named as commissioner, it announced that it will be headquartered in New York City. None of the schools sponsor varsity football in the top-level Division I FBS. Georgetown, Villanova, and Butler do operate football programs in the second-level Division I FCS, the core of the Big East formed when Providence, St. Johns, Georgetown, and Syracuse invited Seton Hall, Connecticut, Holy Cross, Rutgers, and Boston College. Holy Cross turned down the invitation, as did Rutgers initially, while BC, Seton Hall, gavitt became the Big Easts first commissioner, and Villanova and Pittsburgh joined the conference shortly thereafter. PR firm Duffy & Shanley is credited with the branding and naming work for the conference. The conference remained largely unchanged until 1991, when it began to sponsor football, adding Miami as a member, and Rutgers, Temple, Virginia Tech. Rutgers and West Virginia upgraded to full Big East membership in 1995, Notre Dame also joined as a non-football member effective in 1995. Temple football was kicked out after the 2004 season, but rejoined in 2012, the unusual structure of the Big East, with the football and non-football schools, led to instability in the conference. The conference reorganized following the period of realignment that hobbled the Big East between 2010 and 2013. The Big East was one of the most severely impacted conferences during the most recent conference realignment period, in all,14 member schools announced their departure for other conferences, and 15 other schools announced plans to join the conference. Three of the group later backed out of their plans to join. On March 14,2013, it was reported that the Big East would be adding members in the seven to ten days. At a news conference in New York City on March 20,2013, the league was formally introduced with Butler, Xavier
29.
Atlanta Hawks
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The Atlanta Hawks are a professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association as a team of the leagues Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its games at Philips Arena. The teams origins can be traced to the establishment of the Buffalo Bisons in 1946 in Buffalo, New York, after 38 days in Buffalo, the team moved to Moline, Illinois, where they were renamed the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. In 1949, they joined the NBA as part of the merger between the NBL and the Basketball Association of America, and had Red Auerbach as coach briefly, in 1951, Kerner moved the team to Milwaukee, where they changed their name to the Hawks. Kerner and the team moved again in 1955 to St. Louis, the Hawks played the Boston Celtics in all four of their trips to the NBA Finals. The St. Louis Hawks moved to Atlanta in 1968, when Kerner sold the franchise to Thomas Cousins, the Hawks currently own the second-longest drought of not winning an NBA championship at 57 seasons. The franchises lone NBA championship, as well as all four NBA Finals appearances, meanwhile, they went 48 years without advancing past the second round of the playoffs in any format, until finally breaking through in 2015. Much of the failure theyve experienced in the postseason can be traced back to their history in the NBA draft. Since 1980, the Hawks have drafted four players who have been chosen to play in an NBA All-Star Game. Dominique Wilkins was actually selected by the Utah Jazz and traded to the Hawks a few months after the draft, the origins of the Atlanta Hawks can be traced to the Buffalo Bisons franchise, which was founded in 1946. The Bisons were a member of the National Basketball League, the club was organized by the Erie County American Legion and was coached by Nat Hickey. Their first game – a 50–39 victory over the Syracuse Nationals – was played on November 8,1946, on the team was William Pop Gates, who, along with William Dolly King, was one of the first two African-American players in the NBL. The team, which needed to draw 3,600 fans per game to break even struggled to draw 1,000 fans per game to the Auditorium. Upon relocation to Moline, the team was renamed the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, and played their games at Wharton Field House. The team featured guard/forward and coach Deanglo King, and was owned by Leo Ferris, Pop Gates remained on the Blackhawks roster, and finished second on the team in scoring behind future 1948 NBL MVP Don Otten. A Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame member, Gates helped to integrate the league and later become the first African-American coach in a sports league. In 1949 the Blackhawks became one of the National Basketball Associations 17 original teams after a merger of the 12-year-old NBL and they reached the playoffs in the NBAs inaugural year under the leadership of coach Red Auerbach
30.
Wilt Chamberlain
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Wilton Norman Wilt Chamberlain was an American basketball player. The 7 foot 1 inch Chamberlain weighed 250 pounds as a rookie before bulking up to 275 and he played the center position and is widely considered one of the greatest and most dominant players in NBA history. Chamberlain holds numerous NBA records in scoring, rebounding, and durability categories and he is the only player to score 100 points in a single NBA game or average more than 40 and 50 points in a season. He also won seven scoring, eleven rebounding, nine field goal percentage titles, Chamberlain is the only player in NBA history to average at least 30 points and 20 rebounds per game in a season, a feat he accomplished seven times. He is also the player to average at least 30 points and 20 rebounds per game over the entire course of his NBA career. Chamberlain was known by various nicknames during his playing career. He hated the ones that called attention to his height such as Goliath and Wilt the Stilt and he preferred The Big Dipper, which was inspired by his friends who saw him dip his head as he walked through doorways. Chamberlain was also a businessman, authored several books. He was a bachelor, and became notorious for his claim to have had sexual intercourse with as many as 20,000 women. He was a child, nearly dying of pneumonia in his early years. In his early years Chamberlain was not interested in basketball, because he thought it was a game for sissies, but according to Chamberlain, basketball was king in Philadelphia, so he eventually turned to the sport. According to ESPN journalist Hal Bock, Chamberlain was scary, flat-out frightening, before he came along, most basketball players were mortal-sized men. It was also in this period of his life when his three lifelong nicknames Wilt the Stilt, Goliath, and his favorite, The Big Dipper, were allegedly born. He scored 34 points, won Overbrook the Public League title, in that game, West Catholic quadruple-teamed Chamberlain the entire game, and despite the centers 29 points, the Panthers lost 54-42. In his second Overbrook season, Chamberlain continued his scoring, among them scoring a high school record 71 points against Roxborough. The Panthers comfortably won the Public League title after again beating Northeast in which Chamberlain scored 40 points, Chamberlain scored 32 points and led Overbrook to a flawless 19–0 season. During summer vacations Chamberlain worked as a bellhop in Kutshers Hotel, subsequently, owners Milton and Helen Kutsher kept up a lifelong friendship with Wilt, and according to their son Mark, They were his second set of parents. In Chamberlains third and final Overbrook season, he continued his high scoring, the Panthers won the Public League a third time, beating West Philadelphia 78-60, and in the city championship game, they met West Catholic once again
31.
Elgin Baylor
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Elgin Gay Baylor is an American retired basketball player, coach, and executive. He played 13 seasons as a forward in the National Basketball Association for the Minneapolis / Los Angeles Lakers. Baylor was a shooter, strong rebounder, and an accomplished passer. Renowned for his acrobatic maneuvers on the court, Baylor regularly dazzled Lakers fans with his trademark hanging jump shots. The No.1 draft pick in 1958, NBA Rookie of the Year in 1959, in 1977, Baylor was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Baylor spent 22 years as manager of the Los Angeles Clippers. He won the NBA Executive of the Year Award in 2006 and he had a special appearance in the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episode Olympiad, as one of the athletes. Elgin Rabbit Baylor had two basketball-playing brothers, Sal and Kermit, after stints at Southwest Boys Club and Brown Jr. High, Baylor was a 3 time All City player in High School. Elgin played his first 2 years at Phelps Vocational High School in the 1951 and 1952 basketball seasons where he set his first area scoring record of 44 points vs Cardozo. During his 2 All City years at Phelps he averaged 18.5 and 27.6 points per season and he did not perform well academically and dropped out of school to work in a furniture store and to play basketball in the local recreational leagues. He finished with a 36.1 average for his 8 Interhigh Division II league games, on February 3,1954 in a game against his old Phelps team, he scored 31 in the first half. Playing with 4 fouls the second half, Baylor scored 32 more points to establish a new DC area record with 63 points. This broke the point record of 52 that Westerns Jim Wexler had set the year before when he broke Rabbits record of 44. An inadequate scholastic record kept him out of college until a friend arranged a scholarship at the College of Idaho, after one season, the school dismissed the head basketball coach and restricted the scholarships. A Seattle car dealer interested Baylor in Seattle University, and Baylor sat out a year to play for Westside Ford, Baylor led the Seattle University Chieftains to the NCAA championship game in 1958, falling to the Kentucky Wildcats, Seattles last trip to the Final Four. Following his junior season, Baylor joined the Minneapolis Lakers in 1958, in his three collegiate seasons, one at Idaho and two at Seattle, Baylor averaged 31.3 points per game. He led the NCAA in rebounds during the 1956–57 season, fifty-one years after Baylor left Seattle University, Seattle U named its basketball court in honor of him on November 19,2009. The Redhawks now play on the Elgin Baylor Court in Seattles KeyArena, the Minneapolis Lakers used the No.1 overall pick in the 1958 NBA draft to select Baylor, then convinced him to skip his senior year at SU and instead join the pro ranks
32.
Phoenix Suns
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The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association as a team of the leagues Western Conference Pacific Division. Since 1992, the Suns have played their games at Talking Stick Resort Arena in downtown Phoenix. The Suns began play as a team in 1968. The franchise owns the NBAs fourth-best all-time winning percentage, winning 55 percent of its games, as a result, based on their all-time win-loss percentage, the Suns are the team with the highest winning percentage to have never won an NBA championship. The Suns were one of two franchises to join the NBA at the start of the 1968–69 season, alongside the Milwaukee Bucks, the team played its first 24 seasons at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, located northwest of downtown Phoenix. Besides, part of the group were entertainers, such as Andy Williams, Bobbie Gentry and Ed Ames. There were many critics, including then-NBA commissioner J. Walter Kennedy, who said that Phoenix was too hot, too small and they paid an entry fee of $2 million. Suns was preferred over Scorpions, Rattlers, Thunderbirds, Wranglers, Mavericks, Tumbleweeds, Mustangs and Cougars. Stan Fabe, who owned a printing plant in Tucson, designed the teams first iconic logo for a mere $200. However, they were disappointed with the results, in the 1968 NBA Expansion Draft, notable Suns pick-ups were future Hall of Famer Gail Goodrich and Dick Van Arsdale. Jerry Colangelo, a scout, came over from the Chicago Bulls as the Suns first general manager at the age of 28. Both Goodrich and Van Arsdale were selected to the All-Star Game in their first season with the freshly minted Suns. Goodrich returned to his team, the Lakers, after two seasons with the Suns, but Van Arsdale spent the rest of his playing days as a Sun. The Suns last-place finish that led to a coin flip for the number-one overall pick for the 1969 NBA draft with the expansion-mate Bucks. Milwaukee won the flip, and the rights to draft UCLA center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, while the Bucks went on to win the NBA Finals in 1971 and reach the Finals again in 1974, the Suns would not go to the Finals until 1976. The 1969–70 season posted better results for the Suns, finishing 39–43, the next two seasons, the Suns finished with 48- and 49-win seasons, however they did not qualify for the playoffs in either year, and would not reach the playoffs again until 1976. They also drafted center and eventual fan favorite Alvan Adams from the University of Oklahoma, the Suns and Buffalo Braves made a midseason trade, with Phoenix sending forward/center John Shumate to Buffalo in exchange for forward Gar Heard
33.
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
34.
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
35.
Milwaukee Bucks
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The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball franchise based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 as a team. The team is valued at $675 million according to Forbes. The Bucks have won one title, two conference titles, and 13 division titles. On January 22,1968, the NBA awarded a franchise to Milwaukee Professional Sports and Services, Inc. a group headed by Wesley Pavalon, a fan contest was held to name the new team, with over 40,000 fans participating. One fan, R. D. Trebilcox, was awarded a new car for his part in reasoning why the Bucks was a nickname, saying that bucks were spirited, good jumpers, fast. In October, the Bucks played their first NBA regular-season game against the Chicago Bulls before a Milwaukee Arena crowd of 8,467, as is typical with expansion teams, the Bucks first season was a struggle. Their first victory came in their game as the Bucks beat the Detroit Pistons 134–118. The Bucks record that earned them a coin flip against their expansion cousins. It was a conclusion that the first pick in the draft would be Lew Alcindor of UCLA. The Bucks won the flip, but had to win a bidding war with the upstart American Basketball Association to secure him. Despite the Bucks stroke of fortune in landing Alcindor, no one expected what happened in 1969–70 and they finished with a 56–26 record – a nearly exact reversal of the previous year and good enough for the second-best record in the league, behind the New York Knicks. The 29-game improvement was the best in league history – a record which would stand for 10 years until the Boston Celtics jumped from 29 wins in 1978–79 to 61 in 1979–80. The Bucks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in five games in the Eastern semifinals, Alcindor was a runaway selection for NBA Rookie of the Year. The following season, the Bucks got a gift when they acquired Oscar Robertson, known as the Big O. Subsequently, in only their season, the Bucks finished 66–16 – the second-most wins in NBA history at the time. During the regular season, the Bucks recorded a then-NBA record 20-game win streak and they then steamrolled through the playoffs with a dominating 12–2 record, winning the NBA Championship on April 30,1971, by sweeping the Baltimore Bullets in four games
36.
Frank Ramsey (basketball)
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Frank Vernon Ramsey, Jr. is an American former professional basketball player and coach. A 6-3 guard, he played his entire nine-year NBA career with the Boston Celtics and played a role in the early part of their dynasty. Ramsey was also a coach for the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA during the 1970–1971 season. Raised in Madisonville, Kentucky, Ramsey was an athlete at the University of Kentucky. Playing under legendary coach Adolph Rupp, Ramsey, as a sophomore in 1951, Ramsey, Hagan and Tsioropoulos all graduated from Kentucky in 1953 and, as a result, became eligible for the NBA draft. All three players were selected by the Boston Celtics—Ramsey in the first round, Hagan in the third, all three also returned to Kentucky for one more season despite graduating. After finishing the season with a perfect 25-0 record and a #1 ranking in the Associated Press. After playing his rookie season with the Celtics, Ramsey spent one year in the military before rejoining the team, in the eight seasons he played after military service, he was a member of seven championship teams. He was a contributor of the Celtics dynasty, playing behind the duo of Bob Cousy and Bill Sharman and playing with Bill Russell, Sam Jones. Jones, Tom Heinsohn and John Havlicek, in his 623 NBA games Ramsey scored 8378 points for an average of 13.4 points per game. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1981 and his #23 is retired by the Celtics. Ramseys best statistical season was 1957–1958, he averaged 16.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. It was also his only season in which the Celtics did not win the NBA championship. Ramsey was also a coach for one season in the ABA with the Kentucky Colonels. Ramsey was named coach 17 games into an 84-game season and, though he had a 32-35 record, the Colonels lost to the Utah Stars in the 1971 ABA Finals,4 games to 3. Joe Mullaney replaced Ramsey as coach the following season, prior to coaching in the ABA, Ramsey had been Red Auerbachs first choice to replace his mentor as Celtics coach after Auerbach retired at the end of the 1965–66 season. However, Ramsey decided to back to Madisonville, his father, Frank Sr. wasnt in good health. Auerbach is often credited throughout basketball with creating the sixth man, though Ramsey was one of the Celtics best players, he felt more comfortable coming off the bench and Auerbach wanted him fresh and in the lineup at the end of close games
37.
Virginia Squires
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The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976, the tean originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, an ABA charter franchise based in Oakland, California. They moved to Washington, DC as the Washington Caps in 1969 but moved to Norfolk the following year, a regional team, they played home games in Richmond, Hampton, and Roanoke as well as Norfolk. The team folded in 1976, just a month before the ABA–NBA merger, the Squires were founded in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a charter member of the ABA. The team colors were green and gold, an earlier Oakland Oaks basketball team played in the American Basketball League in 1962. The Oaks were owned in part by pop singer Pat Boone, there was a major contract dispute with the cross-bay San Francisco Warriors of the established National Basketball Association over the rights to star player Rick Barry. However, even with Barry the team proved to be a poor investment for Boone. At one point they only drew 2,500 fans per game. Facing foreclosure on a loan from Bank of America, Boone sold the team to Washington, D. C. lawyer Earl Foreman, the team colors of green and gold were retained, but the logo was a red, white and blue rendition of the United States Capitol. They played at the Washington Coliseum, however, for reasons that remain unknown, they remained in the Western Division—forcing them on the longest road trips in the league. Attendance was no better in Washington than it was in Oakland because the Coliseum was located in the North East Washington area, miraculously, they managed to finish four games above.500, but lost in the first round to the powerful Denver Rockets. Merger talks with the NBA were already underway, but a major stumbling block was the presence of the Caps in Washington, baltimore Bullets owner Abe Pollin wanted to move his team to Washington, but did not want the Caps there. The other ABA owners persuaded Foreman to move the Caps for the time in as many seasons. Foreman decided to make the Caps a regional franchise, the Virginia Squires, the team would be based in Norfolk, and also played home games in Hampton, Richmond and Roanoke. However, Roanoke was dropped from the list of cities after only one season. The Squires colors were red, white, and blue, on September 1,1970, the Squires traded Barry to the New York Nets for a draft pick and $200,000. While the negative comments had been a factor to the trade. In spite of the controversy surrounding former player Barry, the Squires finished their inaugural season in Virginia by winning the Eastern Division by 11 games
38.
Carolina Cougars
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The Carolina Cougars were a basketball franchise in the former American Basketball Association that existed from late 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Carolina in late 1969 after two seasons in Houston at the Sam Houston Coliseum. The Cougars colors were green, blue, and white, the Carolina Cougars franchise began when future Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina Jim Gardner bought the Houston Mavericks and moved them to North Carolina in 1969. At the time, none of North Carolinas large metropolitan areas--Charlotte, the Piedmont Triad, with this in mind, Gardner decided to brand the Cougars as a regional team. The Cougars were based in Greensboro and played most of their games at the Greensboro Coliseum. However, some games were played in Charlotte at the Charlotte Coliseum, Raleigh at Dorton Arena and Reynolds Coliseum. Early on, the Cougars were not especially successful on the court, posting a 42-42 record in the 1969–70 season, a 34-50 record in 1970–71, and a 35-49 record in 1971–72. Only the 1969–70 Cougars managed to make the ABA playoffs but lost in the Eastern Division Semifinals to a much stronger Indiana Pacers team, in spite of this, the Cougars had a good fan following, particularly in Greensboro. The 1971–72 team was coached by former NBA All-Star Tom Meschery, who had just retired from 10 years of NBA play with the San Francisco Warriors, Gardner sold the team after one season to Tedd Munchak, who poured significant resources into the team. In 1972–73, the Cougars hired retired ABA players Larry Brown, the 1972–73 Cougars were fairly talented and featured players Billy Cunningham, Joe Caldwell, and Mack Calvin. All three appeared in the ABA All-Star Game that season, and Cunningham was named the leagues Most Valuable Player, Carolina went on to post a 57-27 record, which was the best in the ABA. The Cougars beat the New York Nets in their playoff series 4 games to 1. There were many upset and disappointed fans in Greensboro when the Cougars decided to hold game 7 of the series in Charlotte, of the 42 scheduled regular season home games,25 were usually scheduled for Greensboro while only 12 were played in Charlotte. With Cougar management having the choice of city to play game 7, Game 7 was hotly contested but Kentucky prevailed, much to Cougar fans dismay. Due to injuries and internal squabbles, the 1973–74 Cougars posted a 47-37 record but was swept in the Eastern Division semifinals 4 games to 0 by the Kentucky Colonels and it turned out to be the Cougars last season in North Carolina. Additionally, several persons quoted in the book Loose Balls by Terry Pluto say the added travel expenses incurred by the concept ultimately proved insurmountable. Munchak sold the Cougars to a consortium of New York businessmen who moved to St. Louis as the Spirits of St. Louis
39.
San Diego Sails
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The San Diego Sails were an American Basketball Association team based in San Diego. Originally called the San Diego Conquistadors, they played from 1972 to 1975, as the Sails, they played an incomplete season only, beginning the 1975–1976 season but folding before its completion. The franchise was founded by Leonard Bloom as the ABAs first—and as it turned out, only—expansion team. But a feud between Bloom and Peter Graham, manager of the city-owned 14,400 seat San Diego Sports Arena, led Graham to lock the newborn team out of the facility for two years. After reaching the 1973 ABA Playoffs in their season, the Qs seemingly pulled off a coup by paying center Wilt Chamberlain $600,000 to become their player-coach. But the Los Angeles Lakers sued to block their former star from playing for his new team, relegated to a sideline role, Chamberlain was reduced to an indifferent, 7-foot-1-inch sideshow who once skipped a game in favor of an autograph session for his recently published autobiography. Nonetheless, the team reached the postseason, bowing out in the first round, for the second year in a row. The season, however, was overshadowed by the arena situation, frustrated with his inability to get a lease for the Sports Arena, Bloom announced plans for a 20, 000-seat arena in Chula Vista. However, a referendum on the arena, held just after the season started, failed by only 294 votes, league officials then ordered Bloom to take preliminary steps toward moving to Los Angeles, in hopes of returning to a market abandoned by the Utah Stars four years earlier. For their third season in 1974–75, the Conquistadors lost Chamberlain, but without Chamberlain as a gate attraction, the team was roundly ignored by San Diegans, and placed last in the Western Division, missing the 1975 ABA Playoffs. Bloom sold the franchise during the summer of 1975 to Frank Goldberg, Goldberg started anew, renaming the team the San Diego Sails for 1975–1976. But the Sails attracted only 3,060 fans to their home opener on October 24,1975 – a loss to the Nuggets –, Goldberg soon learned San Diego was to be shut out of the pending ABA-NBA merger. Reportedly, the Sails were shut out at the insistence of Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke, with the team lacking fan support or a long-term future, Goldberg folded the franchise on November 12. In 1978, the NBAs Buffalo Braves arrived in San Diego and became the San Diego Clippers, in 1984, San Diego has not had another major league professional basketball team since. Note, W = Wins, L = Losses, % = Win–Loss % San Diego Sails page at RememberTheABA. com
40.
Indiana Pacers
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The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first established in 1967 as a member of the American Basketball Association and they play their home games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The team is named after Indianas history with the Indianapolis 500s pace cars, the Pacers have won three championships, all in the ABA. The Pacers were Eastern Conference champions in 2000, the team has won nine division titles. Five Hall of Fame players – Reggie Miller, Chris Mullin, Alex English, Mel Daniels, in early 1967, a group of six investors pooled their resources to purchase a franchise in the proposed American Basketball Association. For their first seven years, they played in the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum, in 1974, they moved to the plush new Market Square Arena in downtown Indianapolis, where they played for 25 years. Early in the Pacers second season, former Indiana Hoosiers standout Bob Slick Leonard became the head coach. Leonard quickly turned the Pacers into a juggernaut and his teams were buoyed by the great play of superstars such as Mel Daniels, George McGinnis, Bob Netolicky, Rick Mount and Roger Brown. The Pacers were – and ended – as the most successful team in ABA history, in all, they appeared in the ABA Finals five times in the leagues nine-year history, a feat that was never bettered by any other ABA franchise. The Pacers were one of four ABA teams that joined the NBA in the ABA–NBA merger in 1976, for the 1976–77 season the Pacers were joined in the merged league by the Denver Nuggets, New York Nets, and San Antonio Spurs. The league charged a $3.2 million entry fee for each former ABA team, as a result of the merger, the four teams dealt with financial troubles. Additionally, the Pacers had some financial troubles which dated back to their days in the ABA. The new NBA teams also were barred from sharing in national TV revenues for four years, the Pacers finished their inaugural NBA season with a record of 36–46. Billy Knight and Don Buse represented Indiana in the NBA All-Star Game, however, this was one of the few bright spots of the Pacers first 13 years in the NBA. During this time, they had only three non-losing seasons and only two playoff appearances, a lack of continuity became the norm for most of the next decade, as they traded away Knight and Buse before the 1977–78 season even started. They acquired Adrian Dantley in exchange for Knight, but Dantley was traded in December, while the Pacers second-leading scorer, the early Pacers came out on the short end of two of the most one-sided trades in NBA history. In 1980, they traded Alex English to the Nuggets in order to reacquire former ABA star George McGinnis, McGinnis was long past his prime, and contributed very little during his two-year return
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Brooklyn Nets
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The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its games at Barclays Center. They are one of two NBA teams located in New York City, the other are the New York Knicks, the team was established in 1967 as a charter franchise of the NBAs rival league, the American Basketball Association. They played in New Jersey as the New Jersey Americans during their first season, before moving to Long Island in 1968, during this time, the Nets won two ABA championships. In 1976, the ABA merged with the NBA, and the Nets were absorbed into the NBA along with three other ABA teams, in 1977, the team returned to New Jersey and played as the New Jersey Nets from 1977 to 2012. During this time, the Nets won two consecutive Eastern Conference championships, but failed to win a league title, in the summer of 2012, the team moved to Barclays Center, and took its current geographic name. The Brooklyn Nets were founded in 1967 and initially played in Teaneck, New Jersey, in its early years, the team led a nomadic existence, moving to Long Island in 1968 and playing in various arenas there as the New York Nets. Led by Hall of Famer Julius Dr. J Erving, the Nets won two ABA championships in New York before becoming one of four ABA teams to be admitted into the NBA as part of the ABA–NBA merger in 1976. The team then moved back to New Jersey in 1977 and became the New Jersey Nets, the Boston Celtics were once rivals of the Nets during the early 2000s because of their respective locations and their burgeoning stars. The Nets were led by Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin, while the Celtics were experiencing newfound success behind Paul Pierce, the rivalry began to heat up in the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals, which was preceded by trash-talking from the Celtics who claimed Martin was a fake tough guy. Things progressed as the series started, and on-court tensions seemed to spill into the stands, celtic fans berated Kidd and his family with chants of Wife Beater. in response to Kidds 2001 domestic abuse charge. When the series returned to New Jersey, Nets fans responded, referring to a night club incident in 2000 in which Pierce was stabbed 11 times. When asked about the fan barbs being traded, Kenyon Martin stated, Our fans hate them, rondo was suspended for two games in the aftermath, while Wallace and Kevin Garnett were fined. The story was revisited on December 25, when Wallace grabbed Garnetts shorts and this move was billed as a merger of the two Atlantic Division teams. Celtics announcer Sean Grande said Its almost as if you found a home for these guys. You couldnt have found a better place and these guys will be in the New York market, theyll be on a competitive team, theyll stay on national TV. Its funny, because the enemy of my enemy is my friend, so with Celtics fans feeling the way they do about the Heat, feeling the way they do about the Knicks, the Nets are going to become almost the second team now
