1.
Women's National Basketball Association
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The Womens National Basketball Association is a professional womens basketball league in the United States. It is currently composed of twelve teams, the league was founded on April 24,1996 as the womens counterpart to the National Basketball Association, and league play started in 1997. The regular season is played from June to September with the All Star game being played midway through the season in July, many WNBA teams have direct NBA counterparts and play in the same arena. The four aforementioned franchises, along with the Atlanta Dream and the Los Angeles Sparks, are all independently owned. The creation of the WNBA was officially approved by the NBA Board of Governors on April 24,1996, and announced at a conference with Rebecca Lobo, Lisa Leslie. The new WNBA had to compete with the recently-formed American Basketball League, while not the first major womens professional basketball league in the United States, the WNBA is the only league to receive full backing of the NBA. The WNBA logo, Logo Woman, paralleled the NBA logo and was selected out of 50 different designs. On the heels of a gold medal run by the 1996 USA Basketball Womens National Team at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. The first WNBA game featured the New York Liberty facing the Los Angeles Sparks in Los Angeles, the game was televised nationally in the United States on the NBC television network. Penny Toler scored the leagues first point, the WNBA centered its marketing campaign, dubbed We Got Next, around stars Rebecca Lobo, Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes. In the leagues first season, Leslies Los Angeles Sparks underperformed, the WNBAs true star in 1997 was WNBA MVP Cynthia Cooper, Swoopes teammate on the Houston Comets. The Comets defeated Lobos New York Liberty in the first WNBA Championship game, the initial We Got Next advertisement ran before each WNBA season until it was replaced with the We Got Game campaign. Two teams were added in 1998 and two more in 1999, bringing the number of teams in the league up to twelve and we expect to keep growing the league. In 1999, the chief competition, the American Basketball League. When a lockout resulted in an abbreviated NBA season, the WNBA saw faltering TV viewership, on May 23,2000, the Houston Comets became the first WNBA team to be invited to the White House Rose Garden. Before this invitation, only mens sports teams had traveled to the White House, at the end of the 2000 season, the Houston Comets won their fourth championship, capturing every title since the leagues inception. Led by the Big Three of Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson, and four-time Finals MVP Cynthia Cooper, under head coach Van Chancellor, the team posted a 98–24 record through their first four seasons. After 2000, Cooper retired from the league and the Comets dynasty came to an end, the top contender in the 2001 season was the Los Angeles Sparks
2.
Ama, Louisiana
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Ama is a census-designated place in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, United States. Ama is on the West Bank of the Mississippi River, just west of the Jefferson Parish, the population was 1,285 at the 2000 census. Ama was named in honor of Amazalie Perret, the postmasters daughter, Ama is located at 29°56′32″N 90°18′14″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has an area of 4.4 square miles. As of the census of 2000, there were 1,285 people,446 households, the population density was 360.0 people per square mile. There were 488 housing units at a density of 136.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 64. 90% White,34. 40% African American,0. 16% Native American,0. 16% Asian,0. 16% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 1. 01% of the population. 18. 8% of all households were made up of individuals and 5. 6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.28. In the CDP, the population was out with 29. 1% under the age of 18,9. 2% from 18 to 24,29. 9% from 25 to 44,22. 7% from 45 to 64. The median age was 35 years, for every 100 females there were 103.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males, the median income for a household in the CDP was $41,691, and the median income for a family was $50,156. Males had an income of $35,875 versus $31,667 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $19,399, about 7. 5% of families and 8. 5% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 13. 8% of those age 65 or over. St. Charles Parish Public School System operates public schools, Hahnville High School in Boutte Previously the Ama School served the community. Dana Pokey Chatman, former LSU Head Womens Basketball Coach, Head Coach Of Russias Spartak in Euroleague, Head Coach, cousin to both Dawan and LaRon Landry. Dawan Landry, football player, SS, New York Jets, named to the 2006 Pro Football Weekly/Professional Football Writers of America All-Rookie Team LaRon Landry, football player, SS, Indianapolis Colts. Landry established himself as a Pro Bowl-caliber safety in his season with the Redskins. He finished his campaign with 97 tackles and 1.5 sacks
3.
Boutte, Louisiana
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Boutte is a census-designated place in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,075 at the 2010 census, Boutte is located at 29°54′4″N 90°23′11″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has an area of 3.8 square miles. As of the census of 2000, there were 2,181 people,740 households, the population density was 582.6 people per square mile. There were 810 housing units at a density of 216.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 33. 93% White,64. 10% African American,0. 50% Native American,0. 14% Asian,0. 05% Pacific Islander,0. 55% from other races, and 0. 73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1. 70% of the population,20. 1% of all households were made up of individuals and 5. 8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the family size was 3.40. In the CDP, the population was out with 33. 0% under the age of 18,10. 3% from 18 to 24,29. 3% from 25 to 44,19. 7% from 45 to 64. The median age was 30 years, for every 100 females there were 85.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.9 males, the median income for a household in the CDP was $27,132, and the median income for a family was $36,307. Males had an income of $29,464 versus $18,913 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $12,247, about 28. 5% of families and 33. 7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41. 4% of those under age 18 and 36. 5% of those age 65 or over. St. Charles Parish Public School System operates public schools, R. J. Vial Elementary School in Paradis - Opened in 1975 J. B, martin Middle School in Paradis Hahnville High School in Boutte Alfred Blue - NFL running back Garland Robinette - Journalist and news anchor
4.
LSU Lady Tigers basketball
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The LSU Lady Tigers basketball team represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I womens college basketball. The team has been led by head coach Nikki Fargas since the 2011-2012 season, the team plays its home games in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center located on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The LSU womens basketball team started play in 1975 as the Ben-Gals, in just their second season of play, the team made it to the AIAW national championship game before losing to top-ranked Delta State, 68-55. Coleman stepped down in the middle of the 1978-1979 season and was replaced by Barbara Swanner, the 1981-1982 season saw the NCAA become the governing body of collegiate womens basketball. LSU did not play in the first NCAA tournament, future Hall of Fame coach Sue Gunter was hired to replace Swanner. Gunter would lead the Lady Tigers for the next 22 seasons, Gunter led the Lady Tigers to 14 NCAA tournament appearances. Although she only won three regular season titles, for most of her tenure the SEC was dominated by national powers Tennessee, Auburn, Gunter took a medical leave of absence in the middle of the 2003-04 season. However, Gunter was still head coach, and LSU credits the entire season to her. Gunter retired after the season, and Chatman was named her permanent successor, pokey Chatman led the team to two more consecutive Final Four appearances and was highly regarded as coach. However, during the 2006-2007 season, just prior to the NCAA Tournament and she was replaced on an interim basis by longtime assistant Bob Starkey, who coached the team during the 2007 NCAA Tournament, leading them to a fourth consecutive Final Four. Van Chancellor, the longtime head coach at Ole Miss, was hired at the end of the season as a permanent replacement. In his first year as coach, Chancellor led the Lady Tigers to the SEC regular season championship, the Lady Tigers were runner-up in the 2008 SEC Womens Basketball Tournament and made the NCAA Final Four for a fifth consecutive year. LSU joined Connecticut as the two schools ever to reach five consecutive Final Fours. On April 2,2011 LSU hired Nikki Fargas to replace Chancellor as head coach of the Lady Tigers, Fargas played for Tennessee under Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt in her playing days as Nikki Caldwell. Through the 2012-2013 season, LSU has made 23 AIAW/NCAA tournament appearances including 13 Sweet Sixteens,8 Elite Eights, the Lady Tigers have won the SEC regular season championship 3 times, and the SEC Tournament championship twice. Player of the Year Award Seimone Augustus -2005,2006 Sylvia Fowles -2008 The Pete Maravich Assembly Center is a 13, 215-seat multi-purpose arena in Baton Rouge, the arena opened in 1972 and is home of the LSU Lady Tigers basketball team. It was originally known as the LSU Assembly Center, but was renamed in honor of Pete Maravich, a Tiger basketball legend, shortly after his death in 1988. The Maravich Center is known to locals as The PMAC or The Palace that Pete Built, or by its more nationally known nickname, The Deaf Dome, coined by Dick Vitale
5.
Chicago Sky
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The Chicago Sky is a professional basketball team based in Rosemont, Illinois, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Womens National Basketball Association. The team was founded before the 2006 WNBA season began and it is owned by Michael J. Alter and Margaret Stender. Like some other WNBA teams, the Sky is not affiliated with an NBA counterpart, the Sky clinched their first playoff berth in team history on August 23,2013 and their first WNBA Finals appearance on September 3,2014. In February 2005, NBA Commissioner David Stern announced that Chicago had been awarded a new WNBA franchise, the franchise was temporarily named WNBA Chicago. On May 27,2005, former NBA player and coach Dave Cowens was announced as the teams first head coach, the team home would be the UIC Pavilion. The team name and logo for the Chicago Sky were formally debuted on September 20,2005, team President and CEO Margaret Stender claimed the team colors of yellow and blue represent A beautiful day in Chicago between the blue sky and bright sunlight to highlight the spectacular skyline. In November 2005, the team held a draft to help build its roster of players. The Sky achieved a 5-29 record in its first season, after the season, Dave Cowens resigned from the Sky to join the coaching staff of the Detroit Pistons. University of Missouri-Kansas City womens head basketball coach Bo Overton was named the Skys new head coach and their WNBA-worst 2006 record of 5–29 gave them the best chance of drawing the top pick in the 2007 WNBA Draft. However, the Sky would not draw either of the top two picks, and ended up with the third pick, which they used to select Armintie Price. They would get the first pick in the draft of the Charlotte Sting which they used to select Monique Currie. In 2007, the Sky would field a vastly improved team, the core group of players from 2006 along with some new additions helped make the team competitive. The Sky would be Eastern Conference playoff contestants, even holding the 4th-place position for part of the season, but the Sky finished with a 14–20 record, two games behind the fourth and final playoff spot. Guard Armintie Price was named the 2007 WNBA Rookie of the Year after the season, on March 12,2008, the Sky announced that head coach Bo Overton resigned his position of coach/general manager. Assistant coach Steven Key was named head coach/general manager of the Sky, the Sky selected Sylvia Fowles with the second overall pick of the 2008 WNBA Draft. In the 2008 season, the Sky would once again fail to make the playoffs, posting a 12–22 record, the Skys number one pick in the draft Fowles was injured for most of the season. In the off-season, Fowles was selected to play on the United States Olympic team, in the 2008 Beijing Olympics she averaged 13.4 ppg and 8.4 rbg, leading her team to a perfect record and a gold medal. In the 2009 WNBA Draft, the Sky selected point guard Kristi Toliver with the third pick, a standout player from the University of Maryland, Toliver was known for her impressive shooting ability and propensity to produce in critical situations
6.
Indiana Fever
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The Indiana Fever is a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Womens National Basketball Association. The team was founded before the inaugural 2000 season began, the team is owned by Herb Simon, who also owns the Fevers NBA counterpart, the Indiana Pacers, and Simon Malls. The Fever has qualified for the WNBA Playoffs in thirteen of its seventeen years in Indiana, the franchise has been home to many high-quality players such as Tennessee standout Tamika Catchings, hometown favorite Katie Douglas, and Australian defensive specialist Tully Bevilaqua. In 2009, the Fever went to the WNBA Finals but fell short to Phoenix, on October 21,2012, the Fever won the WNBA Championship with a win over the Minnesota Lynx. Tamika Catchings was named the series MVP, the Indiana Fever team began in 2000, when the state was granted an expansion franchise to coincide with the opening of Bankers Life Fieldhouse. In their first two seasons, they were coached by womens basketball legends Anne Donovan and Nell Fortner, led by center Kara Wolters, in their inaugural campaign the team posted a record of 9–23. The Fever drafted University of Tennessee star Tamika Catchings in the 2001 WNBA Draft, the Fever went into the year with high expectations of a playoff berth, but Catchings tore her ACL during a college game and missed the entire WNBA season. The Fever posted a 10–22 record in 2001, after missing the entire 2001 season, the 2002 season proved to be the breakout season for Tamika Catchings and the Fever. Catchings came out strong and became one of the most versatile players in the WNBA and her team competed well all year and would post a respectable 16–16 record, tying for the final playoff spot with the Orlando Miracle. Indiana would win the tiebreaker and earn their first playoff appearance in franchise history and they drew the #1 seed in the playoffs, the Liberty, with the Fever losing two games to one. The 2002–2003 offseason brought a lot of change for the Fever, the team added Olympian Natalie Williams and Charlotte Sting star Kelly Miller before the 2003 season. During the offseason the original coach and GM Nell Fortner would resign, Kelly Krauskopf would replace Fortner as GM and immediately hire Brian Winters to be the head coach. On May 29,2003 the Fever registered their first sellout of 18,345, the team would do better under the new coaching, but missed the playoffs, posting a 16–18 record. The 2004 campaign was similar to 2003s. The Fever finished with a 15–19 record and they missed the playoffs by one game in the Eastern Conference. In 2005, the Fever had their best season since joining the league, posting a 21–13 record, in the first round, the Fever swept the New York Liberty two games to none, earning their first playoff series victory in franchise history. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Fever faced the heavily favored Connecticut Sun, Game 1 came down to the final seconds when Katie Douglas hit a crucial three to win the game for the Sun. Game 2 went into overtime, with the Sun winning, thus sweeping the Fever two games to none, in the 2005–2006 offseason, the Fever acquired All-Star Anna DeForge from the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for Kelly Miller
7.
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
8.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
9.
Universiade
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The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation. The name is a combination of the words University and olympiad, the Universiade is often referred to in English as the World University Games or World Student Games, however, this latter term can also refer to competitions for sub-University grades students. The Universiade is the largest multi-sport event in the world apart from the Olympic Games, the most recent games were in 2017, the Winter Universiade was in Almaty, Kazakhstan, while the 2015 Summer Universiade was in Gwangju, Korea. The idea of an international sports competition between student-athletes pre-dates the 1949 formation of the International University Sports Federation, which now hosts the Universiade. This did not come to pass, but an event was created in Germany in 1909 in the form of the Academic Olympia. Five editions were held from 1909 to 1913, all of which were hosted in Germany following the cancellation of an Italy-based event, at the start of the 20th century, Jean Petitjean of France began attempting to organise a University Olympic Games. After discussion with Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, Petitjean, and later the Confederation Internationale des Etudiants, was the first to build a series of international events, beginning with the 1923 International Universities Championships. This was followed by the renamed 1924 Summer Student World Championships a year later, another name change resulted in the 1930 International University Games. The CIEs International University Games was held four times in the 1930s before having its final edition in 1947. A separate group organised an alternative university games in 1939 in Vienna, the onset of World War II ceased all major international student sport activities and the aftermath also led to division among the movement, as the CIE was disbanded and rival organisations emerged. The Union Internationale des Étudiants incorporated a university sports games into the World Festival of Youth and Students from 1947–1962, including one separate and this event principally catered for Eastern European countries. The Sports Week was held biennially until 1955, like the CIEs games before it, the FISU events were initially Western-led sports competitions. Division between the largely Western European FISU and Eastern European UIE eventually began to dissipate among broadened participation at the 1957 World University Games. This event was not directly organised by either group, instead being organised by Jean Petitjean in France, the FISU-organised Universiade became the direct successor to this competition, maintaining the biennial format into the inaugural 1959 Universiade. It was not until the 1957 World University Games that the Soviet Union began to compete in FISU events. That same year, what had previously been a European competition became a global one, with the inclusion of Brazil, Japan. The increased participation ultimately led to the establishment of the Universiade as the global student sport championship. Official website of the International University Sports Federation Official website of the German University Sports Federation Official report of the Winter Universiade Innsbruck / Seefeld 2005
10.
USA Women's World University Games Team
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The USA Women’s World University Games Team is one of the teams under the auspices of the USA Basketball organization. The Universiade is an international, multi-sport event for university students and it is second only to the Olympics in number of participants. The United States has participated in basketball since their first participation in 1973 at the VII Summer Universiade. USA Basketball has organized the participation except for 2003 and 2007, in 2003 an All-Star team selected from the Big 12 Conference represented the USA in Daegu, South Korea. In 2007, the Charlotte 49ers, the team at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, represented the USA in Bangkok. The 2015 World University Games were held in Seoul, South Korea July 5–13,2015, the head coach of the USA team was Joe McKeown, while Holly Warlick and Tanya Warren were the assistant coaches. The USA won the gold medal, the event, also called the Universiade, is the eighth event to have womens basketball, but the first in which the USA participated. The USA team was assigned to the preliminary round group as the Soviet team. The game was not close, as the USSR defeated the USA 92–43, the USA went on to defeat France and Mexico. Their 2–1 record qualified them for the round, but the rules of the competition carried the preliminary round results into the medal round. They won their three games, all by single digit margins, against Bulgaria, Romania and Cuba. That performance qualified the USA team for the medal game. While the game was closer, the Soviets were much too strong, the USA team earned a silver medal in their first ever World University Games competition. Lucille Kyvallos was named the coach and Dixie Woodall the assistant coach of the team representing the USA at the World University Games held in Sofia, Bulgaria in August 1977. The event is called the Universiade. The team started out strongly, winning their first three games against West German, Mexico, and China, by more than 30 points each, the fourth game, against Hungary was closer, but led by Carol Blazejowskis 31 points, the USA won by ten points. Moving on to the rounds, the USA drew Romania. That game was close, butt he USA won the game 76–73
11.
NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
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The NCAA Division I Womens Basketball Tournament is an annual college basketball tournament for women. Held each April, the Womens Championship was inaugurated in the 1981–82 season, the NCAA tournament was preceded by the AIAW Womens Basketball Tournament, which was held annually from 1972 to 1982. The AIAW continued to conduct its established championship program in the same 12 sports, however, after a year of womens championships. The womens championship game is the overall game of the college basketball season since 2017. The final was played the Sunday afternoon following the Mens Final Four, since 2017. The tournament bracket is made up of champions from each Division I conference, the remaining slots are at-large bids, with teams chosen by an NCAA selection committee. The selection process and tournament seedings are based on several factors, including rankings, win-loss records. Unlike the mens tournament, there are only 32 at-large bids, the womens tournament, like the mens, is staged in a single elimination format, and is part of the media and public frenzy known colloquially as March Madness or The Big Dance. All 63 games have been broadcast on television since 2003 on ESPN, a total of 64 teams qualify for the tournament played in March and April. Of these teams,32 earn automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments. Since 2017 the Ivy League conducts their own post-season tournament, the remaining teams are granted at-large bids, which are extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. Dr. Marilyn McNeil, vice president/director of athletics at Monmouth University is the current chairwoman, the tournament is split into four regional tournaments, and each regional has teams seeded from 1 to 16, with the committee ostensibly making every region as comparable to the others as possible. The top-seeded team in each region plays the #16 team, the #2 team plays the #15, the first NCAA womens basketball tournament was held in 1982. The AIAW also held a tournament in 1982, but most of the top teams, including defending AIAW champion Louisiana Tech. The championship consisted of 32 teams from 1982–1985,40 teams from 1986–1988, since 1994,64 teams compete in each tournament. Prior to 1996, seeding was conducted on a regional basis, the top teams were ranked and seeded on a national basis. The remaining teams were seeded based on their geographic region. In 1993, all teams except for the top four were explicitly unseeded, the regional seeding resumed in 1994
12.
Point guard
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The point guard, also called the one or point, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position, point guards are expected to run the teams offense by controlling the ball and making sure that it gets to the right players at the right time. A point guard, like other player positions in basketball, specializes in certain skills, a point guards primary job is to facilitate scoring opportunities for his/her team, or sometimes for themselves. Lee Rose has described a point guard as a coach on the floor and this involves setting up plays on the court, getting the ball to the teammate in the best position to score, and controlling the tempo of the game. A point guard should know when and how to instigate a fast break, point guards are expected to be vocal floor leaders. A point guard needs always to have in mind the times on the clock and the game clock, the score. Among the taller players who have enjoyed success at the position is Magic Johnson, other point guards who have been named NBA MVP include Bob Cousy, Oscar Robertson, Derrick Rose and two-time winners Stephen Curry and Steve Nash. In the NBA, point guards are usually about 65 or shorter, having above-average size is considered advantageous, although size is secondary to situational awareness, speed, quickness, and ball handling skills. Shorter players tend to be better dribblers since they are closer to the floor, after an opponent scores, it is typically the point guard who brings the ball down court to begin an offensive play. Passing skills, ball handling, and court vision are crucial, speed is important, a speedy point guard is better able to create separation and space off the dribble, giving him/herself room to work. Point guards are often valued more for their assist totals than for their scoring, another major evaluation factor is Assist-to-Turnover ratio, which reflects the decision-making skills of the player. Still, a point guard should also have a reasonably effective jump shot. The point guard is positioned on the perimeter of the play and this is a necessity because of the point guards many leadership obligations. Many times, the point guard is referred to by announcers as a coach on the floor or a floor general, in the past, this was particularly true, as several point guards such as Lenny Wilkens served their teams as player-coaches. This is not so common anymore, as most coaches are now solely specialized in coaching and are non-players, former Suns head coach Mike DAntoni had often allowed Steve Nash to freelance when leading the Suns offense, even letting him call his own plays at times. Even point guards who are not given this much freedom, however, are extensions of their coach on the floor. John Stockton is widely considered to be the point guard. He also used the pick and roll maneuvre with Karl Malone, along with leadership and a general basketball acumen, ball-handling is a skill of great importance to a point guard
13.
Louisiana State University
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Louisiana State University is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, LSU is the flagship institution of the Louisiana State University System. In 2015, the university enrolled over 26,000 undergraduate and over 5,000 graduate students in 14 schools, several of LSUs graduate schools, such as the E. J. Ourso College of Business and the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, have received recognition in their respective fields of study. LSUs athletics department fields teams in 21 varsity sports, and is a member of the NCAA, the university is represented by its mascot, Mike the Tiger. Louisiana State University Agricultural & Mechanical College had its origin in land grants made by the United States government in 1806,1811. It was founded as an academy and is still today steeped in military tradition. In 1853, the Louisiana General Assembly established the Seminary of Learning of the State of Louisiana near Pineville in Rapides Parish in Central Louisiana. Modeled initially after Virginia Military Institute, the institution opened with five professors and nineteen cadets on January 2,1860, the original location of the Old LSU Site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On January 26,1861, after only a year at the helm, the school closed on June 30,1861, with the start of the American Civil War. During the course of the war, the university reopened briefly in April 1863, the losses sustained by the institution during the Union occupation were heavy, and after 1863 the seminary remained closed for the remainder of the Civil War. Following the surrender of the Confederates at Appomattox Court House on April 9,1865 and these cannons had been captured from Confederate forces after the close of the war and had been used during the initial firing upon Fort Sumter in April 1861. The cannons are still displayed in front of LSUs Military Science/Aerospace Studies Building, the seminary officially reopened its doors on October 2,1865, only to be burned October 15,1869. On November 1,1869, the institution resumed its exercises in Baton Rouge, in 1870, the name of the institution was officially changed to Louisiana State University. It temporarily opened in New Orleans, June 1,1874 and this prompted the final name change for the university to the Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College. On June 7,1925, Oscar B, turner, a professor of agronomy, was murdered by an axe-wielding assailant on campus. On April 30,1926, the present LSU campus was formally dedicated, prior to this, LSU utilized the quarters of the Institute for the Deaf, Mute, and Blind. Land for the present campus was purchased in 1918, construction started in 1922, the campus was originally designed for 3000 students, but was cut back due to budget problems
14.
Temeka Johnson
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Temeka Rochelle Johnson is an American professional basketball player for Maccabi Bnot Ashdod of the Israeli Female Basketball Premier League. Her primary position is point guard, Johnson attended Bonnabel High School in Kenner, Louisiana. Johnson played for the LSU Lady Tigers from 2001 to 2005 and she broke LSUs career assist record. She was also teammates with Seimone Augustus, AP All-American honorable mention All-SEC First Team All-SEC Third Team SEC Tournament MVP SEC All-Tournament Team Source Johnson was selected 6th overall in the 2005 WNBA Draft. Upon joining the Mystics she was doubted for being too short to play professional basketball and that same year she would walk away with the 2005 WNBA Rookie of the Year award. In addition, she ranked 2nd in the league in assists, at the beginning of the 2006 season, she was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks, and during the 2009 off-season, to the Phoenix Mercury who went on to win the WNBA Championship later that year. On January 12,2012, Johnson was traded to the Tulsa Shock for Andrea Riley. On February 7,2013, Johnson signed with the Seattle Storm to fill a gap at the point guard position left by Sue Bird who was out for the whole season while recovering from knee surgery. On March 17,2015, it was announced that Johnson was released by the Storm, Johnson signed once again with the Los Angeles Sparks on March 23,2015. While playing with the Sparks in the 2015 season, Johnson scored her 2500th career point, Johnson was a member of the gold medal 2003 USA World Championship Young Women Team in Šibenik, Croatia. In the 2005-06 WNBA off-season, Johnson played in both Israel and Poland for Bnei Yehuda and Lotos VBW Clima Gdynia and she played for Raanana Hasharon in Israel during the 2008-09 WNBA off-season. In the 2009-10 WNBA off-season, Johnson played in Israel for Maccabi Bnot Ashdod, from 2011 to 2013, Johnson played two off-seasons in Russia for Dynamo Kursk. In the 2013-14 WNBA off-season, Johnson played for another Russian team, in October 2015, Johnson signed with AGÜ Spor for the 2015-16 WNBA off-season. In November 2016, Johnson signed once again with Maccabi Bnot Ashdod for the 2016-17 WNBA off-season
15.
Southeastern Conference
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The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the Southern part of the United States. Its fourteen members include the public universities of ten states. The conference is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, the SEC participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I in sports competitions, for football, it is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly known as Division I-A. The SEC was also the first NCAA Division I conference to hold a game for college football and was one of the founding members of the Bowl Championship Series. The current SEC commissioner is Greg Sankey, the conference sponsors team championships in nine mens sports and twelve womens sports. The SEC consists of 14 member institutions located within the borders of 11 contiguous states and these divisional groupings are applied exclusively to football and baseball as well as their scheduling and standings. The other charter members were, The University of the South left the SEC on December 13,1940 and it is currently a member of the Division III Southern Athletic Association. Georgia Institute of Technology left the SEC in 1964, in 1975, it became a founding member of the Metro Conference, one of the predecessors to todays Conference USA. Georgia Tech competed in the Metro Conference in all sports except football, in 1978, Georgia Tech joined another Southern Conference offshoot, the Atlantic Coast Conference, for all sports, where it has remained ever since. Tulane University left the SEC in 1966, along with Georgia Tech, it was a charter member of the Metro Conference. Unlike Tech, however, Tulane remained in the Metro Conference until it merged with the Great Midwest Conference in 1995 to form Conference USA, Tulane remained an independent in football until C-USA began football competition in 1996. Tulane left C-USA in 2014 for the American Athletic Conference, in 1990, the SEC expanded from ten to twelve member universities with the addition of the Arkansas Razorbacks and the South Carolina Gamecocks. The two new members began SEC competition with the 1991–1992 basketball season, at the same time, the SEC organized competition for some sports into two divisions. Initially, the format was used in football, baseball. The divisional format was dropped for mens basketball following the 2011–2012 season, the 1992 and 1993 championship games were held at Legion Field in Birmingham, and all championship games from 1994 onward have been held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. On November 6,2011 the SEC commissioner announced that the University of Missouri would also join the SEC on July 1,2012, for football, Texas A&M was scheduled to compete in the Western Division, and Missouri in the Eastern Division. Texas A&M and Missouri both left the Big 12 Conference, the office of Commissioner was created in 1940. Under the leadership of Michael F, the SECU rebranded its mission to better serve as a means through which the collaborative academic endeavors and achievements of Southeastern Conference universities would be promoted and advanced
16.
Three-point field goal
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A three-point field goal is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two points awarded for field goals made within the three-point line and the one point for each made free throw. In international FIBA and WNBA play, the three-point line is 6.75 m away from the basket on the arc part and 6.6 m from the straight parts. In both mens and womens National Collegiate Athletics Association basketball, the three-point line is simply a 180° circular arc centered on the basket,20 ft 9 in in radius. The three-point line was first tested at the level in a 1945 NCAA game between Columbia and Fordham but it was not kept as a rule. At the direction of Abe Saperstein, the American Basketball League became the first basketball league to institute the rule in 1961 and its three-point line was a radius of 25 feet from the baskets, except along the sides. The Eastern Professional Basketball League followed in its 1963–64 season, the three-point shot later became popularized by the American Basketball Association after its introduction in the 1967–68 season. Then commissioner of the ABA George Mikan stated the three-pointer would give the player a chance to score. During the 1970s, the ABA used the three-point shot, along with the slam dunk, in the 1979–80 season, the NBA adopted the three-point line despite the view of many that it was a gimmick. Chris Ford of the Boston Celtics is widely credited with making the first three-point shot in NBA history on October 12,1979, kevin Grevey of the Washington Bullets also made one on the same day. The sports international governing body, FIBA, introduced the three-point line in 1984, the NCAAs Southern Conference became the first collegiate conference to use the three-point rule, adopting a 22-foot line for the 1980–81 season. Ronnie Carr of Western Carolina University was the first to score a three-point field goal in basketball history on November 29,1980. Over the following five years, NCAA conferences differed in their use of the rule, used in conference play, it was adopted by the NCAA for the 1986–87 season at 19 ft 9 in, and was first used in the NCAA Tournament in 1987. In 2007, the NCAA lengthened the mens three point distance to 20 ft 9 in, with the coming into effect at the beginning of the 2008–09 season. American high schools, along with elementary and middle schools, adopted a 19 ft 9 in line nationally in 1987, a year after the NCAA. During the 1994–95, 1995–96, and 1996–97 seasons, the NBA attempted to address decreased scoring by shortening the distance of the line from 23 ft 9 in to a uniform 22 ft around the basket. From the 1997–98 season on, the NBA reverted the line to its distance of 23 ft 9 in. Ray Allen is currently the NBA all-time leader in career made three-pointers with 2,973, in 2008, FIBA announced that the distance would be increased by 50 cm to 6.75 m, with the change being phased in beginning in October 2010
17.
Free throw
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In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points from a restricted area on the court, and are generally awarded after a foul on the shooter by the opposing team. Each successful free throw is one point. Free throws can normally be shot at a percentage by good players. In the NBA, most players make 70–80% of their attempts, the leagues best shooters can make roughly 90% of their attempts over a season, while notoriously poor shooters may struggle to make 50% of them. During a foul shot, a players foot must be completely behind the foul line, if a player lines up with part of his or her foot on the line, a violation is called and the shot doesnt count. Foul shots are worth one point, Rick Barry and youngest Canyon Barry, both career 90% shooters who used an unusual underhand method, believes that 80% is the minimum for a player to be considered good at the free throw. Mark Price, who broke Barrys career record, states that 75% is the minimum, tall players often shoot free throws poorly, though theoretically taller players should be better at making them. One possible explanation for this is that the release point of their shots can cause them to stand overly erect. Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain made just 51, on the other hand, there have also been big men who have been prolific scorers from free throws, who not surprisingly also have good outside shooting range. Some examples include Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki who, at 7 ft 0 in, has an average of 88% and Yao Ming who. There are many situations when free throws can be awarded, The first and most common is when a player is fouled while in the act of shooting. If the player misses the shot during the foul, the player receives two or three free throws depending on whether the shot was taken in front of or behind the three-point line. If, despite the foul, the still makes the attempted shot, the number of free throws is reduced to one. This is known as a three-point or four-point play, depending on the value of the made basket, the second is when the fouling team is in the team bonus situation. This happens when, in a period, a team commits a set number of fouls whether or not in the act of shooting. In the WNBA, the player shoots two free throws starting with the opponents fifth foul, or second team foul in the final minute if that team has committed under 5 fouls in a period. In NCAA mens basketball, beginning with the foul of the half, one free throw is awarded, if the player makes the free throw. This is called shooting a one-and-one, starting with the tenth foul of the half, two free throws are awarded
18.
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
19.
Block (basketball)
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In basketball, a block or blocked shot occurs when a defensive player legally deflects a field goal attempt from an offensive player. The defender is not allowed to contact with the offensive players hand or a foul is called. In order to be legal, the block must occur while the shot is traveling upward or at its apex. A deflected field goal that is made does not count as a blocked shot, every successful blocked shot is counted as a missed field goal attempt for the shooter. Also, on a foul, a blocked shot cannot be awarded or counted. If the ball is heading downward when the defender hits it, it is ruled as goaltending, goaltending is also called if the block is made after the ball bounces on the backboard. Nicknames for blocked shots include rejections, stuffs, bushed, fudged, or notably double-fudged, facials, swats, denials, blocked shots were first officially recorded in the NBA during the 1973–74 season. To be a good shot-blocker, a player needs great court sense and timing, one tactic is that a shot-blocker can intimidate opponents to alter their shots, resulting in a miss. A chase-down block occurs when a player pursues an opposing player who had run ahead of the defense, often, the block involves hitting the ball into the backboard as the opponent tries to complete a lay-up. Pistons announcer Fred McLeod, who first witnessed this style of blocks from Prince, during the 2008–09 NBA season, the Cavaliers began tracking chase-down blocks, crediting LeBron James with 23 that season and 20 the following season. Career block leaders on Basketball-Reference. com Bill Russell Block Art on YouTube
20.
Baylor University
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Baylor University is a private Baptist university in Waco, Texas. It is the largest Baptist university in the world, the universitys 1, 000-acre campus is located on the banks of the Brazos River next to I-35, between the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and Austin. Baylor Universitys athletic teams, known as the Bears, participate in 19 intercollegiate sports, the university is a member of the Big 12 Conference in the NCAA Division I. In 1841,35 delegates to the Union Baptist Association meeting voted to adopt the suggestion of Rev. William Milton Tryon, Baylor to establish a Baptist university in Texas, then an independent republic. Baylor, a Texas district judge and onetime U. S, congressman and soldier from Alabama, became the schools namesake. In the fall of 1844, the Texas Baptist Education Society petitioned the Congress of the Republic of Texas to charter a Baptist university, Republic President Anson Jones signed the Act of Congress on February 1,1845, officially establishing Baylor University. The founders built the university campus in Independence, Texas. Rev. James Huckins, the first Southern Baptist missionary to Texas, was Baylors first full-time fundraiser and he is considered the third founding father of the university. Although these three men are credited as being the founders of the university, many others worked to see the first university established in Texas, the noted Texas revolutionary war leader and hero Sam Houston gave the first $5,000 donation to start the university. In 1854, Houston was also baptized by the Rev. Rufus Columbus Burleson, future Baylor President, during the 1846 school year Baylor leaders would begin including chapel as part of the Baylor educational experience. The tradition continues today and has been a part of the life of students for over 160 years. Baylor and Abner S. Lipscomb of the Texas Supreme Court began teaching classes in the science of law, making Baylor the first in Texas, during this time Stephen Decatur Rowe would earn the first degree awarded by Baylor. He would be followed by the first female graduate, Mary Kavanaugh Gentry, in 1851, Baylors second president Rufus Columbus Burleson decided to separate the students by sex, making the Baylor Female College an independent and separate institution. Baylor University became an all-male institution, during this time, Baylor thrived as the only university west of the Mississippi offering instruction in law, mathematics, and medicine. At the time a Baylor education cost around $8–$15 per term for tuition, and many of the early leaders of the Republic of Texas, such as Sam Houston, would later send their children to Baylor to be educated. For the first half of the American Civil War, the Baylor president was George Washington Baines, maternal great-grandfather of the future U. S. President, Lyndon Baines Johnson. He worked vigorously to sustain the university during the Civil War, following the war, the city of Independence slowly declined, primarily caused by the rise of neighboring cities being serviced by the Santa Fe Railroad. Because Independence lacked a railroad line, university fathers began searching for a location to build a new campus, beginning in 1885, Baylor University moved to Waco, Texas, a growing town on the railroad line
21.
Duke University
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Duke University is an American private research university located in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the town of Trinity in 1838. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James Buchanan Duke established The Duke Endowment, at time the institution changed its name to honor his deceased father. Dukes campus spans over 8,600 acres on three campuses in Durham as well as a marine lab in Beaufort. The main campus—designed largely by architect Julian Abele—incorporates Gothic architecture with the 210-foot Duke Chapel at the campus center, the first-year-populated East Campus contains Georgian-style architecture, while the main Gothic-style West Campus 1.5 miles away is adjacent to the Medical Center. Duke is the seventh-wealthiest private university in America with $11.4 billion in cash, Dukes research expenditures in the 2015 fiscal year were $1.037 billion, the seventh largest in the nation. In 2014, Thomson Reuters named 32 of Dukes professors to its list of Highly Cited Researchers, Duke also ranks fifth among national universities to have produced Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, Goldwater, and Udall Scholars. Ten Nobel laureates and three Turing Award winners are affiliated with the university, Dukes sports teams compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference and the basketball team is renowned for having won five NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Championships, most recently in 2015. Duke is consistently included among the best universities in the world by numerous university rankings, according to a Forbes study, Duke is ranked 11th among universities that have produced billionaires. Duke started in 1838 as Browns Schoolhouse, a subscription school founded in Randolph County in the present-day town of Trinity. Organized by the Union Institute Society, a group of Methodists and Quakers, the academy was renamed Normal College in 1851 and then Trinity College in 1859 because of support from the Methodist Church. Carr donated land in 1892 for the original Durham campus, which is now known as East Campus, in 1924 Washington Dukes son, James B. Duke, established The Duke Endowment with a $40 million trust fund, income from the fund was to be distributed to hospitals, orphanages, the Methodist Church, and four colleges. Duke thought the change would come off as self-serving. Money from the endowment allowed the University to grow quickly, Dukes original campus, East Campus, was rebuilt from 1925 to 1927 with Georgian-style buildings. By 1930, the majority of the Collegiate Gothic-style buildings on the one mile west were completed. In 1878, Trinity awarded A. B. degrees to three sisters—Mary, Persis, and Theresa Giles—who had studied both with private tutors and in classes with men. With the relocation of the college in 1892, the Board of Trustees voted to allow women to be formally admitted to classes as day students
22.
Louisiana Tech
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Louisiana Tech University, colloquially referred to as Louisiana Tech or La. Tech, is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. Also, the FAA named Louisiana Tech to the National Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, the university is known for its engineering and science programs. Louisiana Tech opened as the Industrial Institute and College of Louisiana in 1894 during the Second Industrial Revolution, the original mission of the college was for the education of students in the arts and sciences for the purpose of developing an industrial economy in post-Reconstruction Louisiana. Four years later in 1898, the constitution changed the schools name to Louisiana Industrial Institute. In 1921, the changed its name to Louisiana Polytechnic Institute to reflect its evolution into a larger. Under the leadership of Dr. F, Jay Taylor, the college continued to grow and change over time. Louisiana Polytechnic Institute became desegregated in the 1960s and officially changed its name to Louisiana Tech University in 1970 as the school developed into a research university. Louisiana Tech enrolled 12,694 students in five academic colleges during the Fall 2016 academic quarter including 1,400 students in the graduate school, Louisiana Tech fields 16 varsity NCAA Division I sports teams and is a member of Conference USA of the Football Bowl Subdivision. Ruston College, a forerunner to Louisiana Tech, was established in the middle 1880s by W. C and this institution lasted for seven years and had annual enrollments of about 250 students. Friley subsequently from 1892 to 1894 served as the first president of Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, on May 14,1894, the Lincoln Parish Police Jury held a special session to outline plans to secure a regional industrial school. The police jury called upon State Representative George M. Lomax to introduce the legislation during the upcoming session. Representative Lomax, Jackson Parish Representative J. T. M. Hancock, and journalist, lawyer, holstead fought for the passage of the bill. On July 6,1894, the bill was approved as Act No.68 of the General Assembly of Louisiana. The act established The Industrial Institute and College of Louisiana, an institute created for the education of white children in the arts. In 1894, Colonel Arthur T. Prescott was elected as the first president of the college and he moved to Ruston and began overseeing the construction of a two-story main building. The brick building housed eight classrooms, an auditorium, a chemical laboratory. A frame building was built nearby and was used for the instruction of mechanics
23.
Black Coaches & Administrators
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It currently is focused on athletics in North America, including professional leagues, college sports and high school athletics. The organization offers scholarships and actively promotes the hiring of ethnic minority coaches in professional, the BCA was formed in 1988 as the Black Coaches Association, when two separate African American coaching groups merged and extended their work to coaches in all sports. The organization has focused on improving the employment opportunities and professional development of ethnic minority coaches. Initially the organizations focus was on African Americans, but it has expanded to all minority ethnic groups. On May 31,2007, the name was changed to the Black Coaches & Administrators to clarify the expanding membership population of administrators. The BCA has long been critical of the lack of African American. Noting the high number of African American players in college football, the three hirings brought the total number of black FBS head coaches from 7 to 10, with the total increasing to 11 days later when one of the interviewees was hired. By the end of December, the number went to 12 when Kentucky replaced its retiring coach with his designated successor. In 2015, the changed its name to Advocates for Athletic Equity and expanded its role to promote the hiring of coaches. In addition to releasing reports on minority coaching hiring, the organization hosts several career development events for minority coaches, the BCA has sponsored college athletic events, the BCA Classics, in both basketball and football. The BCA Classic is a mens college basketball tournament held at various locations throughout the United States since 1994. Initially featuring a four teams playing two games, the field began expanding to a tournament format in 2000, to eight teams in 2004. The 1997 game was titled the Eddie Robinson Classic, while subsequent games were named the BCA Classic, the 2000 game was postponed when a lightning storm developed over Lane Stadium, the game was never rescheduled Official website
24.
Women's Basketball Coaches Association
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The Womens Basketball Coaches Association is an association of coaches of womens basketball teams at all levels. The organization was formed in 1981, with the goal of addressing the needs of womens basketball coaches, the mission of the WBCA is. An organizational meeting was held at the Olympic Festival in Syracuse, jill Hutchison was named the first president of the organization, before the organization even had a name. Later that year, Betty Jaynes was named the executive director of the organization. Jaynes was the coach of the James Madison University womens basketball team. She would serve as the Chief Executive Officer until retiring in November 2000, Bass joined the organization as Executive Director in 1997, and assumed the role of CEO after the retirement of Jaynes, who continues to serve as a consultant to the WBCA. The membership is open to all, including institutions. The main membership category is active comprising the coaching staff of NCAA Divisions I, II, in addition, there are membership categories for high school, AAU and recreational league coaches, as well as coaches on professional teams. Institutions are allowed to become members, finally, there are affiliate categories for administrators, industry professionals, players, and fans. An international membership category is available for individuals, regardless of category, living outside the U. S. All members are eligible to attend the WBCAs annual convention except for high school and college players. The active NABC membership consists solely of head coaches and full-time assistants at NCAA, Coaches at four-year institutions not affiliated with the NCAA or NAIA are ineligible for NABC membership at any level. By contrast, active WBCA membership is open even to coaches at four-year institutions unaffiliated with any national association, mens coaches at two-year schools are in the NABCs third-tier category of activity membership. By contrast, womens coaches at the type of schools are eligible for active WBCA membership. The NABC only offers fourth-level affiliate membership to directors of basketball operations, the WBCA considers individuals in the same role at womens basketball programs eligible for active membership, and also extends this privilege to those holding the position at two-year institutions. While certain administrators in mens basketball are eligible for affiliate NABC membership, the NABC does not offer any level of membership to institutions, players, or fans. The WBCA sponsors a variety of events throughout the year, the major event is the annual convention, coinciding both in timing and location with the Final Four weekend of the NCAA Womens Division I Basketball Championship. Other sponsored events occur throughout the year, some in conjunction with the annual convention, the main function of the convention is for business meetings, such as Board of Directors meetings, and other administrative meetings. The program also typically includes panel presentations including members and outside speakers, workshops, awards, the WBCA formerly sponsored an All America game, inviting twenty of the nations top high school female basketball players
25.
USA Basketball
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USA Basketball is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA and the mens and womens basketball teams in the United States Olympic Committee. Its chairman of the board is Jerry Colangelo and its director is Jim Tooley. The organization was founded in 1974 as the Amateur Basketball Association of the United States of America and it was renamed to USA Basketball on October 12,1989, after FIBA modified its rules to allow professional basketball players to compete in international competitions. In 2007, the USA was represented by the University of Northern Iowa, in 2003, the USA was represented by a Big 12 All Star team. In 2007, the USA was represented by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, william Jones Cup Team USA Womens Pan American Team United States womens national 3x3 team Official site Official facebook USA Basketball reports from Insidehoops. com
26.
2007 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
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The 2007 NCAA Division I Womens Basketball Tournament began on March 17,2007 and concluded on April 3 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The Final Four consisted of Tennessee, LSU, Rutgers, and North Carolina, tennessees Candace Parker was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. In the Fresno Regional, the second-seeded Stanford Cardinal fell to Florida State, in the regional final, LSU easily beat Connecticut, 73–50. In the Greensboro Regional, neither of the top two seeds made it to the regional final, the top seed, Duke, lost a one-point game to Rutgers, while the second seed, Vanderbilt, was ousted in the second round by Bowling Green. Third-seeded Rutgers beat the fourth seed, Arizona State, by 19 points in the regional final and they would not score another basket. The Lady Vols, who ended up hitting only 27% of the goal attempts, went on a 20–2 run. In the other semifinal, Rutgers faced LSU, rutgerss appearance in a Final Four game seemed improbable earlier in the season, when the Scarlet Knights lost four of their first six games, and played so poorly that their coach C. Vivian Stringer revoked their access to their locker room, Rutgers held her to five points while missing eight of her ten field goal attempts. Rutgers pulled out to a 37–19 lead at halftime, and went on to win, holding LSU to 35 points, in the championship game, Tennessee was too much for Rutgers. The Lady Vols had an eleven-point lead at halftime, which Rutgers cut to seven, Candace Parker scored 17 points, but Pat Summitt noted the contribution of their 5-foot 2-inch point guard Shannon Bobbitt, who hit two key three-pointers en route to scoring 13 points of her own. Once again, the system was the same as the Mens Division I Basketball Tournament, with the exception that only 64 teams go, automatic bids are secured by 31 conference champions and 33 at-large bids. The regionals, as they were in the two tournaments, were named after the city they were played in. Three pointers—Matee Ajavon, Rutgers high four of five three point field goals, the 80% completion ratio is tied for the best in a Final Four game. Points—LSU scored 35 points in the game, the fewest points scored in a Final Four game. Three pointers—Nadia Begay, Boise State, hit eight three point field goals in a first round game against George Washington, tied for the most scored in a first or second round game, sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Thirty-one conferences were eligible for a bid to the 2007 NCAA tournament. Thirty-three additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations, thirty-one conferences earned an automatic bid. In twenty-one cases, the bid was the only representative from the conference
27.
Russia
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Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
28.
EuroLeague
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Introduced in 2000, the competition replaced the FIBA EuroLeague, which had been run by FIBA since 1958. For Euroleague Basketball records purposes, the FIBA European Champions Cup and EuroLeague are considered to be the same competition, with the change of name being simply a re-branding. EuroLeague is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world, with an average attendance of 8,184. The EuroLeague title has been won by 20 different clubs,13 of which have won the more than once. The FIBA European Champions Cup was originally established by FIBA and it operated under its umbrella from 1958 until the summer of 2000 and that was when Euroleague Basketball was created. FIBA had never trademarked the EuroLeague name, even though it had used that name for the competition since 1996. Euroleague Basketball simply appropriated the name, and since FIBA had no recourse to do anything about it, it was forced to find a new name for its championship series. Thus, the following 2000–2001 season started with 2 separate top European professional club competitions, the FIBA SuproLeague. The rift in European professional club basketball initially showed no signs of letting up, in May 2001, Europe had two continental champions, Maccabi of the FIBA SuproLeague and Kinder Bologna of the Euroleague. The leaders of both organizations realized the need to come up with a unified competition, although only a year old, Euroleague Basketball negotiated from a position of strength and dictated proceedings. FIBA essentially had no choice but to agree to Euroleague Basketballs terms, as a result, European club competition was fully integrated under Euroleague Basketballs umbrella and teams that competed in the FIBA SuproLeague during the 2000–01 season joined it as well. In essence, the authority in European professional basketball was divided over club-country lines, FIBA stayed in charge of national team competitions, while Euroleague Basketball took over the European professional club competitions. From that point on, FIBAs Korać Cup and Saporta Cup competitions lasted only one season before folding. In November 2015, Euroleague Basketball and IMG agreed on 10-year joint venture, both Euroleague Basketball and IMG will manage the commercial operation, and the management of all global rights covering both media and marketing. The deal was worth €630 million euros guaranteed, with projected revenues reaching €900 million euros, FIBA era, FIBA European Champions Cup, FIBA European League, FIBA EuroLeague, FIBA SuproLeague, Euroleague Basketball era, Euroleague. *There were two separate competitions during the 2000–01 season, the SuproLeague, which was organized by FIBA, and the Euroleague, which was organized by Euroleague Basketball. On 26 July 2010, Turkish Airlines and Euroleague Basketball announced a €15 million strategic agreement to sponsor the top European basketball competition across the globe, according to the agreement, starting with the 2010–11 season, the top European competition would be named Turkish Airlines Euroleague Basketball. Similarly, the EuroLeague Final Four would be named the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four and this title partnership was set to run for five seasons, with the option of extending it to an additional five
29.
Stephanie White
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As an intercollegiate athlete, she was named the winner of the Wade Trophy in 1999, which recognizes the top female basketball player in the nation. White was the 1995 Indiana Miss Basketball and was also named 1995 Gatorade National Player of the Year, White attended Seeger High School in West Lebanon, Indiana, where she was named a High School All-American by the WBCA. She participated in the WBCA High School All-America Game in 1995, scoring seventeen points and she led Purdue University to the 1999 NCAA Womens National Championship in basketball. She played five years in the WNBA, one with the Charlotte Sting and she was named head coach on September 23,2014, making her the youngest active coach in the league. White competed with USA Basketball as a member of the 1997 Jones Cup Team that won the medal in Taipei. Several of the games were close, with the USA team winning four games by six points or fewer, the gold medal game against South Korea was also close, but the USA fell 76–71 to claim the silver medal for the event. White was the leading scorer for the team, averaging 10.3 points per game. 1999—Wade Trophy 1999—Winner of the Honda Sports Award for basketball White began her five-year WNBA career with the Charlotte Sting in 1999 under her married name and she was acquired a year later in an expansion draft by the Indiana Fever to lead the team’s inaugural season roster. After four years with the Fever, she ranked third in games played and she averaged 5.9 points and 2.0 assists per game. She retired from the WNBA in 2004, and went on to become the assistant coach at Ball State, Kansas State, White was involved in all aspects of the basketball program, including recruiting, on-floor coaching, scouting, individual workouts and academic support. After a four-year stint as an assistant, White took over the coaching duties for the Indiana Fever following Lin Dunns retirement. In her first season, she led the Fever to their second WNBA Finals appearance, Indiana went 20-14 overall in Whites debut season. In here second season with the Fever, White finished the season with a 17-17 record, on May 23,2016, White accepted the head coaching job for the Vanderbilt womens basketball team. She completed the 2016 season with the Fever finishing her time there with a 37-31 overall record, White and her spouse, Michelle Fletcher, reside in Nashville, TN with their three young children
30.
Vanderbilt Commodores women's basketball
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The Vanderbilt Commodores womens basketball team represents Vanderbilt University in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference. The current head coach is Stephanie White, who was coach of the Indiana Fever when she was hired in 2016. White replaced Melanie Balcomb, who resigned after the 2015–16 season, the Commodores play their home games in Memorial Gymnasium. Memorial Gymnasium was built in the early 1950s and it was dedicated as the campus memorial to students and alumni killed in World War II, a plaque commemorating those who died is displayed in the Gyms North lobby. Consequently, the floor was built up above its surroundings. This necessitated the placement of the benches at the end of the court, in addition, each goal was anchored by two far-reaching beams attached to support columns, with extra support coming from cables stretching all the way to the gyms ceiling. In the case of a backboard shatter or beam fracture, replacing these goals would be highly difficult, Memorial Gym is well known for its unusual design
31.
Serbia and Montenegro
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Serbia and Montenegro, officially the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, was a country in Southeast Europe, created from the two remaining republics of Yugoslavia after its breakup in 1992. The republics of Serbia and Montenegro together established a federation in 1992 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the FRY aspired to be a sole legal successor to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, but those claims were opposed by other former republics. The United Nations also denied its request to continue the membership of the former state. It re-applied for UN membership on 27 October and was admitted on 1 November 2000, the FRY was initially dominated by Slobodan Milošević as President of Serbia and then President of Yugoslavia. Milošević installed and forced the removal of several presidents and prime ministers. However, the Montenegrin government, initially enthusiastic supporters of Milošević, a loose union, Serbia and Montenegro were united only in certain realms, such as defense. The two constituent republics functioned separately throughout the period of the Federal Republic, and continued to operate under separate economic policies, on 21 May 2006, the Montenegrin independence referendum was held, and 55. 5% of voters voted in favor of independence. The state union came to an end after Montenegros formal declaration of independence on 3 June 2006, after the dissolution, Serbia became the legal successor of the union, while Montenegro re-applied for membership in international organizations. With the collapse of communism across Eastern Europe, the new state followed the wave of democratic change, Yugoslavias collapse began in 1991 when Slovenia, Croatia, and the Republic of Macedonia declared independence. On 26 December 1991, Serbia, Montenegro, and the Serb rebel-held territories in Croatia agreed that they would form a new third Yugoslavia. Zulfikarpašić believed that Bosnia could benefit from a union with Serbia, Montenegro, the FRY was suspended from a number of international institutions. This was due to the ongoing Yugoslav wars during the 1990s, the Government of Yugoslavia supported Croatian and Bosnian Serbs in the wars from 1992 to 1995. Because of that, the country was under economic and political sanctions, in this way, every Bosnian Serb was transferred from the Yugoslav army to what became the newly created Bosnian Serb Army. Through this, the Bosnian Serb army also received military equipment and full funding from the FRY. Furthermore, Serbian Radical Party founder and paramilitary Vojislav Šešelj claimed that President Milošević personally asked him to send paramilitaries into Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1995, Serbian President Slobodan Milošević represented the FRY and Bosnian Serbs at peace talks in Dayton, Ohio, US, from 1996, the first public signs of political discord between parts of Montenegrin leadership and the Serbian leadership began to appear. Milošević did not respond to the platform, considering it unconstitutional, by October 2000 Milošević had lost power in Serbia. Subsequent governments of Montenegro carried out policies, and political tensions with Serbia simmered despite political changes in Belgrade
32.
2004 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
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The Final Four was held at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 4–6,2004, and was hosted by Tulane University. UConn, coached by Geno Auriemma, defeated archrivals Tennessee, coached by Pat Summitt, uConns Diana Taurasi was named Most Outstanding Player for the second consecutive year. The tournament was notable as UC Santa Barbara became the first double digit seed not to lose by a double digit margin in the Sweet 16 as they lost to UConn 63-57. Thirty-one conferences were eligible for a bid to the 2004 NCAA tournament. Thirty-three additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations, thirty-one conferences earned an automatic bid. In twenty-three cases, the bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-three additional at-large teams were selected from eight of the conferences, in 2004, the field remained at 64 teams. The teams were seeded, and assigned to four geographic regions, sixteen sites for the first two rounds were determined approximately a year before the team selections and seedings were completed, following a practice established in 2003. C. Tennessee had the most teams with six bids, eighteen states did not have any teams receiving bids. Data Source E-East, ME-Mideast, MW-Midwest, W-West
33.
2005 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
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The 2005 NCAA Division I Womens Basketball Tournament began on March 19,2005 and concluded on April 5,2005 when Baylor was crowned as the new national champion. The Final Four was held for the first time at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana on April 3 and 5,2005, and was hosted by Butler University and the Horizon League. Baylor, coached by Kim Mulkey-Robertson, defeated Michigan State, coached by Joanne P. McCallie, baylors Sophia Young was named Most Outstanding Player. In three of the four regions, the one seed in the region advanced to the Final Four. In the Philadelphia Regional, Tennessee faced Purdue in the second round, the victory represented the 880th win for coach Pat Summitt, moving her beyond Dean Smith 879 career victories, to claim the top spot in college basketball career victories. Rutgers upset Ohio State to advance to the final. In the Kansas City Regional, top seeded Michigan State defeated the 2 seed Stanford to advance, the single exception was in the Tempe Regional, where second seeded Baylor upset North Carolina to earn a spot at the Final Four. In one semifinal, Baylor faced LSU, five years earlier, Baylor had won just seven games against twenty losses, and had never been to an NCAA Tournament. Then they hired Kim Mulkey, who coached the team to an NCAA berth in her first year, however, thirteen minutes into the game, LSU led 24–9. The two teams had played before, in the regular season game game for Baylor. In that game the Lady Bears found themselves down by 19 points at halftime and they almost closed the gap, but ended up with a one-point loss. This time, they found themselves down again by a large margin, Mulkey called a timeout, and the team responded with six straight points. Not long after, a cut the lead to six. After the break, LSU retook the lead, and were up by four points with just over eight minutes to play, Baylor retook the lead, and held on to win 68–57 to advance to the championship game. In the second semifinal, Tennessee faced Michigan State, who were playing in their first Final Four, the Lady Vols had a six-point lead at halftime, but extended the lead to 16 points with fourteen and a half minutes to go. Although the crowd had watched Baylor recover from a 15-point deficit earlier in the even ling and this time, the deficit was 16 and just over 14 minutes left. The Spartans cut into the lead, and with a minute to go had tied the game. At that point Kristin Haynie, who had scored two points in the game, stole the ball and ran almost the length of the floor to score a layup
