1.
New Bern, North Carolina
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New Bern /ˈnuːbərn/ is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524 and it is the county seat of Craven County and the principal city of the New Bern Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located at the confluence of the Trent and the Neuse rivers and it lies 112 miles east of Raleigh,87 miles northeast of Wilmington, and 162 miles south of Norfolk. New Bern is the birthplace of Pepsi Cola, New Bern was settled in 1710 by Swiss and Palatine German immigrants. The new colonists named the settlement after Bern, the capital of Switzerland, the English connection with Switzerland had been established by some Marian exiles who sought refuge in Protestant parts of Switzerland. There were also marriages between the Royal House of Stuart and notable people in the history of Calvinism, the colonists later discovered they had started their settlement on the site of a former Tuscarora village named Chattoka. This caused conflicts with the Tuscaroras who were in the area, New Bern is the second-oldest European-American colonial town in North Carolina. It served as the capital of the North Carolina colonial government, after the American Revolution, New Bern became wealthy and quickly developed a rich cultural life. At one time New Bern was called the Athens of the South, renowned for its Masonic Temple and these are both still very active today. Within easy walking distance of the waterfront are more than 164 homes, also nearby are several bed and breakfasts, hotels, restaurants, banks, antiques stores and specialty shops. The historic districts contain many of the citys 2,000 crape myrtles—its official flower—and developed gardens, New Bern has two Local Historic Districts, a municipal zoning overlay that affords legal protection to the exteriors of New Berns irreplaceable historic structures. These areas provide much of New Berns unique charm, appeal to retirees and heritage tourism, the Local Historic Districts, while vitally important to New Bern, comprise only 2. 43% of New Berns 27-square-mile area. There is considerable area available for new development, varying complex cultures of indigenous peoples had lived along the waterways of North Carolina for thousands of years before Europeans explored the area. The Tuscarora, an Iroquoian-speaking people, had migrated south from the Great Lakes area in ancient time. They had an ancient village, Chattoka, here at the confluence of the rivers and they resisted encroachment by the Europeans, rising up in resistance in 1712. New Bern was first settled by Europeans in 1710 by Swiss and Palatine German immigrants under the leadership of Christoph von Graffenried, Franz Louis Michel and they named the settlement after Bern, von Graffenrieds home town that would later become the capital of Switzerland. Von Graffenried had the original plat of the laid out in the shape of a cross, though later development. This became the first permanent seat of the government of North Carolina
2.
College Park, Georgia
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College Park is a city in the U. S. state of Georgia, adjacent to the southern boundary of the city of Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, the population was 13,942, College Park is located on the border of Fulton and Clayton counties at 33°38′54″N 84°27′22″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 10.1 square miles, of which 0.019 square miles. College Parks City Hall is 8 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta, Interstate 85 passes through the city and merges with Interstate 285, the perimeter highway around Atlanta, for a short distance in the southern part of College Park. I-85 exits 69 through 72 and I-285 exits 60 and 62 are located within the College Park city limits, the western part of Hartsfield–Jackson Airport, including its domestic terminal, occupies the eastern side of the city. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority provides heavy rail and bus services in College Park. The College Park Station is the station for College Park, located just south of Downtown. It is serviced by both the Gold Line and the Red Line during the day, and only the Gold Line after 9,00 PM. Zion* The community that would become College Park was founded as Atlantic City in 1890 as a depot on the Atlanta, the town was renamed Manchester when it was incorporated as a city in 1891. It was renamed again as the city of College Park in 1896, the city has 853 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior. The citys name came from being the home of Cox College, the east-west avenues in College Park are named for Ivy League colleges, and the north-south streets are named for influential College Park residents. The College Park Womans Club, one of the oldest in Georgia, is located in Camellia Hall on Main Street, due to its history, architecture and old world charm, many couples have chosen Camellia Hall as a wedding space for their very special day. College Park has three city recreation centers—the Wayman & Bessie Brady Recreation Center, the Hugh C, Conley Recreation Center, and the Godby Road Recreation Center) The 1st Two (Wayman & Bessie Brady Recreation Center, the Hugh C. Conley Recreation Center were opened in 1956 and named in honor of three prominent city residents, Wayman and Bessie Brady, and Hugh C, when they were opened, they were segregated, white people used the Conley Center, while black people used the Brady Center. Both were equipped with basketball gymnasiums, after desegregation took place, Conley was used for gymnastics and Brady was used for basketball. The Brady Center has one of the programs in Georgia. College Park is home to the College Park Municipal Golf Course, the course is nine holes and is built on very hilly terrain. As of the census of 2000, there were 20,382 people,7,810 households, the population density was 2,099.8 people per square mile
3.
Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball
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The Indiana Hoosiers mens basketball team is the intercollegiate mens basketball program representing Indiana University. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in NCAA Division I, the Hoosiers play on Branch McCracken Court at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana on the Indiana University Bloomington campus. Indiana has won five NCAA Championships in mens basketball — the first two under coach Branch McCracken and the three under Bob Knight. The Hoosiers five NCAA Championships are tied for fourth in history with Duke, trailing only UCLA, Kentucky, Indianas 1976 squad remains the last undefeated NCAA mens basketball champion. The Hoosiers are seventh in NCAA Tournament appearances, seventh in NCAA Tournament victories, ninth in Final Four appearances, the Hoosiers have won 22 Big Ten Conference Championships and have the best winning percentage in conference games at nearly 60 percent. No team has had more All-Big Ten selections than the Hoosiers with 53, the Hoosiers also rank seventh in all-time AP poll appearances and sixth in the number of weeks spent ranked No.1. Every four-year mens basketball letterman since 1973 has earned a trip to the NCAA basketball tournament, additionally, every four-year player since 1950 has played on a nationally ranked squad at Indiana. The Hoosiers are among the most storied programs in the history of college basketball, a 2012 study listed Indiana as the third most valuable collegiate basketball program in the country. Indiana has ranked in the top 15 nationally in basketball attendance every season since Assembly Hall opened in 1972. Indiana has three main rivalries including in-state, against the Purdue Boilermakers, and out-of-state, against the Kentucky Wildcats, Indiana players wear warm-up pants that are striped red and white, like the stripes of a candy cane. They were first worn by the team in the 1970s under head coach Bob Knight, at the time they were in keeping with the fashion trends of the 1970s, but despite changing styles they have since become an iconic part of playing for Indiana. IU star guard Steve Alford said, As you watch television and you watch the IU games, so when you finally got to put those on, those are pretty special. Rusty Stillions, Director of Indianas Equipment Operations, said the pants were originally only for team members. However, changes in licensing agreements permitted the public to buy them as well. They have since become a staple at games and other Indiana basketball events, beginning in 2014, during Hoosier Hysteria, former IU basketball players have presented to the new players their first pair of candy striped pants. This practice symbolizes a passing-of-the-torch and carrying on the rich tradition, the team is widely noted for their simple game jerseys. Unlike most schools, Indiana doesnt have players names on the back of jerseys that players wear on the court, the notion behind the nameless jerseys is that players play for the team name on the front, not the individuals name on the back. In keeping with Indianas longstanding principle of putting team over player, adidas is the current outfitter of Indiana athletics
4.
Washington Wizards
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The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D. C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association, as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its games at the Verizon Center, in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington. The team now known as the Wizards began playing as the Chicago Packers in 1961, as the first modern expansion team in NBA history, an expansion prompted by Abe Sapersteins American Basketball League. Rookie Walt Bellamy was the star, averaging 31.6 points per game,19.0 rebounds per game. During the All-Star game, Bellamy represented the team while scoring 23 points, Bellamy was named the league Rookie of the Year, but was the team finished with the NBAs worst record at 18-62. The teams original nickname was a nod to Chicagos meatpacking industry, their home arena, however, it was extremely unpopular since it was the same nickname used by the NFLs Green Bay Packers, bitter rivals of the Chicago Bears. After only one year, the changed its name to the Chicago Zephyrs. Their only season as the Zephyrs boasted former Purdue star Terry Dischinger, in their first year in Baltimore, the Bullets finished fourth in a five–team Western Division. Prior to the 1964–65 NBA season the Bullets pulled off a trade, sending Dischinger, Rod Thorn and Don Kojis to the Detroit Pistons for Bailey Howell, Don Ohl, Bob Ferry. The trade worked out well, Howell proved to be a hustling, in the 1965 NBA Playoffs, the Bullets stunned the St. Louis Hawks 3–1, and advanced to the Western Conference finals. In the finals, Baltimore managed to split the first four games with the Los Angeles Lakers before losing the series 4–2. In the late 1960s, the Bullets drafted two future Hall of Fame members, Earl Monroe, in the 1967 draft, number two overall, and Wes Unseld, in the 1968 draft, also number two overall. The team improved dramatically, from 36 wins the season to 57 in the 1968–69 season. The Bullets reached the playoffs with high expectations to go far, the next season the two teams met again in the first round, and although this one went to seven games, the Knicks emerged victorious again. In the 1970–71 season, the 42–40 Bullets again met the 1970–71 Knicks and they were swept in four games by the powerful Milwaukee Bucks led by future Hall of Fame members Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson. Even after the trades of Earl Monroe and Gus Johnson, the Bullets remained a playoff contender throughout the 1970s. Following a less than spectacular 1971–72 season, Baltimore acquired Elvin Hayes from the Houston Rockets and drafted Kevin Porter in the third round, out of St. Francis in Pennsylvania
5.
Center (basketball)
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The center, also known as the five or the big man, is one of the five positions in a regular basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a deal of strength. The tallest player to ever be drafted in the NBA was the 78 Yasutaka Okayama from Japan, the tallest players to ever play in the NBA, at 77, are centers Gheorghe Mureșan and Manute Bol. Standing at 72, Margo Dydek is the tallest player to have played in the WNBA. The center is considered a component for a successful team. But recently, the NBA has turned into a point guard league, great centers have been the foundation for most of the dynasties in both the NBA and NCAA. In the 1960s, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain further transformed basketball by combining height with a level of athleticism than previous centers. Following the retirement of George Mikan, the rivalry of the two big men came to dominate the NBA, many of the records set by these two players have endured today. Most notably, Chamberlain and Russell hold the top eighteen season averages for rebounds, Bill Russell led the University of San Francisco to two consecutive NCAA Championships. He joined the Boston Celtics and helped make them one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history, Russell revolutionized defensive strategy with his shot-blocking, rebounding and physical man-to-man defense. His principal rival, Wilt Chamberlain, listed at 71,275 pounds, Chamberlain played college ball for the Kansas Jayhawks, leading them to the 1957 title game against the North Carolina Tar Heels. Although the Jayhawks lost by one point in overtime, Chamberlain was named the tournaments Most Outstanding Player. He also won seven scoring titles, eleven rebounding titles, and four regular season Most Valuable Player awards, including the distinction, in 1960, stronger than any player of his era, he was usually capable of scoring and rebounding at will. Most notably, Chamberlain is the player in NBA history to average more than 50 points in a season. He also holds the NBAs all-time records for rebounding average, rebounds in a single game, in contrast to the Celtics dynasty of the 1960s, the 1970s were a decade of parity in the NBA, with eight different champions and no back-to-back winners. At the college level, the UCLA Bruins, under Coach John Wooden, built the greatest dynasty in NCAA basketball history, UCLA had already won two consecutive titles in 1964 and 1965 with teams that pressed and emphasized guard play. After not winning in 1966, Woodens teams changed their style when Lew Alcindor became eligible and he led UCLA to three championships-in 1967,68 and 69-while winning the first Naismith College Player of the Year Award. During his college career, the NCAA enacted a ban on dunking primarily because of Alcindors dominant use of the shot
6.
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
7.
Detroit Pistons
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The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Central Division. The team plays its games at The Palace of Auburn Hills and was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons in 1941. The Pistons joined the Basketball Association of America in 1948, in 1949, the NBL and BAA merged to become the NBA, and the Pistons became part of the merged league. Since moving to Detroit in 1957, the Pistons have won three NBA championships in 1989,1990 and 2004. The Detroit Pistons franchise was founded as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, owners Fred Zollner and his sister Janets Zollner Corporation was a foundry, manufacturing pistons, primarily for car, truck and locomotive engines. The Zollner Pistons were NBL champions in 1944 and 1945 and they also won the World Professional Basketball Tournament in 1944,1945 and 1946. In 1948, the became the Fort Wayne Pistons, competing in the Basketball Association of America. In 1949, Fred Zollner brokered the formation of the National Basketball Association from the BAA, there are suggestions that Pistons players conspired with gamblers to shave points and throw various games during the 1953–54 and 1954–55 seasons. In particular, there are accusations that the team may have intentionally lost the 1955 NBA Finals to the Syracuse Nationals, in the decisive Game 7, the Pistons led Syracuse 41–24 early in the second quarter, then the Nationals rallied to win the game. Syracuse won on a throw by George King with twelve seconds left in the game. After the 1956–57 season, Zollner decided that Fort Wayne was too small to support an NBA team, although it was the fifth largest city in the United States at the time, Detroit had not seen professional basketball in a decade. In 1947, they had lost the Detroit Gems of the NBL, Zollner decided to keep the Pistons name, believing it made sense given Detroits status as the center of the automobile industry. The new Detroit Pistons played in Olympia Stadium for their first four seasons, the franchise was a consistent disappointment, struggling both on the court and at the box office. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Pistons were characterized by strong individuals. In fact, in their first 27 years in Detroit, they only had three winning seasons, some of the superstars who played for the team included Dave DeBusschere, Dave Bing, Jimmy Walker, and Bob Lanier. At one point DeBusschere was the youngest player-coach in the history of the NBA, DeBusschere became a key player in leading the Knicks to two NBA titles. Detroit qualified for the postseason in four seasons, but never advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs
8.
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
9.
Utah Jazz
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The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Western Conference Northwest Division. Since 1991, the team has played its games at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The franchise began play in 1974 as the New Orleans Jazz, a team based in New Orleans. The Jazz were one of the least successful teams in the league in their early years, although 10 seasons elapsed before the Jazz qualified for their first playoff appearance in 1984, they did not miss the playoffs again until 2004. During the late 1980s, John Stockton and Karl Malone arose as the players for the team. Both Stockton and Malone moved on in 2003, after missing the playoffs for three consecutive seasons the Jazz returned to prominence under the on-court leadership of point guard Deron Williams. However, partway through the 2010–11 NBA season, the Jazz began restructuring after Sloans retirement, the team has made the playoffs once since then, in 2012 under coach Tyrone Corbin. Quin Snyder was hired as coach in June 2014. Valued in 2015 at $850 million by Forbes, the Jazz rank as the 20th most valuable franchise in the NBA ahead of the Indiana Pacers, on June 7,1974, the New Orleans Jazz were admitted as an expansion franchise into the National Basketball Association. Team officials selected the name because of its definition in the dictionary, the team began its inaugural season in New Orleans in the 1974–75 season. Maravich struggled with injuries from that season onward. Venue issues were a problem for the team while it was based in New Orleans. Later, they played games in the cavernous Louisiana Superdome, but things were no better, due to demand for the stadium, onerous lease terms. Years later, founding owner Sam Battistone claimed that there was no plan in case the Jazz ever qualified for the playoffs. The pick would have been the Jazzs had they not traded it to acquire Gail Goodrich two years earlier, despite being barely competitive, the Jazz drew well during their first five years. However, by 1979 the franchise was sinking financially, barry Mendelson, the teams executive vice president for most of the early years, said one factor in the financial trouble was an 11 percent amusement tax, highest in the U. S. at the time. The team also could not attract much local corporate support—an important factor even in those days—or local investors, Battistone concluded that the franchise could not be viable in New Orleans and decided to move elsewhere
10.
NBA Rookie of the Year Award
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The National Basketball Associations Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association award given to the top rookie of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy, the winner is selected by a panel of United States and Canadian sportswriters and broadcasters, each casting first, second, and third place votes. The player with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, the most recent Rookie of the Year winner is Karl-Anthony Towns. Twenty-one winners were drafted first overall, fourteen winners have also won the NBA Most Valuable Player award in their careers, Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld earning both honors the same season. Nineteen of the forty two non-active winners have been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Three seasons had joint winners—Dave Cowens and Geoff Petrie in the 1970–71 season, Grant Hill and Jason Kidd in the 1994–95 season, five players won the award unanimously – Ralph Sampson, David Robinson, Blake Griffin, Damian Lillard, and Karl-Anthony Towns. Prior to the 1952–53 season, the Rookie of the Year was selected by newspaper writers, however, National Basketball Association portal NBA Development League Rookie of the Year Award NBA Rookie of the Month Award General Specific
11.
United States Basketball Writers Association
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The United S The USBWA annually awards college scholarships to students pursuing careers in sports journalism and to children of USBWA members. The USBWA annually selects a player of the year and All-America teams for men and women in college basketball. The USBWA mens player of the award, called the Oscar Robertson Trophy, was first established in 1959 and is considered to be the nations oldest such award in college basketball. The USBWA also selects a coach of the year for men and women. The USBWA also chooses a USBWA National Freshman of the Year in mens and womens basketball, in addition, the USBWA presents a number of other awards, Two Most Courageous Awards—one for mens basketball, and the other for womens basketball. Each is presented to a player, coach, or official in college basketball who demonstrates extraordinary courage in life, the womens version is officially known as the Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award, named after the legendary Tennessee coach. The Katha Quinn award, in honor of the former Sports Information Director at St. Johns University, USBWA also divides the country into nine districts, naming for each a Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, and an All-District Team. The USBWA also honors past and current members for career achievements with the USBWA Hall of Fame
12.
United Press International
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At its peak, it had more than 6,000 media subscribers. It was headed by Hugh Baillie from 1935 to 1955, at the time of his retirement, UP had 2,900 clients in the United States, and 1,500 abroad. In 1958 it became United Press International after absorbing the International News Service, at its peak, UPI had more than 2,000 full-time employees, and 200 news bureaus in 92 countries, it had more than 6,000 media subscribers. With the rising popularity of news, the business of UPI began to decline as the circulation of afternoon newspapers, its chief client category. Its decline accelerated after the 1982 sale of UPI by the Scripps company, the E. W. Scripps Company controlled United Press until its absorption of William Randolph Hearsts smaller competing agency, INS, in 1958 to form UPI. With the Hearst Corporation as a minority partner, UPI continued under Scripps management until 1982, since its sale in 1982, UPI has changed ownership several times and was twice in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. With each change in ownership came deeper service and staff cutbacks and changes of focus, since the 1999 sale of its broadcast client list to its one-time major rival, the AP, UPI has concentrated on smaller information market niches. It no longer services media organizations in a major way, in 2000, UPI was purchased by News World Communications, an international news media company founded in 1976 by Unification Church leader Sun Myung Moon. It now maintains a website and photo service and electronically publishes several information product packages. It also sells a premium service, which has deeper coverage and analysis of emerging threats, the security industry, UPIs content is presented in text, video and photo formats, in the English, Spanish and Arabic languages. UPIs main office is in the Miami metropolitan area and it maintains office locations in five countries and uses freelance journalists in other major cities. Beginning with the Cleveland Press, publisher E. W. Scripps created the first chain of newspapers in the United States, Scripps also hoped to make a profit from selling that news to papers owned by others. At that time and until World War II, most newspapers relied on news agencies for stories outside their geographic areas. Despite strong newspaper industry opposition, UP started to sell news to the new and competitive radio medium in 1935, years before competitor AP, controlled by the newspaper industry, Scripps United Press was considered a scrappy alternative news source to the AP. UP reporters were called Unipressers and were noted for their aggressive and competitive streak. UP became a training ground for generations of journalists. Walter Cronkite, who started with United Press in Kansas City, gained fame for his coverage of World War II in Europe and that was part of the spirit. But we knew we could do a good job despite that
13.
Rebound (basketball)
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In basketball, a rebound, colloquially referred to as a board, is a statistic awarded to a player who retrieves the ball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds are also given to a player who tips in a shot on his teams offensive end. Rebounds in basketball are a part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made. A rebound can be grabbed by either a player or a defensive player. The majority of rebounds are defensive because the team on defense tends to be in position to recover missed shots. Offensive rebounds give the team another opportunity to score whether right away or by resetting the offense. A block is not considered a rebound, a ball does not need to actually rebound off the rim or backboard for a rebound to be credited. Rebounds are credited after any missed shot, including air balls, if a player takes a shot and misses and the ball bounces on the ground before someone picks it up, then the person who picks up the ball is credited for a rebound. Rebounds are credited to the first player that gains possession of the ball or to the player that successfully deflects the ball into the basket for a score. A rebound is credited to a team when it gains possession of the ball after any missed shot that is not cleared by a single player, great rebounders tend to be tall and strong. Because height is so important, most rebounds are made by centers and power forwards, the lack of height can sometimes be compensated by the strength to box out taller players away from the ball to capture the rebound. For example, Charles Barkley once led the league in rebounding despite usually being much shorter than his counterparts, also, some shorter guards can be excellent rebounders as well such as point guard Jason Kidd who led the New Jersey Nets in rebounding for several years. Great rebounders must also have a sense of timing and positioning. Great leaping ability is an important asset, but not absolutely necessary, players such as Larry Bird and Moses Malone were excellent rebounders, but were never known for their leaping ability. Bird has stated, Most rebounds are taken below the rim, the action can also be called blocking out. A team can be boxed out by players using this technique to stop the other team from rebounding. Because fighting for a rebound can be physical, rebounding is often regarded as grunt work or a hustle play. Overly aggressive boxing out or preventing being boxed out can lead to personal fouls, statistics of a players rebounds per game or rebounding average measure a players rebounding effectiveness by dividing the number of rebounds by the number of games played
14.
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
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The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to mens college basketball. The museum is a portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The hall is meant as a complement to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, on November 17,2006 the NABC honored around 180 players, coaches and other notable contributors to college basketball by inducting them into the founding class of the Hall of Fame. Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Dean Smith, John Wooden, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts has indicated it will help with the exhibits. The other interactive portions of the College Basketball Experience are called The Entry Experience, The Fan Experience, the NABC recently renamed the Guardians Classic college tournament the CBE Classic to help promote it
15.
Basketball at the Summer Olympics
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Basketball at the Summer Olympics has been a sport for men consistently since 1936. Prior to its inclusion as a sport, basketball was held as a demonstration event in 1904. Womens basketball has played in the Summer Olympics since its first appearance in 1976. United States womens teams have won 8 titles out of the 10 tournaments in which they competed, besides the United States, Argentina is the only nation still in existence who has won either the mens or womens tournament. The Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and the Unified Team are the countries no longer in existence who have won the tournament, Basketball was invented by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891. Within a few decades, the new game became popular throughout the United States as an indoor sport, the popularity spread overseas and the International Basketball Federation was organized in 1932 in Geneva, Switzerland. Thanks in part to the effort of Phog Allen—a Kansas Jayhawks collegiate coach—the first Olympic basketball tournament was organized in the 1936 Olympics at Berlin on outdoor tennis courts, dr. Naismith presented the medals to the top three teams. According to the Olympic rules of time, all of the competitors were amateurs. The tournament was held indoors for the first time in 1948, the American team proved its dominance, winning the first seven Olympic tournaments until 1968, without losing a single game. The United States winning streak ended in 1972 under highly controversial circumstances, after the game, the American team refused to accept the silver medal, and the medal has been kept in IOC possession ever since. The Americans reclaimed the gold medal in 1976, with Yugoslavia, in 1980, with the Americans absence due to the boycott, Yugoslavia became the third team to win the title, after beating the Soviets anew in the semifinals and Italy in the final. The United States regained the title in 1984, by beating Spain in the final, the Soviets won the gold medal for the second time in 1988, after beating the Americans for the second time in the semifinal, and the Yugoslavs in the gold medal game. In April 1989, through the leadership of Secretary General Borislav Stanković, FIBA approved the rule that allowed NBA players to compete in international tournaments, by this time, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia no longer existed, but their successor states continued to be among the leading forces. Two newly independent countries of the former Yugoslavia and Soviet Union, Croatia and Lithuania, won the silver, the United States repeated its victory in 1996 and 2000, but its performance was not as successful as in 1992. Since active NBA players have been allowed to compete in the Summer Olympics, Yugoslavia was the runner-up in Atlanta, and France in Sydney, with Lithuania winning bronze again on both occasions. The Americans regrouped in 2008, beating the current FIBA world champions, Spain, in a gold medal game. The Americans and the Spaniards met again in the 2012 gold medal game, with the Americans again winning, the first womens tournament was in 1976. The Soviet Union won against five other teams, in 1988, the tournament expanded into eight teams, with the Americans beating Yugoslavia in the gold medal game
16.
Olympic Games
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The Olympic Games are considered the worlds foremost sports competition with more than 200 nations participating. The Olympic Games are held four years, with the Summer and Winter Games alternating by occurring every four years. Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894, leading to the first modern Games in Athens in 1896. The IOC is the body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure. The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in changes to the Olympic Games. The IOC has had to adapt to a variety of economic, political, as a result, the Olympics has shifted away from pure amateurism, as envisioned by Coubertin, to allowing participation of professional athletes. The growing importance of mass media created the issue of corporate sponsorship, World wars led to the cancellation of the 1916,1940, and 1944 Games. Large boycotts during the Cold War limited participation in the 1980 and 1984 Games, the Olympic Movement consists of international sports federations, National Olympic Committees, and organising committees for each specific Olympic Games. As the decision-making body, the IOC is responsible for choosing the host city for each Games, the IOC also determines the Olympic programme, consisting of the sports to be contested at the Games. There are several Olympic rituals and symbols, such as the Olympic flag and torch, over 13,000 athletes compete at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in 33 different sports and nearly 400 events. The first, second, and third-place finishers in each event receive Olympic medals, gold, silver, the Games have grown so much that nearly every nation is now represented. This growth has created numerous challenges and controversies, including boycotts, doping, bribery, every two years the Olympics and its media exposure provide unknown athletes with the chance to attain national and sometimes international fame. The Games also constitute an opportunity for the host city and country to themselves to the world. The Ancient Olympic Games were religious and athletic festivals held every four years at the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia, competition was among representatives of several city-states and kingdoms of Ancient Greece. These Games featured mainly athletic but also combat such as wrestling. It has been written that during the Games, all conflicts among the participating city-states were postponed until the Games were finished. This cessation of hostilities was known as the Olympic peace or truce and this idea is a modern myth because the Greeks never suspended their wars. The truce did allow those religious pilgrims who were travelling to Olympia to pass through warring territories unmolested because they were protected by Zeus
17.
1960 Summer Olympics
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The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11,1960, in Rome, Italy. Rome had been awarded the organization of the 1908 Summer Olympics, on June 15,1955, at the 50th IOC Session in Paris, France, Rome beat out Lausanne, Detroit, Budapest, Brussels, Mexico City and Tokyo for the rights to host the Games. Tokyo and Mexico City would eventually host the following 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics, Toronto was initially interested in the bidding, but appears to have been dropped during the final bid process. This is the first of five attempts by Toronto from 1960 to 2001, swedish sprint canoeist Gert Fredriksson won his sixth Olympic title. Fencer Aladár Gerevich of Hungary won his sixth gold medal in the team sabre event The Japanese mens gymnastics team won the first of five successive golds. The United States mens national basketball team—led by future Basketball Hall of Famers Walt Bellamy, Jerry Lucas, Oscar Robertson, danish sailor Paul Elvstrøm won his fourth straight gold medal in the Finn class.2 seconds. Wilma Rudolph, US, a polio patient, won three gold medals in sprint events on the track. She was acclaimed as the fastest woman in the world, jeff Farrell, US, won two gold medals in swimming. He underwent an emergency appendectomy six days before the Olympic Trials, abebe Bikila of Ethiopia won the marathon bare-footed to become the first black African Olympic champion. Cassius Clay, US, later known as Muhammad Ali, won boxings light-heavyweight gold medal, ramon Buddy Carr was one of the coaches that led this team to winning gold. Herb Elliott, AUS, won the mens 1500 meters in one of the most dominating performances in Olympic history, rafer Johnson, US, defeated his rival and friend C. K. Yang in one of the greatest Decathlon events in Olympic history. The future Constantine II, last King of Greece won his country a gold in sailing, the Pakistani Mens Field Hockey team broke a run of Indian teams victories since 1928, defeating India in the final and winning Pakistans first Olympic gold medal. Singapore competed for the first time under its own flag, which was to become its national flag after independence, coincidentally, it was the first time an athlete from Singapore won an Olympic medal when Tan Howe Liang won silver in the Weightlifting lightweight category. Wrestlers Shelby Wilson, and Doug Blubaugh, US, won medals in their respective weight classes. South Africa appeared in the Olympic arena for the last time under its apartheid regime and it would not be allowed to return until 1992, after which apartheid in sport had been abolished. Danish cyclist Knud Enemark Jensen collapsed during his race under the influence of Roniacol and it was the second time an athlete died in competition at the Olympics, after the death of Portuguese marathon runner Francisco Lázaro at the 1912 Summer Olympics. Finnish Vilho Ylönen, a shooter, shot a bullseye to a wrong target. Peter Camejo, a 2004 American vice-presidential candidate for the Green Party, the future Queen Sofía of Spain represented her native Greece in sailing events
18.
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
19.
Big Ten Conference
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The Big Ten Conference, formerly Western Conference and Big Nine Conference, is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference includes the public university in each of 11 states stretching from New Jersey to Nebraska. The Big Ten Conference was established in 1895 when Purdue University president James H, in 1905, the conference was officially incorporated as the Intercollegiate Conference Athletic Association. Big Ten member institutions are predominantly major flagship research universities with large financial endowments, large student enrollment is also a hallmark of Big Ten universities, as 12 of the 14 members feature enrollments of 30,000 or more students. Northwestern University, one of just two members with a total enrollment of fewer than 30,000 students, is the lone private university among Big Ten membership. Collectively, Big Ten universities educate more than 520,000 total students and have 5.7 million living alumni, Big Ten universities engage in $9.3 billion in funded research each year. Big Ten universities are members of the Big Ten Academic Alliance. In 2014–2015, members generated more than $10 billion in research expenditures, Johns Hopkins University was invited in 2012 to join the Big Ten as an associate member participating in mens lacrosse only. In 2015, it was accepted as an associate member in womens lacrosse. Notre Dame is scheduled to join the Big Ten in 2017 as a member in mens ice hockey. Notes Notes Notes The University of Chicago was a co-founder of the conference, lake Forest College attended the original 1895 meeting that led to the formation of the conference, but did not join it. Full members Full members Sport Affiliate Other Conference Other Conference The Big Ten Conference sponsors championship competition in 14 mens and 14 womens NCAA sanctioned sports, Notes, * Notre Dame will join the Big Ten in the 2017–18 school year as an affiliate member in mens ice hockey. It continues to field its other sports in the ACC except in football where it will continue to compete as an independent, ° Johns Hopkins joined the Big Ten in 2014 as an affiliate member in mens lacrosse, with womens lacrosse to follow in 2016. Ohio State and Penn State, like most NCAA fencing schools, have coed teams,2, Mens rowing, whether heavyweight or lightweight, is not governed by the NCAA, but instead by the Intercollegiate Rowing Association. Rutgers Mens Rowing was downgraded to Club status in 2008,3, Unlike rifle, pistol is not an NCAA-governed sport. 4, Rifle is technically a mens sport, but mens, womens, Ohio State fields a coed team. The eligibility of student-athletes was one of the topics of discussion. The Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives was founded at a meeting on February 8,1896
20.
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
21.
Gold medal
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A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture, others offer only the prestige of the award. Many organizations now award gold medals either annually or extraordinarily, including UNESCO, while some gold medals are solid gold, others are gold-plated or silver-gilt, like those of the Olympic Games, the Lorentz Medal, the United States Congressional Gold Medal and the Nobel Prize medal. Nobel Prize medals consist of 18 karat green gold plated with 24 karat gold, before 1980 they were struck in 23 karat gold. In the United States, Congress would enact a resolution asking the President to reward those responsible, the commanding officer would receive a gold medal and his officers silver medals. Other countries similarly honored their military and naval victors in a similar fashion, Medals have historically been given as prizes in various types of competitive activities, especially athletics. Traditionally, medals are made of the metals, Gold Silver Bronze Occasionally. This standard was adopted for Olympic competition at the 1904 Summer Olympics, at the 1896 event, silver was awarded to winners and bronze to runners-up, while at 1904 other prizes were given, not medals. At the modern Olympic Games, winners of a sporting discipline receive a medal in recognition of their achievement. At the Ancient Olympic Games only one winner per event was crowned with kotinos, aristophanes in Plutus makes a remark why victorious athletes are crowned with wreath made of wild olive instead of gold. When Tigranes, an Armenian general learned this, he uttered to his leader, what kind of men are these against whom you have brought us to fight. Men who do not compete for possessions, but for honour, hence medals were not awarded at the ancient Olympic Games. At the 1896 Summer Olympics, winners received a silver medal, in 1900, most winners received cups or trophies instead of medals. The next three Olympics awarded the winners solid gold medals, but the medals themselves were smaller, the use of gold rapidly declined with the onset of the First World War and also with the onset of the Second World War. The last series of Olympic medals to be made of gold were awarded at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm. Olympic Gold medals are required to be made from at least 92. 5% silver, all Olympic medals must be at least 60mm in diameter and 3mm thick. Minting the medals is the responsibility of the Olympic host, from the 1972 Summer Olympics through 2000, Cassiolis design remained on the obverse with a custom design by the host city on the reverse. Noting that Cassiolis design showed a Roman amphitheater for what originally were Greek games, Winter Olympics medals have been of more varied design
22.
Terry Dischinger
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Terry Gilbert Dischinger is a retired American basketball player in the National Basketball Association. Dischinger attended Terre Hautes James A. Garfield High, the son of the football coach, during his senior season, he was selected as Captain and was the MVP of the 1958 Indiana All-Star team, he was also a Parade Magazine All-American. During his high school career, Dischinger earned All-State honors in basketball, while being coached by Willard Kehrt, as a High School Freshman, he was a member of Terre Hautes 1955 Babe Ruth League world championship baseball team. He was also a member of Garfield Highs 1955 IHSAA Sectional Championship team, city rival, Terre Haute Gerstmeyer Tech, was the main opposition to Garfield during Dischingers career. Terry Dischinger attended Purdue University where he played basketball under head coach, in his first varsity season as a sophomore, the 67,190 lb guard/forward was named a Second Team All-American, leading the Boilermakers by averaging 26.3 points and 14.3 rebounds a game. On January 9,1960, Terry pulled down 26 rebounds against Wisconsin, during his junior season, Dischinger was named a First Team All-American and led the conference in scoring with 28.2 points and 13.4 rebounds a game. He made a school record 21 free throws against Iowa on February 27,1961. On Christmas Day in 1961, Terry scored a career high 52 points against Michigan State and it broke Jerry Lucas prior Big Ten Conference record of 48. In his last college game against Michigan on March 12, Terry and his 459 total points in his senior year led the conference in scoring for a third consecutive season. He was named a second straight First Team All-American while leading the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 30.3 points and he attempted a single-season school record 350 free throws in his senior season. At the end of his career, Dischinger held almost every Purdue scoring record. He was named All-Big Ten each season and selected as the Purdue MVP for each season. He currently holds records for nine 40+ point games,713 made free throws with 871 attempted,14.3 rebounds a game. Terry averaged 28.3 points a game in his three varsity seasons, in which he led the conference, hes currently the sixth highest scorer in Boilermaker history with a total of 1,979 points. Dischinger was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1989, Dischinger was selected to the USA mens basketball team that won the gold medal in the 1960 Rome Olympics under head coach Pete Newell, at age 19, he was the youngest member of the team. As a starting guard/forward, he was teamed with future Basketball Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, the team was named to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. He started all 8 games, scoring 94 totals points, with an 11.8 avg and he was the #4 scorer on the team. Dischinger was the first pick of the round of the NBA Draft in 1962 by the Chicago Zephyrs
23.
Jerry West
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Jerry Alan West is an American retired basketball player who played his entire professional career for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. His nicknames include Mr. Outside, in reference to his play with the Los Angeles Lakers. Wests NBA career was highly successful, West holds the NBA record for the highest points per game average in a playoff series with 46.3. He was also a member of the first five NBA All-Defensive Teams, having played in nine NBA Finals, he is also the only player in NBA history to be named Finals MVP despite being on the losing team. West was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980, after his playing career, West was head coach of the Lakers for three years, leading Los Angeles into the playoffs each year and earning a Western Conference Finals berth once. Working as a player-scout for three years, West was named manager of the Lakers prior to the 1982–83 NBA season. Under his reign, Los Angeles won six championship rings, in 2002, West became general manager of the Memphis Grizzlies and helped the franchise win their first-ever playoff berths. For his contributions, West won the NBA Executive of the Year Award twice, once as a Lakers manager, Wests son, Jonnie, played college basketball for the West Virginia Mountaineers team. Jerry Alan West was born into a household in Chelyan. He was the fifth of six children of his mother Cecil Sue West, a housewife, and her husband Howard Stewart West, a coal mine electrician. West was a shy, introverted boy, who even more withdrawn when his closest brother David died in the Korean War at age 22 when Jerry was 12. He was so small and frail that he needed vitamin injections from his doctor and was kept apart from childrens sports, to prevent him from getting seriously hurt. Growing up, West spent his days hunting and fishing, West attended high school in East Bank, West Virginia from 1952 to 1956. During his first year, he was benched by his coach Duke Shaver due to his lack of height. Shaver emphasized the importance of conditioning and defense, lessons which the teenager appreciated, soon, West became the captain of the freshman team and, during the summer of 1953, he grew to 6 ft 0 in. Eventually becoming the starting small forward, West quickly established himself as one of the finest West Virginian high school players of his generation.2 points per game. Wests mid-range jump shot became his trademark and he used it to score while under pressure from opposing defense. After graduating from school in 1956, more than 60 universities showed interest in West
24.
Oscar Robertson
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Oscar Palmer Robertson, nicknamed The Big O, is an American former National Basketball Association player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks. The 6 ft 5 in,205 lb Robertson played point guard and was a 12-time All-Star, 11-time member of the All-NBA Team and he is the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season. In the 1970–71 NBA season, he was a key player on the team brought the Bucks their only NBA title. His playing career, especially during school and college, was plagued by racism. He also was voted one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996 and he was ranked as the 36th best American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN. Robertson was also a part of Robertson v. National Basketball Assn of 1970. Robertson was born in poverty in Charlotte, Tennessee, and grew up in a housing project in Indianapolis. In contrast to other boys who preferred to play baseball. Because his family could not afford to buy a basketball, he learned how to shoot by tossing tennis balls, Robertson attended Crispus Attucks High School, an all-black high school. At Crispus Attucks, Robertson was coached by Ray Crowe, whose emphasis on a sound game had a positive effect on Robertsons style of play. As a sophomore in 1954, he starred on an Attucks team that lost in the finals to eventual state champions Milan. When Robertson was a junior, Crispus Attucks dominated its opposition, going 31–1 and winning the 1955 state championship, the state championships were also the first ever by an Indianapolis team in the Hoosier tourney. After their championship wins, the team was paraded through town in a regular tradition. Robertson stated, thought the blacks were going to tear the town up, Robertson scored 24.0 points per game in his senior season and was named Indiana Mr. Basketball in 1956. After his graduation year, Robertson enrolled at the University of Cincinnati. Robertson continued to excel while at the University of Cincinnati, recording an incredible scoring average of 33.8 points per game, the third highest in college history. In each of his three years, he won the scoring title, was named an All-American, and was chosen College Player of the Year. Robertsons stellar play led the Bearcats to a 79–9 overall record during his three varsity seasons, including two Final Four appearances, however, a championship eluded Robertson, something that would become a repeated occurrence in his professional career
25.
Jerry Lucas
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Jerry Ray Lucas is an American former basketball player and memory education expert. As a collegian, Lucas led the Ohio State Buckeyes to the 1960 college national championship and he remains today the only three-time Big Ten Player of the Year, and was also twice named NCAA Player of the Year. He was inducted to the Springfield Basketball Hall Of Fame in 1980, after his basketball career ended in the mid-1970s, Lucas took to becoming a teacher and writer in the area of image-based memory education. His book written with Harry Lorayne, The Memory Book, was a national best-seller, Lucas has also conducted seminars demonstrating memory techniques, and has written 30 books and educational products and games for children. He is known today as Doctor Memory, Lucas was born in Middletown, Ohio, then a community of 30, 000+ halfway between Dayton and Cincinnati. Middletown then called itself The Basketball Capital of Ohio, based on the success of the teams from the towns one high school. The Middies had already won five Ohio state high school championships, 1945–55, local support for the team was remarkably high in the early and mid-1950s. A tall youth hailing from a family of men, Lucas was greatly encouraged to take up the game at a young age. He was already six-feet tall by age 13, Lucas had also begun to demonstrate an active mind at a young age. A fidgety boy on family car rides, Lucas began to develop games to occupy him perhaps as early as age nine. I saw a sign at a gas station, and decided to rearrange the letters of each word into alphabetical order, the word price would become c-e-i-p-r. These and other mental exercises began to develop his intelligence at a young age. In addition to local support for Middletown High basketball, the city was also home to remarkable summer outdoor basketball scene at Sunset Park. Previous Middletown players who had gone on to play at the college level recruited other players to play there in the summer. By the time Lucas was age 15, Sunset Park was one of the best summer basketball scenes in the region between Dayton and Cincinnati, by then, Lucas had grown to 67 and had the opportunity to scrimmage against college players, advancing his game greatly. Lucas was, in fact, outplaying good college big men before he had played his first game for Middletown High, during this time, his eyesight was tested and found to be at least 20-10, according to Lucas. His remarkable eye sight allowed him to practice shooting where the ball would graze one side of the rim or another. A game of HORSE with Lucas then included shots where the only hits the front of the rim or another area rather than simply going in as a made shot
26.
NBA first overall draft pick
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The National Basketball Associations first overall pick is the player who is selected first among all eligible draftees by a team during the annual National Basketball Association Draft. The first pick is awarded to the team wins the NBA Draft Lottery, in most cases. The team with the first pick attracts significant media attention, as does the player who is selected with that pick, since the advent of the draft lottery in 1985, only seven number one overall picks have won an NBA title. They are David Robinson, Shaquille ONeal, Glenn Robinson, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Andrew Bogut, chinas Yao Ming and Italys Andrea Bargnani are the only two players without competitive experience in the United States to be drafted first overall. Note that the drafts between 1947 and 1949 were held by the Basketball Association of America, the Basketball Association of America became the National Basketball Association after absorbing teams from the National Basketball League in the fall of 1949. Official NBA publications include the BAA Drafts as part of the NBAs draft history, List of first overall NBA Development League draft picks List of first overall WNBA draft picks General Specific
27.
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
28.
Bill Russell
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William Felton Bill Russell is an American retired professional basketball player. Russell played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association from 1956 to 1969, a five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and a twelve-time All-Star, he was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty, winning eleven NBA championships during his thirteen-year career. Along with Henri Richard of the National Hockey Leagues Montreal Canadiens, before his professional career, Russell led the University of San Francisco to two consecutive NCAA championships. He also won a medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics as captain of the U. S. national basketball team. Russell is widely considered one of the best players in NBA history and he was listed as between 6 ft 9 in and 6 ft 10 in, and his shot-blocking and man-to-man defense were major reasons for the Celtics success. He also inspired his teammates to elevate their own defensive play, Russell was equally notable for his rebounding abilities. He led the NBA in rebounds four times, had a dozen consecutive seasons of 1,000 or more rebounds and he is one of just two NBA players to have grabbed more than 50 rebounds in a game. Though never the point of the Celtics offense, Russell also scored 14,522 career points. Playing in the wake of pioneers like Earl Lloyd, Chuck Cooper and he also served a three-season stint as player-coach for the Celtics, becoming the first African American NBA coach. For his accomplishments in the Civil Rights Movement on and off the court, Russell is one of only seven players in history to win an NCAA Championship, an NBA Championship, and an Olympic gold medal. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, in 2007 he was enshrined in the FIBA Hall of Fame. In Russells honor the NBA renamed the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player trophy in 2009, Bill Russell was born to Charles Russell and Katie Russell in West Monroe, Louisiana. Like almost all towns and cities of that time, West Monroe was a highly segregated place. Once, Russells father was refused service at a gas station until the staff had taken care of all the white customers. When his father attempted to leave and find a different station, at another time, Russells mother was walking outside in a fancy dress when a policeman accosted her. He told her to go home and remove the dress, which he described as white womans clothing, while there the family fell into poverty, and Russell spent his childhood living in a series of public housing projects. Charles Russell is described as a stern, hard man who was initially a janitor in a paper factory, being closer to his mother Katie than to his father, Russell received a major emotional blow when she suddenly died when he was 12. His father gave up his job and became a steel worker to be closer to his semi-orphaned children
29.
Johnny Green (basketball)
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John M. Jumpin Johnny Green is an American retired professional basketball player. Green was born in Dayton, Ohio, and attended Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, Green was under six feet tall in high school and didnt play basketball. He worked part-time at a Dayton bowling alley and, after graduation, for a construction company and it was while in the military that, at age 20, he sprouted to 6-foot-5 and played on the bases basketball team. The Marine base football coach, Dick Evans, a Michigan State University alumnus, recognized Greens athletic ability, Green, by then age 21, visited MSU while on leave in October 1955. After completing his military commitment, Green enrolled at Michigan State in 1955 and he became eligible to play on the varsity in January 1957, at age 23. Green played in 18 games that season as a power forward and they advanced to the NCAA tournament semifinal game, which they lost in triple overtime to eventual champion North Carolina despite Greens 19 rebounds and eight blocked shots. The Spartans finished the season winning 12 out of 13 games to end with a 16–10 overall record, as a junior in 1957–58, he increased his per-game rebounding average to 17.8 while averaging 18.0 points per game on 53.8 percent field goal shooting. He was named second-team All-American by NABC and The Sporting News and third-team All-American by the Associated Press, United Press International, in 1958–59, he led the Spartans to another Big Ten title and a 19–4 record, falling a game short of the NCAA Final Four. Averaging 18.5 points and 16.6 rebounds per game, he earned first-team All-American honors from the Helms Foundation and was second-team All-American of AP, UPI, NABC and The Sporting News. While in college, he was married and in 1957 Greens wife gave birth to sons Jeffery, Greens career rebounding average was 16.4 per game, topped in Big Ten history by only hall-of-famer Jerry Lucas 17.2. He remains third on the Spartans all-time career rebounding list with 1,036 – in less than three seasons and he also averaged 16.9 points per game, scoring 1,062 overall. He was also named first-team All-Big Ten for three years and was named Big Ten MVP in 1958–59, Michigan State named an annual rebounding award in Greens honor. His jersey number 24 was retired by Michigan State and he was inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992. Green was a draft pick in the 1959 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. In his rookie season of 1959–60 for the Knicks, during which he turned age 26, he played nearly 18 minutes per game, on February 26,1960, against the Philadelphia Warriors, he set a Knicks rookie record that still stands with 25 rebounds. His playing time increased in 1960–61, when he averaged 10.2 points and 10.7 rebounds. He was a starter in 1961–62, averaging 15.9 points and 13.3 rebounds, leading the team in rebounds with 1,066. In February 1962, he set Knicks team record with three games of 20 or more rebounds
