Basketball was created by a Canadian man known as James Naismith down at a University in the United States where instead of rims and mesh, they used peach baskets and brooms to get the ball in and to get the ball out. The game has been played at all different levels of skills for about 110 years and has been played by more than 55 countries around the world.
A Little Bit About Them Rules ...
The court is divided into 2 equal sides, with out of bounds lines around the sides. There are 2 semi circles at the end of each court followed by a basketball rim with mesh attached to some sort of support pole. The net is 10 feet high.
There are 5 people from each team on the court at any given time :
The Point Guard
The Shooting Guard
The Small Forward
The Power Forward
The Centre
The object of the game is to get that rubber spherical ball known as a ’’basketball’’ into the net. You get 2 points for every basket made; 3 points if it is behind the long arc surrounding the net, and 1 point for a free throw which is awarded after a foul.
You May Not
Touch someone when they are on their way to the hoop
BUT you may touch the ball and prevent it from going in.
You may not carry the ball for more than 2 steps
BUT you can carry the ball with less steps
You have 24 seconds to get the ball in
BUT the shot clock is reset to 24 after a missed shot or a completed shot.
Ways to Score Points
You can take a shot from anywhere on the court; of course the closer the more accuracy you have. You can dunk the ball where you jump up to about 11 feet in the air and slam the ball down through the net. Or you can take a free throw shot from about 15 feet out.
Strategies that you can use!!
When your own player has the ball, go to the back and to the left of his defender and place your left foot to the side and your right foot behind his back (called a ’’pick’’) and your defender is home free to go right!
Pretend to take a shot and while your defender jumps in the air towards you, pivot a step either direction and take the shot because it is clear.
After you lose your dribble, fake pass left and toss it to the guy on the right. It will sike out the defenders and they will have to regroup.
The 2nd Coming of Michael Jordan!
You probably thought that I was going to talk about Michael Jordan, but that is so 90-ish. The new boy in town is Toronto Raptors Star Guard Vince Carter. A few things that distinguish Vince Carter from Michael Jordan. Carter can jump higher, farther and can slam like Shaq O’Neal!
Vince Carter has taken an expansion team to the playoffs, has made the rookie All Star Game, the Regular All Star Game, has made a great first 5 year career with points and assists, and has lead the team to the Final 8 Teams in the Playoffs. With additions of Hakeem Olajuwon and along with JYD, he will lead the team to victory.
Overall Thoughts on Basketball ....
Basketball is a sport that lacks only the skill of shooting. Passing a ball is easy as well as bouncing it. You don’t need an heavy equipment to play; all you need is yourself.
I have played every year of my 5 year high school career, yet have never won an MVP Title. BUT I did win a most Sportsmanlike Award for my Effort on and off the court. My best year I averaged about 14 points, 4 assists and 7 rebounds. I played small forward. I am 5’11 and am about 2 inches from dunking a basketball.
Last year I broke both my wrists falling off the rim trying to slam. Worst feeling to be in a cast for 6 weeks. Play basketball to stay fit, and have fun!