Rabaya, Janice Mae P.

BSA 2
TH 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Brief history of basketball

Basketball was invented in 1891 by Dr James Naismith, a Canadian of Scottish descent
at Springfield College Massachusetts. The college was the International YMCA Training
School and the game was invented to provide an indoor activity for trainee YMCA leaders.
When the game was first played, peach baskets were nailed up at each end of the
gymnasium as “goals”, hence the origin of the name “basketball”.

The first set of rules was published and distributed through the YMCA movement in 1892
and this resulted in the game spreading rapidly throughout Canada and the USA. 1892
also saw the game played in England for the first time at Birkenhead YMCA after the Club
President was the game played whilst on a business trip to Canada. In 1893 the game
was introduced into the Physical Training College in Hampstead (now Dartford College
of PE) by Madame Berman Osterberg. Changes to the game to suit the girls led to the
first rules of netball being published in 1901.

By 1898 a professional league was established in the USA and by 1911 basketball had
spread throughout the UK as a sport. In 1924 it was introduced as a demonstration sport
at the Paris Olympic Games and Great Britain won the title. 1927 saw Abe Saperstein a
Londoner from the world famous Harlem Globetrotters and in 1931 FIBA the International
Basketball Federation was formed with a Welshman as its first secretary.

The England Basketball Association was formed in 1936, 13 years before the NBA was
formed in America, and by 1957 the English Schools Basketball Association was formed.
The 1970’s saw the introduction of both men’s and women’s national leagues in the UK,
and by 1999, 219 teams were entered in the over 16 national leagues with almost 100
competing at under 15 levels. By 1990 there were 117 member countries in FIBA making
basketball the second largest of all the world’s governing bodies and also the world’s
fastest growing and largest participation sport.

To date there are 212 member countries worldwide, whilst in the UK alone there are over
500,000 people who regularly participate in recreational basketball and it has become
increasingly common to find the sport as part of the curriculum in schools at all levels. It
is also used widely as a community activity as anyone of any age or gender can
participate. Basketball is now included in the Commonwealth Games and the sport in
general received a lot of coverage when the GB wheelchair team performed very
successfully in the Paralympics recently, proving that it is a sport that is accessible and
playable by all.
Nature/Objective of basketball
The main objective of basketball is to make a goal and score points. A goal is made by
shooting the ball through the basket or hoop. The goal post or basket for a team is in the
opponent’s court. Each team should not only try to make a goal and prevent the opposite
team from taking control of the ball, but should also try to protect the basket in their court
and prevent the opponent from making a goal.
Equipment of basketball
A hoop or basket with net around its circumference and of 18 inch diameter is firmly hung
horizontally from a rectangular backboard of 3.5 feet height and 6 feet width on either
sides of the court. The rim of the hoop is 10 feet above the ground. The backboard in
various international competitions is transparent for better visibility.
Basketball is an orange-colored and rough-textured spherical ball with black contours
usually made of leather or composite tough materials.
The ball is bounced continuously (dribbling), thrown through the air to other players
(passing), and towards the basket (shooting). So a typical basketball must be very
durable and easy to hold on to.
Other Equipment
There may be some more equipment for convenience.
 Some international courts have a game clock that makes a beep at the end of
each period. Some also show the shot clock countdown.
 Sometimes, the back boards have bordering lights that light up and indicate that
a period is about to end.
Basic skills in basketball
Dribbling

Top point guards dribble and control the ball as if it were on a string. Good technique is
critical for a ball handler. You should dribble with your fingertips rather than your palm.
Dribble with your head up so you can see the opposition and your teammates. Keep your
body low and use your off-ball hand to help keep your defender at bay. Work on dribbling
with both hands, so you'll be as comfortable going to your left or your right.
Passing

Great passers can see the whole court and anticipate where a teammate will go and what
a defender will do. Mastering the basics is the place to start. Develop a two-hand chest
pass, bounce pass and overhead pass so you can deliver the ball to your teammates in
the best position for them to shoot or beat their defender. Steve Nash or Derrick Rose
can dazzle you with a behind-the-back or a no-look pass. But those moves are not just
for show; they provide a teammate the best chance to score.
Shooting

It's difficult to score if you can't shoot the ball effectively. As Better Basketball Coaching
explains, shooting is something of an art form, and some players, such as Kevin Durant
and Ray Allen, have a knack for it. But everyone can improve their shooting through
proper technique and lots of practice. Proper technique includes squaring your body up
to the target, shooting the ball with your fingertips, keeping your elbows from flying, putting
backspin and arc on the shot and following through completely after letting the ball fly.
Rebounding

Although it helps to be tall and have jumping ability, rebounding is a matter of desire as
well as ability. Charles Barkley was relatively small for a forward, but he was an
outstanding rebounder. He had the ability to determine where an errant shot was likely to
fall, the willingness to crash the boards relentlessly and the strength to block out taller
opponents. Blocking out your opponent -- also called boxing out -- is one of the keys to
good rebounding. To do it effectively, maintain your concentration and focus.
Defense

Even the best scorers go into shooting slumps. But you can always play good defense if
you hustle and understand both individual and team defense. When you are defending a
player, keep you head lower than his. Stay close enough to the offensive player to bother
him -- but not so close he can blow by you with one step. Know your opponent's
tendencies so you can dictate the direction you want him to move. Be aware of the other
players on the court, so you can play help defense when a teammate loses his man.
Rules of the Game
Though basketball was invented with a set of thirteen rules, some rules were amended
and many rules were added to help players play faster and make the game more
interesting for the viewers. Some rules were introduced to minimize the advantage of
height enjoyed by taller players.
There are many variants of the game at different places and these branches have
governing bodies formulating rules of the game. In the US, basketball tournaments are
very popular in colleges. Their rules in inter-collegiate championships are slightly
different from the professional basketball sport.
  Any player possessing the ball cannot stay inside the foul ring of the court with his
back to the basket for more than three seconds
 No player should touch the ball, basket or its rim while the ball is passing through
the basket.
 Players are allowed to make a brief contact with an opposing player trying to pass
the ball or make a goal, but cannot obstruct them.
 Players making more than five fouls are removed from the game.
 Fouls as per the situation, grant free throws to the opposing team and the ball is
handed over to them.
 Players cannot carry the ball with them and walk or run. This is called travelling
 When a player is surrounded by opponents, within one meter radius, trying to get
hold of the ball, he/she cannot have the ball for more than five seconds. Such
player is considered to be close guarded.
 Players of the team possessing the ball shouldn’t stay in the restricted area of the
opponent’s team for more than three seconds.
 They should shoot the ball before the shot clock clicks.
Lines of the court
A basketball court has symmetry; one half of the court is a mirror image of the other. The
entire basketball court (see Figure 1) is 94 feet by 50 feet. On each half-court, painted
lines show the free throw lane and circle, as well as the three-point arc, whose distance
from the basket varies based on the level of hoops being played.
The free throw lane and free throw line

The free throw lane is the hub of the action in each half-court. This rectangle is 12 feet
wide — 16 feet at the men’s pro level. Its length, as measured from the basket to the free
throw line, is 15 feet at all levels. An offensive player may not stand inside the lane for
more than three seconds unless he or one of his teammates is shooting the ball. After a
shot is taken, the count starts over again. A defensive player may remain inside the lane
for as long as he desires.

The three-point arc

The three-point arc is the other important marked feature of the court. The arc extends
around the basket in a near semicircle, and its distance from the basket differs according
to the level of play. Even at one level, the distance can change as rules committees
grapple with the best distance for the good of the sport. The NBA has changed the three-
point distance on two different occasions since first adopting the trey, as the three-point
shot is called, in the 1979-1980 season. The three-point distance was moved back to its
original 23′ 9″ for the 1997-1998 season. The college distance is 19′ 9″, while the
international distance is 20′ 6″.

The backcourt and frontcourt

Thinking of the entire court as two half-courts, divide it into frontcourt and backcourt.
The frontcourt is the half of the court where the offense’s basket is located.
The backcourt is the other half. Thus one team’s backcourt is the other team’s frontcourt.