1. HISTORY OF BASKETBALL Panagiotis Lampousis, G4 November 2010 Teacher: Ms Apostolaki

2. Team sport Basketball is a team sport. But in basketball teams, every player has got his ambitions. To get a transfer in the best teams, to beat one of the best players, to win as many trophies as he can. To be in his national team squad, and play against other countries. But it is a team sport, which needs co-operation and team spirit.

3. Where it came from, and how it started.. In early December 1891, Dr. James Naismith, a Canadian-born physical education professor and instructor at the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School (YMCA) (today, Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, was trying to keep his gym class active on a rainy day. He sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied and at proper levels of fitness during the long New England winters. After rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules of his game and nailed a peach basket onto a 10-foot (3.05 m) elevated track. In contrast with modern basketball nets, this peach basket retained its bottom, and balls had to be retrieved manually after each "basket" or point scored; this proved inefficient, however, so the bottom of the basket was removed allowing the balls to be poked out with a long dowel each time. The peach baskets were used until 1906 when they were finally replaced by metal hoops with backboards. A further change was soon made, so the ball merely passed through, paving the way for the game we know today. An association football was used to shoot baskets. Whenever a person got the ball in the basket, his team would gain a point. Whichever team got the most points won the game. The baskets were originally nailed to the mezzanine balcony of the playing court, but this proved impractical when spectators on the balcony began to interfere with shots. The backboard was introduced to prevent this interference; it had the additional effect of allowing rebound shots.

4. How its played… The object of the game is to outscore one's opponents by throwing the ball through the opponents' basket from above while preventing the opponents from doing so on their own. An attempt to score in this way is called a shot. A successful shot is worth two points, or three points if it is taken from beyond the three-point arch which is 6.25 meters (20 ft 6 in) from the basket in international games and 23 feet 9 inches (7.24 m) in NBA games. A one- point shot can be earned when shooting from the foul line after a foul is made. Games are played in four quarters of 10 (FIBA) or 12 minutes (NBA). Fifteen minutes are allowed for a half-time break under FIBA, NBA, and NCAA rules. Overtime periods are five minutes in length. Teams exchange baskets for the second half. The time allowed is actual playing time; the clock is stopped while the play is not active. Therefore, games generally take much longer to complete than the allotted game time, typically about two hours. Five players from each team may be on the court at one time. Substitutions are unlimited but can only be done when play is stopped. Teams also have a coach, who oversees the development and strategies of the team, and other team personnel such as assistant coaches, managers, statisticians, doctors and trainers. For both men's and women's teams, a standard uniform consists of a pair of shorts and a jersey with a clearly visible number, unique within the team, printed on both the front and back. Players wear high-top sneakers that provide extra ankle support. Typically, team names, players' names and, outside of North America, sponsors are printed on the uniforms. A limited number of time-outs, clock stoppages requested by a coach (or sometimes mandated in the NBA) for a short meeting with the players, are allowed. They generally last no longer than one minute (100 seconds in the NBA) unless, for televised games, a commercial break is needed. The game is controlled by the officials consisting of the referee (referred to as crew chief in the NBA), one or two umpires (referred to as referees in the NBA) and the table officials. For college, the NBA, and many high schools, there are a total of three referees on the court. The table officials are responsible for keeping track of each teams scoring, timekeeping, individual and team fouls, player substitutions, team possession arrow, and the shot clock.

5. Positions on it point guard: usually the fastest player on the team, organizes the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that it gets to the right player at the right time. point guard shooting guard: creates a high volume of shots on offense; guards the opponent's best perimeter player on defense. shooting guard small forward: often primarily responsible for scoring points via cuts to the basket and dribble penetration; on defense seeks rebounds and steals, but sometimes plays more actively. small forward power forward: plays offensively often with their back to the basket; on defense, plays under the basket (in a zone defense) or against the opposing power forward (in man-to-man defense). power forward center: uses height and size to score (on offense), to protect the basket closely (on defense), or to rebound. center

6. International Basketball The International Basketball Federation was formed in 1932 by eight founding nations: Argentina, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Romania and Switzerland. At this time, the organization only oversaw amateur players. Its acronym, derived from the French Fédération Internationale de Basketball Amateur, was thus FIBA". Men's Basketball was first included in the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936, although a demonstration tournament was held in 1904. The United States defeated Canada in the first final, played outdoors. This competition has usually been dominated by the United States, whose team has won all but three titles, the first loss in a controversial final game in Munich in 1972 against the Soviet Union. In 1950 the first FIBA World Championship for men was held in Argentina. Three years later, the first FIBA World Championship for Women was held in Chile. Women's basketball was added to the Olympics in 1976, which were held in Montreal, Canada with teams such as the Soviet Union, Brazil and Australia rivaling the American squads.

7. The American DreamTeam FIBA dropped the distinction between amateur and professional players in 1989, and in 1992, professional players played for the first time in the Olympic Games. The United States' dominance continued with the introduction of their Dream Team. However, with developing programs elsewhere, other national teams started to beat the United States. A team made entirely of NBA players finished sixth in the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis, behind Yugoslavia, Argentina, Germany, New Zealand and Spain. In the 2004 Athens Olympics, the United States suffered its first Olympic loss while using professional players, falling to Puerto Rico (in a 19- point loss) and Lithuania in group games, and being eliminated in the semifinals by Argentina. It eventually won the bronze medal defeating Lithuania, finishing behind Argentina and Italy. In 2006, in the World Championship of Japan, the United States advanced to the semifinals but were defeated by Greece by 101–95. In the bronze medal game it beat team Argentina and finished 3rd behind Greece and Spain.

8. Popular players There are 2 big academies of basketball. The European one and the American one which are assosiated with big teams. From my country, Greece, the best players that we ever had are Galis, Giannakis. In Europe, nowadays, one can find big players from Spain like P.Gasol, J.C Navvaro, from Germany like Dirk Nowitzki, from France Tony Parker, from Turkey H.Turkoglu. These players are the best in Europe and the most demanded players, all of whom play in the NBA, the best championship in the world!!!. As There are also the all time LEGENDS, players that are known in the whole planet. The best player of all times was Michael Jordan. He holds the NBA record for highest career regular season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and highest career playoff scoring average (33.45 points per game). This basketball legend has played in the legendary team of Chicago Bulls, which has achieved the three peat (3 champions in the row). The player with the no.23 in his back, has got too many talents. Another big player is the big One Shaq ONeal, another legend who is still playing basketball despite his 37 years of age. Shaq ONeal has also been characterized like Sinic Wall, because he weighs 143 kg. Nowadays, we have got 2 successors, Kobe Bryant and Lebron James. Kobe is 27 years old and has got win 4 rings as the title is called. The first one, was with Shaq O Neal. He is playing in LA Lakers. The second one Lebron James is only 25 years old, but he has never won a ring. He has got a lot of ambition and one of the biggest talents. Both of them are in the national (USA) squad.