Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Sports & Recreation the game of basketball the game of basketball Many sports were invented to pass time. Basketball, the game, was one of the greatest to ever be invented. Basketball is truly an American game. It is competitive and fun. This winter indoor game has become a very popular sport among all ages. Dr. James A. Naismith was born in Canada but invented the game of basketball in the United States. He invented basketball by using a rectangular backboard that is 6feet wide and 4feet high. The court includes a free throw line that is 12feet long. A regulated court should be around 94feet long and 50feet wide. For all pro, college, and high school games the goal must at least be up 10feet high. To decide who gets to get the ball first, each team must have one player jump ball, and who ever gets control of it has to be offense. A person should jump ball at the center circle or half court. The basketball itself should be 30inches around the middle and weigh between 20 and 22ounces. Each team has five players on the court. The game of basketball was invented on a cold winter night in Springfield, Massachusetts. At the very first when game was invented, there were a set of 13 rules. The very first game was played with a soccer ball and two peach baskets for goals. Basketball was introduced at the Berlin Olympics in 1936. Basketball is one of the World’s most popular sports. When they had not thought of the name basketball, it was called box ball. Before everyone played basketball, they played Duck-on-a Rock. The reason today we call it basketball, is because the janitor was unable to find boxes, he could only find goals. The ball is blown to proper pressure-that is, when it can be bounced on the court and will bounce back chest high. This is how a player knows if it is bouncy enough. Another rule is if two teams go and ties at the end of the game they must go into overtime until one team has higher points than the other. If you get a foul you go to the free throw line to shoot foul shots. It can either be a personal foul of a technical foul. Each overtime period is 5 minutes long. There are two officials, the referee and the umpire. In college and pro, there are usually 3 to 4 officials. Only high school and junior high have 2 officials. The basketball is usually made of leather and not rubber. The ball must be a sphere only. Any other ball would probably not be accepted. College and pro team’s backboards must be made of glass. Most high schools are glass, but wooden backboards are permitted. “There are five players on a team a center, two forwards, and two guards.” “Some prefer to wear “low-cut” basketball shoes today.” “They also wear reversible jerseys.” “In basketball, players do not come up against each other as roughly, as they do in football, so basketball shoes are about the only protective equipment they need!” Team members must alternate in the lane lines when shooting a foul shot. Most of the time, there are two scoreboards: one at each end, a home side and a visitor’s side. The score goes in the middle of the scoreboard. The periods or what quarter it is goes on the bottom. If a student attends a rich school, they will have the names of the home team on one side and names of the opposing team on the other side. Another interesting fact about basketball is that only in the pro and college league is that if there is a tie ball, both teams will have a jump for it, but in high school they have a possession arrow that determines who gets the ball it alternates which way. When so many personal fouls happen, like when they get to 7, the team member that gets fouled gets to shoot one and one free throws. But once you get up to 10 fouls, you shoot two free throws. When you get to halftime, you start over though. A team member is only allowed 5 fouls in one game, and if they foul out, and the game goes into overtime they still will not be able to play. Although in the men’s pro they are allowed 6 fouls instead of just 5. Usually in high school and college you only have around 10 to 13 players on the team. Pros probably have around 15 or more. When a player gets around to 2 or 3 fouls their coach will usually pull them out and not to foul anymore because they might foul out. When a team plays in an out of town game they will probably wear their dark jerseys and the home team will wear their lighter jerseys. There are many kinds of ways of shooting you can shoot a hook shot, lay-up shoot, two-handed set shoot, one-handed set shoot, or a one-handed jump shoot. You can perfect one and try and do it all the time and make all your shots off of that one shot. There also are many ways of passing the ball. You can two-handed chest pass, overhead pass, bounce pass or a hook pass. The legal way to move with the ball around the court is called dribbling. You dribble the ball when you want to move in close to the basket to try and score. Although when you are unguarded and trying to move the ball down court, use forward a little and bend your knees slightly as if running. The hand that controls the ball should have fingers spread wide. Your other hand should be at your side for balance. Always look straight ahead while dribbling. While dribbling always keep alert for a teammate you can pass to. At the same time try to keep an opponent from getting too near the ball. To keep your opponent from getting possession of the ball, use the low dribble. When you are crouching, keep the ball close to the floor, bouncing it easily as you move around. In conclusion, the game is more than one hundred years old. It has expanded to include amateurs to professionals. The rules have changed somewhat for the better of the game. This truly American sport is still fun, competitive, and exciting! Bibliography: Word Count: 1066
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