Basketball.
Introduction
The crowd is
screaming, number 2 races down the lane, he passes through the legs of a
defender to number 5 who jumps up. Slam Dunk! “Score, the Nicks win!” shouts
the announcer. The stands erupt into
cheers and shouts. The two teams line up to shake hands. Is that what you think
when you hear “basketball”? Well, there is a lot more to basketball than you
think. It wasn’t just a sport, it was also a solution to a problem.
What Is
Basketball?
Basketball
is a sport played by two teams. Every team is allowed to have five players on
the court. The objective is to shoot a basketball through a hoop 18 inches in
diameter and 10 feet high mounted at a backboard at each end of the court.
Basketball is one of the most popular and widely viewed sports.
Who
Invented It?
James
Naismith invented basketball in early December 1891 at the Young Men’s
Christian Association (Y.M.C.A.). Mr. Naismith was a Canadian physical
education instructor who had bored students. To make them feel better Mr.
Naismith hung two peach baskets on balconies on either side of the gym. The
point was to through a soccer ball into the peach baskets. He made up some
rules, threw a soccer ball in there and… Poof! Basketball was born!
Starting the Game.
To start the
game two people from each team step into a circle on half-court. All the other
players get close to the circle, but not in. A referee, a man who calls fouls,
violations and determines what kind of shot shots are, holds a ball and at the
tweet of a whistle, he throws the ball into the air. The two players jump up
and try to tap the ball to their teammates.
Points.
The points you can earn in basketball depend on where you are
on the court. There is a semi-circle at either
end of the court, it is called the field goal line. When you shoot the
basketball and you’re behind the field goal line you score 3 points for your
team. That is also why the line is called a 3-point line. When you shoot in
front of the 3-point line you get 2
points for your team.
Passes.
There are three kinds of passes. A pass is a
way to get the ball to your teammate quicker and without handing it to them.
The first kind of pass is a bounce pass, it is the easiest. You have to bounce
the ball on the ground three quarters of the way to your teammate. The second
kind of pass is a chest pass. You hold the ball to your chest and flick it out,
hard, to your teammates chest, but never pass to anyone when they are not
looking. The third kind of pass is an overhead pass. You hold the ball over
your head and throw it to a teammate, but this pass is easier to steel, so be
careful.
Fouls.
When somebody makes too much physical contact with you they
foul you. When you get fouled you get to shoot 1 or 2 foul shots that cost 1
point. When one team fouls your team seven times, your team is in the Bonus.
When you get fouled you shoot one foul shot, if you make it you get to shoot
another one, if you miss you don’t. That is called a 1 and 1. When somebody
fouls you and you aren’t shooting or in the Bonus you get possession of the ball.
If you’re not in the Bonus and someone fouls you while you are shooting you get
to shoot a 1 and 1. If one team fouls your team ten times your team is in the
Double Bonus. When you get fouled you get to shoot two foul shots no matter
what (no 1 and 1 and no matter if you’re shooting or not.). When someone fouls
you while you are shooting a 3-point shot and you miss it you get to shoot
three foul shots. If you make any shot when you get fouled you get the points for that shot and you
get to shoot one foul shot. That is called an And-one.
Violations.
The other team gets the ball if a person Travels, Double
Dribbles, or Back-Courts. Those are called violations and are not allowed in
the game. A Travel is when you move with the basketball without dribbling, a
dribble is when you bounce the basketball lightly with your finger pads. To
Double Dribble you need to dribble, pick up the basketball, and dribble again.
This is a violation because when you pick up the basketball you need to shoot
or pass to a teammate. To Back-Court you need to dribble up pass the half-court
line and back over it again. The half-court line is a line evenly dividing the
court into two parts.
Winning
the Game.
To win your team must have the most points after a certain
amount of time. If both teams are tied (have the same amount of points)
additional time, called Over Time, will be added.
Conclusion
Well, basketball might not be the most popular sport, but it
has a big history. Basketball is an invention that changed the world. It isn’t
America's favorite sport (soccer is), but it sure is fantastic and fun!
