Saturday, June 04, 2005

basketball history

Basketball History

• In the 1990s, the Chicago Bulls twice
won three consecutive NBA titles. On all
six occasions, Michael Jordan was named
Most Valuable Player of the NBA Finals.

• In the 13 seasons from 1957 to 1969,
the Boston Celtics won 11 championships.

• In the 1980s, the Los Angeles Lakers
went to the NBA Finals eight times and
won five championships.

• When Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retired in
1989 at the age of 42, he was the NBA’s
all-time leader in scoring, blocked shots,
most valuable player awards, and appearances
in All-Star games. In college, playing
for UCLA and the legendary John
Wooden, Kareem played three years of
varsity basketball, leading the Bruins to
the national title each year and earning
the tournament’s most valuable player
award each year.

• In 1979, Magic Johnson and his
Michigan State Spartans defeated Larry
Bird and his Indiana State Sycamores for
the 1979 NCAA Championship. In 1984,
Bird avenged that loss when he led the
Boston Celtics to victory over Johnson’s
Lakers in the NBA Finals.

• Oscar “The Big O” Robertson averaged
30.8 points per game, 12.5 rebounds per
game, and 11.4 assists per game during
the 1961-62 season. To reach double figures
in three statistical categories is a
noteworthy accomplishment, and basketball
fans have a name for it – a triple-double.
Only “The Big O” was able to average
those kinds of numbers for an entire
season.

• Wilt Chamberlain once scored 100
points in a game, and on another occasion
he snagged an astounding 55 rebounds.


• For his career, Bill Russell averaged 22.5
rebounds per game. In 1966-67, Bill
Russell was player-coach of the Boston
Celtics, making him the first black coach
in NBA history. Under his leadership–on
the court and off–the Celtics won the
NBA Finals in 1968 and 1969.

• Paul Arizin, at the age of 24 and nearing
his prime, left the NBA and joined the
Marine Corps before the 1952-53 season.
He served for two years during the
Korean War but still managed to maintain
his skills while in the military. In 1954,
Arizin made a triumphant return to the
league, playing for the Philadelphia
Warriors. Arizin became only the third
player to reach the 15,000-point plateau
and left the NBA, at age 34, having
amassed 16,266 points, 6,129 rebounds
and 1,665 assists in 713 games. In 1996,
he was named to the NBA’s 50th
Anniversary All-Time Team.

marines basketball

The roots of basketball go back to 1891, when Dr. James A. Naismith — a minister, doctor and educator— decided to invent a sport designed for off-season physical exercise. Basketball has since evolved from the 13 rules Naismith established to
high-dollar paydays for players that fly through the air with the “greatest of ease.” The Marine Corps boasts a few of those players on its teams. Basketball is another adrenaline-rush sport that Marines partake of in their off time. Marines give this sport 110 percent when they hit the court, not because they have to, but because that’s how you win the game, and Marines are all about winning.

basketball clinics

Two American basketball players are arriving in Tanzania on Saturday, May 14, to conduct basketball training clinics for Tanzanian basketball players, especially young athletes in secondary schools.

The two players, Courtland Freeman and Alvin Green, graduates from Georgetown University and Coastal Carolina University respectively, serve as Cultural Envoys in the U.S. Department of State's Culture Connect Programme. The Programme utilises the talents of young Americans to engage with other young people around the globe.

According to a press release from the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam, some of the schools that will participate in the basketball clinic include Jitegemee and Makongo secondary schools, the International School of Tanganyika, and the Don Bosco Youth Centre.

On Sunday afternoon the players will put on an exhibition game at the Don Bosco Centre with Savio - a local semi-pro team - that will preceed the final game of a youth tournament being organised by EMIMA, a non-profit organisation that uses sports to educate young people on HIV/AIDS.

Courtland Freeman graduated from Georgetown University on May 22, 2004, where he was a member of the Georgetown basketball team for five seasons. He was the team co-captain, the first person in Georgetown history to be captain for three seasons. In his final season, Courtland started every game averaging eight points and five rebounds.

Courtland's leadership skills were displayed on and off the court during his tenure at Georgetown. In 2004, he won the Raymond Medley model student athlete award as well as the captain's award. After the 2003 season, Courtland received the Mary Fenlon scholar athlete award, the captain's award, and was selected to the Big East Conference's all academic basketball team.

Alvin Green graduated from the Coastal Carolina University on May 7, 2005, where he was a member of the Coastal basketball team for five seasons on a full scholarship. He was nominated "MVP" of the team by his peers for the 2002-2003 seasons. From 2002 to 2005 season, Alvin was the team co-captain for three seasons.

While attending CCU, Alvin participated in Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) which helped implement new programmes for student athletes in the local community as well as learn how to become a better leader. He also coached and instructed various basketball camps at Coastal Carolina University.

Previous Cultural Envoy programs have taken the basketball players to South America, Europe, the Middle East, West Africa, North Africa, and the Far East. After their visit to Tanzania, the Cultural Envoys will continue on to Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa.