Swish: The Quest for Basketball's Perfect Shot

Swish: The Quest for Basketball's Perfect Shot — page 5 — a game he called basket ball He posted a set of thirteen rules for his new sport before class on the morning of December 21 His students decided to give basket ball a try They loved it One day teachers from a nearby women s school saw the young men playing basket ball Their students started playing too Before long others learned about this challenging new game Soon basketball spread all over the country Naismith later admitted that basketball could have ended up being called crate ball or box ball He had asked the school s janitor Pop Stebbins for two square crates to nail up at either end of the gym Pop did not have any Instead he offered Naismith two round peach baskets A round ball and a round basket It made sense to Naismith and the rest is history Dr James Naismith Players and fans didn't hear any SWISH ing in the early years of basketball Not until 1893 were wooden baskets replaced by iron rims and nets Another twenty years passed before the modern net was invented and the first true SWISH was heard Still the thrill of making a perfect shot and the excitement of inventing a new one helped fuel enthusiasm for the United States newest game By the early 1900s men and women were playing basketball in almost every U S town The game was perfect for gyms dance halls theaters armories and field houses These buildings had large floors and

Swish: The Quest for Basketball's Perfect Shot — page 6 — Girl Power Women have been playing basketball unlike other sports for as long as men Women compete at every level from grade school to professional leagues The mother of women s basketball was Senda Berenson She was a teacher at Smith College in Massachusetts In the 1890s most people believed that playing sports was bad for the health of young women Berenson disagreed She thought basketball was an excellent game for her students In 1899 the Spalding sporting goods company asked Berenson to write the official rules of women's basketball They were different from the men s rules Players were not allowed to run up and down the entire AP court They had to stay in certain zones Also there was a limit to the number of times a player could dribble Berenson s rules made passing and shooting very important parts of the women's game Not surprisingly some of the finest shooters in the country during that time were women For the next sixty years or so women continued to play basketball according to these rules Six players took tu court for each team Three played offense only and three played defense only They did not cross half court the area where a line separates the court in two equal halves This restriction kept the best players from showing all their modern skills By the early 1970s the women's game finally began to change Women played five on five just like the men Free to display all their talent the top stars proved just how good they could be At the same time the women's game was growing in popularity in Europe and Asia Several countries started professional leagues During the 1980s and 1990s many U S college stars played overseas after graduating The first successful US pro league started after the 1996 Olympics The U S team above had won the gold medal and fans everywhere were very excited about women's basketball The Women's National Basketball Association WNBA began play in 1997 Over the years the world's best players joined the league They helped focus even greater attention on the teamwork energy and skill that characterize the women's game

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