Basketball the way it should be

I grew up playing basketball. It has always been and always will be my favorite sport to play. There is no sport that epitomizes the term “team” better than Dr. Naismith’s game.

Here’s a quick history lesson for you non-basketball fanatics: Naismith was told by Dr. Luther Halsey Gulick, the head of Physical Education at the School for Christian Workers, to create a new indoor game that the children could play during the frigid New England winters. He ultimately thought of the game basket ball, which is the distant relative to modern-day basketball. In basket ball, players weren’t allowed to run while in possession of the ball (seriously). This meant every player on a team touched the ball on virtually each possession.

Fast forward to contemporary times, where we see 50-point games in the NBA almost weekly, players dribbling out the entire 24-second shot clock without passing to a single teammate, and me-first attitudes everywhere. Naismith would be appalled.

Even college basketball, which is widely acknowledged as a much more team-based form of the game than the NBA, is heading down the dark path of star players dominating the landscape.

But just before we give up all hope on the greatest team game ever conceived, let’s look at the Amherst College men’s basketball team. They sport a 20–0 overall record (6–0 in their conference) with only four regular season games remaining. The kicker? The team’s leading scorer, senior forward Dan Wheeler, is averaging a paltry 12.8 points per game. Three other players average just more than 10 points. Five players average 3.5 rebounds or higher, with the leader averaging a mere 4.5 per game.

No gaudy statistics. No give-me-the-damn-ball-type guys. Just an undefeated record for the Lord Jeffs, and a more-than-realistic shot at winning an NCAA Championship this season. Oh yea, I almost forgot, Amherst racked up 18 of a possible 25 first-place votes in this week’s Division-III Top 25 poll.

They are playing the game like it should be played, and they’re winning – a lot. Is there any better combination?

Posted January 30, 2007 at 10:34 pm by Andrew | Share on Facebook
Categories: amherst college, basketball

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  1. basketball on February 27th, 2008 3:23 am

    We all know that basketball is a team game. These days however, we often see some basketball teams as rely on a single player to carry their team. Although it is very much fun to watch a very athletic and explosive player nothing beats teamwork. I truly agree with you, basketball must be played as it really should… with teamwork.

    Thanks!

    – stephen

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