James Naismith and His Impact on Basketball

Name: Jake Yerbey Thesis Statement: Let’s learn who James Naismith is, and discuss how basketball was invented, the game’s rules, and how the game affects us economically in the present.
Introduction: A. Attention Getter: Have you ever wondered how the great sport of basketball was invented, and how it became the sport we have all come to enjoy today.
B. Relevance Statement: Although we might not all play basketball, we all know what the game is; and I am sure you could all name at least one player: LeBron James, Stephen Curry, James Harden and Kevin Durant just to name a few. All thanks to James Naismith, we have the game of basketball. Basketball took a quick rise through the sporting world, being introduced to the Berlin Olympics in 1936, about 40 years after it was formally invented by James Naismith. It has risen to affect the American and worldwide economy, and many people depend on this game to make a living. (Laughead, 2005) Credibility: I have been an avid basketball player and fan since I was old enough to hold a round ball. I have played my whole life since I began to walk, so I am no stranger to the sport.
D.Central Idea: James Naismith is a legend and is credited to creating the game of basketball. Thanks to Naismith it became a community defining the sport, which can help unite communities, and sometimes nations, with just a little orange sphere of rubber and leather?
E. Initial Preview: To truly understand who this man is, we have to go back to the 1890’s and learn who James Naismith is, and discuss how basketball was invented, the game’s rules, and how the game affects us economically in the present.
Transition: Let’s discuss how this influential game came to be and go back to the beginning when Naismith came up with the initial idea of basketball the 1890’s. Body I. Basketball was invented by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts back in 1891. Designed under the necessity, as many people needed a sport to play indoors in the winter. Naismith was working at the YMCA training school in Springfield, MA when he invented the game. “He needed a game that could be played indoors in a relatively small space on cold or rainy days.” (Laughead, 2005). With the help of the YMCA and other world events, Naismith’s game caught on, and was spread all across the United States, as well as the world at large (MarioArceri, Valerio Bianchini,2005). Naismith wanted the game to be like soccer but played with your hands, he also wanted for the goals to be off the ground, so it was different from soccer. However, he wanted it to have less contact than rugby (Boling, Jeff).
Transition: Now that we’ve covered how this game was invented, let’s discuss the modern rules of the game Naismith laid down.
Body II. The rules of the game of basketball have become more complex over time, but these are the basic rules that should be learned first. A violation occurs when the player breaks one of the rules of basketball, and this results in the awarding of the ball to the opponents. A violation can include a multitude of things. For example, you cannot run with the ball more than two steps without dribbling it, this is a traveling violation, and would give the ball to the other team. (FIBA, 2011) Another example of violation occurs when a player “stops dribbling and then starts dribbling again or when he bounces the ball with both hands on the ball, this is called a double dribble.” Fouls are also key aspects to the rules of basketball and are committed from one player on a team to another on the opposing team. They can occur when the offensive player is being fouled by the defender by being “blocked, pushed, tripped, or held (FIBA, 2011). Offensive fouls are the other category of fouls, for example, “a player on offense commits a foul when charging into a stationary defender.” Anything that is excessively physical from an offensive player, such as a push, strike, or charge, can fall under this category. (FIBA, 2011)
Transition: Now that we know how basketball is practiced and the rules, let’s explore basketball in today’s world and how Naismith brought basketball from middle-America to the entire world.
Body III. In today’s struggling economy, basketball has a huge positive impact on the economy.
A. Annual college basketball games in Maui bring in lots of revenue for their economy, revenue that they would normally not receive. Held during Thanksgiving time, the EA Sports Maui Invitational NCAA men's basketball tournament “grosses annually about $8 million dollars” for the economy of Maui, according to Maui Tourism Bureau Executive Director Terryl Vencl (Hamilton, 2009). With national exposure and being aired on T.V. on ESPN, this is a huge part of helping the Maui economy.
B. Another example is the city of Houston saw a huge economic boom from the hosting 2010 NCAA tournament games. The city was estimated to have received about $38 million dollars of a boost to the economy from hosting just a weekend of basketball games for the NCAA March Madness Tournament (Martin, 2010).
C. Not to mention that all of this economic boost is not limited to the NCAA men’s basketball. NBA Cares is the league's global social responsibility program that builds on the NBA's mission of addressing important social issues in the United States and around the world. NBA Cares works with internationally recognized youth-serving programs that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes, including: Special Olympics, YMCA of the USA, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, UNICEF, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Since October 2005 when NBA Cares was launched, the league and teams have raised more than $260 million for charity, provided more than 3.3 million hours of hands-on service, and built more than 970 places where kids and families can live, learn or play in communities around the world and all of this is made possible thanks to James Naismith (NBA.com).
Conclusion: Transition to Conclusion: Although basketball may have a difficult learning curve, it is worth the effort that is required and worth all the economic benefits and uplifting.
A. So now, I hope you have a better understanding of who James Naismith was and the impact he left on the game of basketball.
B. Final Summary: After learning who James Naismith was, I have told you all about how basketball was invented, the game’s rules, and how the game affects us economically in the present. Now you can see how important he was to the game.
C. James Naismith is an honored legend all throughout Kansas and the U.S., Naismith is known as “The Coach of College Basketball”, and also has the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame named after him. As well as at the end of each NCAA Men’s Basketball year the best player of the year in college is awarded the James Naismith Award. So thanks to Naismith for creating and helping make basketball an American Sport we all enjoy to watch. Thank You.

Works Cited

Basic basketball rules. (2015). Retrieved fromhttp://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/baskBasi/basiRule.asp3.
Bollig, Jeff, and Doug Vance. Beware of the Phog: 50 Years of Allen Fieldhouse. SportsLLC, 2004. Print
Hamilton, C. (2009, Nove 22).Games slam dunk for Maui's economy. Retrieved fromhttp://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/525994.html
James Naismith, Basketball: its origin and development, Association Press, 1941
Laughead Jr., G. (2005). History of basketball. doi: Kansas Heritage
Mario Arceri, Valerio Bianchini, La leggenda del basket, Baldini Castoldi Dalai, Milano,2005
Martin, J. (2015, October).Houston sees financial slam dunk in 2011 final four. Retrieved from http://www.chron.com/sports/college-basketball-men/article/Houston-sees-financial-slam-dunk-in-2011-Final-1566457.php
NBA.com. NBA Cares, 15 Oct. 2005. Web. 12 Oct. 2015. <http://www.nba.com/cares/cares_overview.html>.
O'Leary, Ted, Bill Mayer, Joe Posnanski, Chuck Woodling, John McLendon, andAlexander Wolff. The Kansas Century: 100 Years of Championship JayhawkBasketball. Andrews Mcmeel Pub, 1997. Print