An Exciting and Gratifying Sport - Basketball

One day, a boy, named Robert, encountered a sport that looked interesting and enjoyable but he had no idea how to perform the sport. A person that Robert saw playing the sport, called out, "Throw me the basketball." Robert wished he knew how to play with the basketball.

James A. Naismith created the game of basketball. The game consists of one ball and two hoops. The ball contains an orange color with black stripes proportioned all around the ball. Each hoop includes a pole, a backboard (cardboard connected to the pole), a rim (a circular metal connected to the backboard), and a net (a cloth with two holes on either end and tied to the rim). In basketball, the game also involves a referee and two teams. Both of the two teams select five people to play on their team, which makes a total of ten people playing at one time. If a person has the ball on team A, team A plays offense; while team B plays defense. To play offense in basketball, each player has the opportunity to use three steps to perform. The three steps include dribbling, passing, and shooting. To play defense in basketball, each player can either steal or block the ball from the offense.

An offensive player dribbles by bouncing the ball up and down. First, the player holding the ball pushes the ball to the floor. Second, the ball comes back up

from the floor toward the player, due to the force pressed down from the player. Third, the player repeats the first step. If a player moves without dribbling, a referee penalizes the player by giving the defense the ball. The player with the ball dribbles so that the player can move closer to team A's hoop or to pass the ball to another teammate.

To pass the ball on offense, first, the player with the ball needs to stop dribbling. Second, the player picks up the ball. Third, the player brings the ball closer to his chest. Next, the player pushes the ball forward in the direction of a player on his team to pass the ball. Hopefully, the intended player of the pass catches the ball once it reaches him. After catching the pass, the player may dribble, pass the ball again, or shoot.

To shoot the ball on offense, a player picks up the ball if the player was dribbling. Next, the player pushes the ball upward with both arms to perform an arc to the hoop. The ball, if shot accurately, will travel through the air, land inside the rim, and extend through the net. The team who made the shot receives two or three points depending on how far the player stood from the hoop. If a player scored (a shot that went through the net), the defense did not achieve a steal or a block from the offense.

To steal the ball on defense, a player on team B has to deflect the ball before it reaches the intended player of the pass on offense. In addition, a player on team B can steal the ball from a person dribbling on team A. The player steals the ball from a person dribbling, by putting his arm out and grabbing the