basketball tournament essay

Basketball Essay for Students and Children

500+ essay on basketball.

The game of basketball has truly become global in the last few years. The game is currently popular in the United States. Also, it is described by many as an American game because of the fun and competitive element in it. Also, this is one of the games which is played indoors and still caters to billions of fans around the world. This game was Dr. James Naismith from Canada. Initially, he invented the game by using a rectangular pitch which was 6 feet wide and 4 feet high. Additionally, the court includes a free throw line which is 12 feet long. In basketball essay, students will get to know about the different components that make the game of basketball special.

It is a team game that has gained immense popularity. Also, the game is played with the help of a ball and the ball is shot into the basket that is positioned horizontally. So, the objective in the game is to shoot the ball and score the maximum points. This game is played by 2 teams that constitute a total of 5 players each. Also, the game is played on a marked rectangular floor that has a basket on both the ends. 

Originally, basketball was played using a soccer ball. Also, it was James Naismith that used a peach basket which ha ad a nonhollow bottom. So, this basket was nailed at a height of 10 ft. above the ground and on an elevated track. If you consider the manual removal of the ball from the basket a drawback then the bottom was removed to and it took the shape of modern-day baskets. Also, dribbling was not part of the game initially. Eventually, it evolved till 1950 by which the balls got better shape due to manufacturing. 

Additionally, the orange ball was evolved from the brown ball. The brown ball was used in the beginning as it was thought that the ball is more visible. By 1996, the peach baskets used were replaced by metal hoops on the backboard. 

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Basketball Game 

At the start of the game, a referee tosses the ball at the center of the court between two players. One player from either team try to get their hands on the ball and the ball is passed on to the teammates. For scoring a point, a team needs to shoot the ball through the basket. If a shot is scored from a distance that is closer to the basket than the 3 point line than it fetches 2 points. Also, if the ball is shot from the distance behind 3 point line, it fetches 3 points. So, the team that has a maximum number of points is declared the winner. 

In case of a draw, there may be additional time allotted to both the teams. In the game, a player is cannot move if he is holding the ball. The player needs to dribble, otherwise, it is considered as a foul. Likewise, when there is a physical contact that affects the other team then it counted as a physical foul. 

Basketball is game played with a maintained and carefully marked court. It is a team sport that is commonly found in many different areas. 

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142 Basketball Topics & Essay Examples

If you need to write a research paper about basketball, it’s useful to read through some essay examples while looking for content ideas. Our team has compiled this selection of the best basketball research topics.

👟Top 10 Basketball Topics to Write about

🏆 best topics about basketball, 🤾 good basketball research topics, 🏀 interesting basketball titles for essays, 🎓 simple & easy basketball essay topics, ❓ research questions for basketball essays.

• Physiology of basketball players.
• Difference in football and basketball mechanics.
• Michael Jordan: basketball legend.
• Professional basketball and health risks.
• Mathematics of the basketball court.
• Comparing NBA basketball teams.
• Is basketball a dangerous sport?
• Bullying in college basketball teams.
• Efficacy of basketball slogans.
• Most famous basketball games of all time.
• The Cost of Running a NBA Basketball Team The estimated value is derived from a breakdown of various aspects such as; Sport which contribute 52% of the total worth Stadium which contribute 16% of the total worth Market which contribute 24% of the […]
• LeBron James’s: Biography of a Famous Basketball Player However, while people hear his name for a number of reasons, LeBron James became famous for his expertise in the game of basketball.
• National Basketball Association SWOT Analysis NBA headquarters are located in the USA, where the largest fan base and players reside. In the USA, the association has a huge fan base.
• Michael Jordan: The Story of a Basketball Player Michael was born into a large family he is the fourth of the five children in the family, and his parents are James and Deloris Jordan.
• An Overview of the Game of Basketball The game is played by throwing a puffed-up ball over the heads of the players; the ball goes down through one of the two baskets dangling at each end of the court.
• Jim Carroll’s Drug Addiction in the Movie “The Basketball Diaries” by Leonardo Dicaprio After the bursting of Jim and apprehending of his friends, using drugs red handed by the couch, disintegration starts taking place in the group and most of the boys lose their essence for being thrown […]
• Perfect Diet for a Women’s College Basketball Player Due to their complexity, proteins take a while in the body and that means that a lot of energy will be kept in the body only to be released at intervals when the body needs […]
• National Basketball Association: Porter’s Forces Analysis One way the use of Akamai has given NBA an edge is through the use of its 25,000 servers located across the globe.
• NBA: Competing on Global Delivery With Akamai OS Streaming Thus, the use of Akamai helps the NBA compete within this market because the company’s services are used to guarantee the provision of the high-quality content around the globe of regardless the location of the […]
• Rhetorical Analysis of Basketball In this aspect, it is worth considering basketball not only from an emotional and ethical point of view but also from a logical one, thus, the logos.
• World Basketball Legend: Stephen Curry In 2008, he was included in the second symbolic team of the best players in the US Student Championship, and in 2009 Curry played in the first team.
• Changes in NBA History Kirchberg makes a comparison of the growth of the league to the growth of athletes by noting that the league has grown “From the first superstar, center George Mikan of the Minneapolis Lakers, to its […]
• 12-Week Basketball Training Plan for Male Players However, on the other hand, the rhythm of the exercises should be less demanding for the athlete to have time to recover and regain energy after the season.
• The NBA 2K Game as the Element of Popular Culture Despite the original aim of producing the series of popular video games NBA 2K is a popularization of basketball among the representatives of the modern situation, the release of the series also focuses on advertising […]
• The Aspects of Basketball in the American Society In the 1980s, the National Basketball Association was organized in order to represent the interests of the professional players and regulate the main principles of the sport.
• The Basketball Game A basketball is a vital component in the game of basketball at the playing field, commonly referred to as a court and the basket. The lighter the basketball, the easier it is to roll the […]
• NBA Live 08 by EA Sports: History and Gameplay The last “generation” game to be released prior to the NBA Live series was NBA Showdown which was released in 1994 NBA Live 95 was the first of the series to be released and appeared […]
• San Antonio Spurs Analysis: The National Basketball Association San Antonio Spurs is one of the major teams in the National Basketball Association in the United States of America representing the city of San Antonio in the league.
• The US Basketball Teams’ Performance Analysis Data set was obtained from the NBA was categorical to the; NBA Team, year of specific games, points scored, and average level of the competence of the team.
• How White Privilege Works in Basketball White players are not obliged to understand or research the history of racism in sports and basketball. Non-white players are unable to be ignorant of race as they often encounter issues that have racism at […]
• Geometry Web Quest for Soccer, Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, Golf, Volleyball and Pool Field for golf is the biggest and made of grass, sand and water and is the biggest and it has no fixed shape. Soccer field is made of grass or synthetic material and is the […]
• Plyometric Training Effects on Jumping Performance in Junior Basketball Players Before the training procedure, the maximum vertical jump height of the groups was recorded, as well as the results of isometric tests on the maximal voluntary force of hip and knee extensors and the rate […]
• The Business Side of NBA and Other Sports The use of sports and the development of mass media have facilitated the growth of professionalism in sports.”This has created some friction where by the money is seen as more important than the recreational aspect”.
• Mark Cuban’s Leadership Style in a Basketball Team Leadership is the process of influencing people through acts of motivation and providing the employees with the course and the organizational goals.
• Sports Passion: Basketball in the Stadium Once the game is on and the ball is being dribbled on the court, spectators are glued to the ball and where it is.
• Kobe Bryant: “Beefsteak” in American Basketball History All through high school, he became star player on the courts and merited sufficient honors and triumphs to compensate for his lack of college basketball experience.
• Racial Diversity in the University Basketball Team In this tournament, I noted that the predominant races in most of the teams were African American and Caucasian. Although the lack of racial diversity in the University’s basketball team is apparent, few people seem […]
• National Basketball Association: Team Work From 1884 to 1889, the Spurs team had a rough time as they lost during all the four seasons, but with the help of Red McCombs, the originator, the team got encouraged and started improving.
• National Basketball Association’s Corporate Culture Therefore, it could be argued that emphasis on social issues, innovative approach to marketing, and size advantages are the main strengths of the league in the process of adaptation to the forces of globalization.
• Donald Sterling and National Basketball Association The scenario has attracted the attention of sports administrators and sociologists who have given their respective interpretations of the events that led to Sterling losing the ownership of the professional basketball franchise of the National […]
• NBA’s Corporate Culture Modernization Project The objective of this project is to explore the consequences for the NBA in terms of its social activity and to analyze the ways it will modernize its corporate culture to address the issues correctly.
• UC Riverside Men’s Basketball Team’s Social Media Marketing In order to increase credibility and maintain professionalism, the proposed website, twitter fan page, and Facebook channels will encompass processes and features that flawlessly facilitate a healthy lifetime relationship between social media and the UCR […]
• Sports and Entertainment Event in the USA: NBA Playoffs The NBA Playoffs is one of the favorite sporting events in the US. The viewer rating for the NBA Playoffs shows that this event is one of the biggest sports and entertainment events in the […]
• UCR Women’s Basketball Marketing Strategies Designing jerseys that contain a logo and the name of the basketball and selling them to fans, supporters, and sponsors effectively promote UCR Women’s Basketball.
• 2011 NBA Lockout: Public Relations Failure The NBA strike began on the 1st of July, 2011 and is still in effect until the time when the NBA owners and the National Basketball Players Association will make a deal.
• Comparison and Contrast of Jordan and Bird in the Game of Basketball
• Comparison Between Basketball and Soccer
• Comparison Between High School and College Basketball and Professional Basketball
• Analysis of the Basketball Community in New York City
• Analysis of the Basketball Game and Rules
• Analysis of the Fail to Succeed for Michael Jordan
• Analysis of the Impact of Money on Athletes in Relation to Basketball Players
• Basketball and Amateur Athletic Union
• Basketball Vs. Baseball
• Differences Between Amateur and Professional Basketball
• New York City Basketball Lost a Legendary Figure Last Week
• Middle Schools Should Return Middle School Basketball
• Effects of the Sport Education Model on University Students Game Performance and Content Knowledge in Basketball
• Employee Discipline and Basketball Referees: A Prediction Market Approach
• Greatest College Basketball Coach of All Time
• Basketball for Short People Basket to Be Lowered
• LeBron James Vs. Kevin Durant in NBA basketball
• Joseph Jefferson Jackson Missed Chance in the Basketball Hall of Fame
• Duration-Specific Peak Acceleration Demands During Professional Female Basketball Matches
• Identifying and Describing the Bad Boy in the Game of Basketball
• Market Evidence Against Widespread Point Shaving in College Basketball
• NBA During the 70s the Rise in Popularity of Basketball
• Suppose That the Price of Basketball Tickets at Your
• Clemon Tigers Men’s Basketball Team
• Broken Dreams and Predictable Future in Ex-Basketball Player by John Updike
• Relationship Between Outcome Uncertainties and Match Attendance: New Evidence in the National Basketball Association
• Joe Jackson Should Have a Place in the Basketball Hall of Fame
• Foreign Players and Competitive Balance in Greek Basketball and Handball Championships
• Practice and Feedback Methods to Improve Performance of Basketball Layups
• Factors determining production (FDP) in basketball
• Beckett Brenn High School All American Basketball Player
• Past, Present and Future of Lithuanian Basketball
• Basketball Comparison Clash Vince Carter
• Biography and Life Work of Basketball Player Michael Jordan
• Biography and Life Work of Larry Bird
• Life Work of Michael Jordan, an American Professional Basketball Player
• History of Basketball, a Popular Sport in America
• A Multicriteria Selection System Based on Player Performance
• Analysis of the Pyramid of Success from the Sports Successes of Basketball Coach John Wooden
• Proposal for a New Draft Process in the National Basketball Associations
• Basketball History: From Origins and Geographical Diffusion
• Basketball in Colleges University
• Basketball Shoes Product Positioning
• Basketball Is the Most Important Factor on Offense
• Benefits of Basketball Is the Most Productive Sport for Children
• Coaching High School Boys’ Basketball
• Corruption in College Basketball
• Consumption Benefits and Gambling: Evidence from the NCAA Basketball Betting Market
• Cultural Manifestation Via a Game of Street Basketball
• Developing a Basketball Training Program
• High School and Phenomenon Basketball Player
• Kobe Bryant: The Best Basketball Player of the Last Decade
• Leadership Qualities and Characteristics of Successful Basketball Coaches
• Marketing Plan for Basketball
• Methods and Techniques Used for Endurance Developing for the Basketball Beginner Teams
• Michael Jordan the Greatest of All Time National Basketball
• National Basketball Association and Cedar Park Center
• National Basketball Association and the Woman National Basketball Association
• Playing For Money / NBA Basketball Players and Personal Greed
• Professional Basketball Physical Performance and Genetic Predisposition
• Development and Evolution of Basketball
• Difference Between College and Professional Basketball
• Effect of Additional Police Force on Crime Rate: Evidence from Women’s Japan Basketball League
• History of Modern Basketball
• Media and Its Effects on the Sport of Basketball
• Women’s College Basketball History and Background
• Who Is Your Favorite Basketball Player?
• How Can Basketball Affect the Growth of a Child
• How a Basketball Player Vertical Jump Hang Time?
• Does Mental Imagery Improve the Performance of Free Throws in Basketball?
• Why Lebron Is the Best Basketball Player of His Time?
• What Muscles Does a Basketball Player Primarily Focus on?
• How Earl Lloyd Changed Basketball History?
• How Can Basketball Affect the Growth of a Child?
• What Does the Material Record Tell Us About Human Use of Space at the Basketball Courts?
• How Has Basketball Changed My Life?
• Does Basketball Star Endorsement Work in China?
• How to Increase Stamina in Basketball with Physical Exercises?
• Are Sunk Costs Irrelevant in the Basketball?
• How Did Basketball Influence the Philippines?
• How Does Gravity Limit my Potential as a Basketball Player?
• Do You Agree that Football Play is equal to Professional Athletes?
• What Does It Take to Be a Basketball Player?
• Does the Basketball Market Believe in the ‘Hot Hand’?
• How the Dream Team Changed Basketball Forever?
• How Basketball Statistics Affect Winning Percentage for NCAA Division?
• Are Former Professional Basketball Athletes and Native Better Coaches?
• What Does Basketball Look Like Without Michael Jordan?
• Does Early Career Achievement Lead in the Basketball to Earlier Death?
• Are Professional Basketball Players Reference-Dependent?
• Does Gender Affect Compensation Among NCAA Basketball Coaches?
• How Being a Basketball Player Teaches You to Handle Defeat?
• Are You Someone Waiting to Enter the World of Basketball?
• What a Basketball Player Should Eat?
• How Is Basketball Affected by Biomechanics?
• Should College Basketball Be Banned?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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• Basketball Essay

Essay on Basketball

Basketball is a widely popular and loved sport that is played all around the world. An essay on basketball would be incomplete without the mention of its smart moves and team-building benefits. Basketball is believed to have originated in Canada and the United States of America in the 19th century. There are several health benefits of playing basketball and it is an extremely fun physical activity. In this informative essay about basketball, the various benefits of playing basketball are discussed.

An Essay on Basketball and its Benefits 

While penning down the short paragraph about basketball this needs to be mentioned that when basketball is played, it is meant to be a source of joy and pleasure among its players. The aim of the play is to pass the ball through the basket which is hung on some height. Basketball can be a game between two individuals or, in the case of professional games, it is played between two opposing teams consisting of five players in each team. The score is determined by hitting the basket of each other’s teams. 

Due to the demand for heavy physicality from its players, basketball is highly favored. In this essay on basketball, the several health benefits of playing this sport are discussed:

Basketball is essential in promoting cardiovascular health among its players. It is immensely helpful for one’s heart health. Due to the game’s constant locomotion, the heart rate shows an increase. Thus, basketball lowers the risk of stroke and other heart diseases. 

Basketball is supremely effective in burning calories. Due to its constant, quick movements of running and jumping, basketball acts as a great way of working out and can drastically burn calories. 

Basketball strengthens the bones of its players. Due to the game’s primary dependence on physical energy, basketball results in bone strength among its players. The players’ muscles and bones get strengthened because of the game’s constant action of working muscles against the bones. 

One of the key health benefits which come from playing basketball is boosted immunity and reduced stress. Due to the busy nature of the game, the levels of stress among the players get reduced quite significantly. And with this decreased level of stress, the immune system gets boosted.

The dedicated practice of basketball develops better coordination among its players and improves their motor skills. The nature of basketball demands its players for excellent hand-eye and full-body coordination. Due to continuous training, the players develop their full-body coordination as well as their hand-eye coordination through the practises of dribbling and rebound shots.

Therefore, the health benefits of playing basketball are evident in the physical and mental fitness of the player. Apart from improving one’s overall health and height, the sport also develops fast-thinking abilities, reflex, and team spirit in youngsters.   

Basketball Experience Essay: Tournaments and Players

Now coming to the top basketball tournaments, an essay on basketball is simply incomplete without the mention of these names:

Basketball World Cup

Basketball at the Olympics

American tournaments like NBA, Argentine League LNB

Italian League

Spanish ACB league

To get a full-on understanding of the game and write down a basketball experience essay, one must watch these tournaments. The pace of the tournaments is such that one will automatically grow an addiction towards them. Then, if he is asked to write a basketball descriptive essay he will be able to write it easily.

Basketball essay writing becomes a cakewalk for someone who has grown up watching legends like Kobe Bryant playing the game with elan. The American sportsman spent his entire career playing for Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association. He breathed his last on 26th January 2020. He took the popularity of the sport to a different level and will be remembered for generations to come. 

Finally, if any of the important basketball essay topics are often left out then it has to be- ‘The Famous Indian Basketball Players.’ This basketball essay in English doesn’t do that. It humbly acknowledges the contribution of the famous Indian basketball players like Sat Prasad Yadav, Akilan Pari, and Prashanti Singh. They have made it really big over the years and continue to inspire millions of basketball players from all across the country. 

An Essay on My Favourite Game - Basketball

Basketball is a widely popular game that is played by several people all across the globe. In this section of basketball essay topics, the topics which will be discussed are the benefits of basketball in a person’s physical and mental health. There are several ways a person can benefit from playing basketball and those benefits are discussed in this basketball introduction essay.

The Basketball Essay in Short

Numerous physical and mental benefits result from playing basketball. Basketball is highly effective in promoting the cardiovascular health of its players. A healthy heart diminishes risks of heart diseases later in one’s life. Basketball’s high physical demand is crucial in burning calories and reducing body fat in its players.

Basketball also strengthens the bones due to the constant friction of muscles against them. It improves the immune system of the body and is effective in increasing players’ self-esteem.

Therefore, this is a complete essay on basketball in English which throws light on the game’s health benefits as well as how it helps to shape the entire personality of a player. 

FAQs on Basketball Essay

1. What is the Highest Governing Body in Basketball?

FIBA ( International Basketball Federation) is the highest governing body in basketball.  

2. Name Some of the Famous Basketball Players in the World. 

Michael Jordan, Lebron James, and Late Kobe Bryant are some of the famous basketball players of all time. 

3. Which Court is Considered as the Main Court in Basketball- The Outdoor Court or the Indoor Court?

In basketball, the indoor court is considered as the main court while the game played on the outdoor court is often called street ball. 

4. What are the health benefits of playing basketball? 

Playing basketball results in countless health benefits from burning calories to improving heart health by lowering the risk of getting a stroke. But a great cardiovascular health isn’t the only amazing health benefit playing this sport provides. It also strengthens one’s bones as well as muscles. It also leads to boosting of one’s immune system. And like engaging in almost any other sport or exercise, playing basketball has also shown to reduce the stress levels of its players quite conspicuously. This way, playing basketball also has a positive effect on not only one’s physical health, but their mental health as well.  

5. Who are some of the most famous basketball players? How does this sport shape the personality of its players?

Some of the most famous and highly respected basketball players include LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Satnam Singh, Amritpal Singh, and Prashanti Singh to name a few. 

Basketball tends to mould and shape the personality of the players just as much as it improves their physical and mental health. There are a lot of values, ethical beliefs, and other such aspects from the game that one can even apply to their everyday life like sportsmanship, teamwork, confidence, etc. 

6. What are some interesting facts about basketball? 

Initially, as the sport started, dribbling was not allowed at all and if a player got the - ball at a point and they compulsorily had to throw it to another player and continue the game like that. 

A physical education teacher, James Naismith, is the one who invented this sport and also wrote down the very first, the official rulebook of basketball.  

Michael Jordan wore his signature Air Jordans, his favorite shoes, by paying a fine as these shoes went against the guidelines of the NBA dress code. 

At the very beginning of it all, basketball was actually played with a soccer ball and a peach basket. 

7. What are some important rules of basketball? 

Some basic yet key rules of the game are: 

Each team is supposed to have 5 players present on the court at all times during the game. 

In order to win, a team has to score more field goals than the opponent team.

A player is not allowed to run with the ball; a player is only supposed to advance the ball by dribbling or passing and if a player stops dribbling, they have to either pass it or shoot it, not resume dribbling. 

There are quite a lot of fouls in the game and elbowing, blocking, tripping or knocking someone off, are some of the most common ones. 

To inbound the ball, the offense only has 5 seconds. 

Defenders are not allowed to interfere with a shot that is on a downward trajectory. In fact, this is considered to be illegal and is known as goaltending as it grants an automatic field goal to the offence then.

Both the ball handler as well as the ball have to remain within the boundaries of the court at all times. 

The defending team is legally allowed to block or steal the ball from the offending team and they can even use defensive tactics to prevent the latter from shooting and/or scoring. 

Each team has only a limited period of time during a given possession to shoot the ball. While in the NBA, this time limit is 24 seconds, in the NCCA, it is about 30 seconds. 

8. How does Vedantu encourage students to study?

One of the most popular and modern features of Vedantu is its one-on-one live interaction amongst the teacher and their students. As it is known, learning and studying by yourself with the help of the internet, and doing that in the presence of a teaching expert are two majorly different things with the latter being way more effective. This live interaction lets students communicate their thoughts and ideas more smoothly and also helps with the doubt-solving more easily. This social structure within Vedantu is one of the main ways through which it pushes students to study and speak their minds out loud. This is why Vedantu is a highly recommended portal for students to brighten their future. 

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A Brief History of March Madness

Every year, as winter wanes, a curious ailment spreads across the country. The thump of basketballs, the squeak of sneakers, and the roar of the crowd are sure signals that basketball fever is with us. It's a condition called "March Madness," and it afflicts millions of people with no known cure. Where did this malady originate?

A Tradition is Born

"March Madness" was born in Illinois. The annual tournament of high school boys basketball teams, sponsored by the Illinois High School Association, grew from a small invitational affair in 1908 to a statewide institution with over 900 schools competing by the late 1930's. A field of teams known as the "Sweet Sixteen" routinely drew sellout crowds to the University of Illinois' Huff Gymnasium. In a time before television, before the college game became popular with the average fan, before professional leagues had established a foothold in the nation's large cities, basketball fever had already reached epidemic proportions in the Land of Lincoln.

Giving It a Name

Henry V. Porter, assistant executive secretary of the Illinois High School Association, was so impressed by the phenomenon that he wrote an essay to commemorate it. Entitled "March Madness," it first appeared in the Illinois Interscholastic, the IHSA's magazine, in 1939. The term struck a chord with newspapermen, who used it throughout their pages. During the tournament's "Golden Era" of the 1940's and 1950's, "March Madness" became the popular name of the event. It was an era of some of Illinois' most legendary teams, including the undefeated 1944 Taylorville squad and Mt. Vernon's unstoppable back-to-back champions of 1949 and 1950. But the one champion remembered more than any other is tiny Hebron, a school of only 98 students, which won the tournament in 1952.

Making It Official

The IHSA tournaments continued to grow and develop. In 1963, the tournament moved to the huge new Assembly Hall on the campus of the University of Illinois and fans witnessed the most famous finish in history, when Chicago Carver beat Centralia on a last-second shot by a substitute named Anthony Smedley. "March Madness" grew as well. Beginning in 1973, the IHSA began using the term officially in its programs and on its merchandise. In 1977, the organization enlisted veteran Chicago sportswriter and Big Ten basketball referee Jim Enright to write the official history of the boys basketball tournament. The result was March Madness: The Story of High School Basketball in Illinois. As media technology advanced, the IHSA and KOST Broadcast Sales of Chicago produced March Madness: The Official Video History of the IHSA Basketball Tournament in 1989. Both the book and video were sold nationwide. During this period, the Illinois High School Association received trademark status for the term "March Madness" and registered the trademark "America's Original March Madness." The spirit of March Madness has subsequently spread from coast to coast, as other companies and organizations, including state high school associations and manufacturers, have been licensed by the IHSA to use these trademarks.

March Madness Today

Today's March Madness is different from the original version. Nowadays an "Elite Eight" of teams advances to the state finals, but there are eight tournaments — Class 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A versions, from the smallest schools to the largest, for both boys and girls, played in Peoria and Normal. "The Happening," a thrilling contest featuring the state's best three-point shooters, is now a part of these tournaments as well. And starting in 1996, the "March Madness Experience," an exhibition hall full of fun, games, and good times, has allowed fans of Illinois high school basketball to join in the action.

The popularity of these events now allows the IHSA to provide more than just good entertainment for its fans. A significant portion of the fees generated from the licensing of the unified marks "March Madness" and "America's Original March Madness" are used to fund college scholarships for Illinois high school boys and girls .

The Origin of the Term "March Madness"

"March Madness," the term used to describe the excitement surrounding the Illinois state high school basketball tournaments, first appeared in print almost sixty years ago. It was coined by Henry V. Porter, who started his career as a teacher and coach at Athens High School in central Illinois. In 1924, Porter led the Athens boys basketball team to a second-place finish in the state tournament. He later served as assistant executive secretary of the Illinois High School Athletic Association (from 1929 to 1940) and executive secretary of the National Federation of State High School Associations (from 1940 to 1958).

Porter, who edited the IHSA's journal, coined "March Madness" in an essay that appeared in the Illinois High School Athlete in March of 1939. Soon thereafter the nation was plunged into World War II. The drama of March Madness provided a unifying force that brought the entire state together, and Porter again commemorated the event, this time with a poem, "Basketball Ides of March," which appeared in the Illinois Interscholastic in March of 1942.

March Madness Homo of the Hardwood Court is a hardy specie. There are millions of him. He exists through summer and fall, shows signs of animation through the winter and lives to the utmost during March when a hundred thousand pairs of rubber soled shoes slap the hardwood in a whirlwind of stops and pivots and dashes on the trail to the state basketball championships. He is a glutton for punishment. When the March madness is on him, midnight jaunts of a hundred miles on successive nights make him even more alert the next day. He will polish his pants on sixteen inches of bleacher seat through two games or three and take offense if asked to leave during the intermission between sessions. He is happy only when the floor shimmers with reflections of fast moving streaks of color, when the players swarm at each end and the air is full of leather. For the duration of the endemic he is a statistical expert who knows the record of each contender, a game strategist who spots the weak points in a given system of offense or defense, a rules technician who instructs the officials without cost or request. Every canine has his day and this is Homo's month. He is a doodler who, while conversing, scribbles free throw lanes with a hundred radiating alleys. In May the three symbols of the New York Fair will take on their intended meaning but in March the helicline is a ramp to the balcony, the trylon is the pyramid of hundreds of teams being narrowed down to the one at the state championship pinnacle and the perisphere has the traditional four panel basketball markings. In everyday life he is a sane and serious individual trying to earn enough to pay his taxes. But he does a Jekyll-Hyde act when the spell is on him. He likes his coffee black and his basketball highly spiced. He despises the stall — unless his team is ahead. It is a major crime for the official to call a foul on the dribbler — unless the opponent was dribbling. His moods are as changeable as the March wind. He flies into a frenzy at some trivial happening on the court and before his vocal expression of disapproval is half completed he howls in delight at the humorous twist of a comment from a bleacher wit. He is part of the mass mind and is subject to its whims. He berates the center for attempting a long shot and lauds him when it goes in the basket. He is consistent only in his inconsistencies. The thud of the ball on the floor, the slap of hands on leather, the swish of the net are music in his ears. He is a connoisseur in matters pertaining to team coordination and artistry in action. The shifting zone, the screen and the spot pass are an open book to him. He speaks the language. He is biased, noisy, fidgety, boastful and unreasonable — but we love him for his imperfections. His lack of inhibitions adds a spontaneity that colors the tournaments. Without darkness there would be no light. A little March madness may complement and contribute to sanity and help keep society on an even keel. The writer's temperature is rising. The thing is catching. It's got me! Gimme that playing schedule! Basketball Ides of March The gym lights gleam like a beacon beam And a million motors hum In a good will flight on a Friday night; For basketball beckons, "Come!" A sharp-shooting mite is king tonight. The Madness of March is running. The winged feet fly, the ball sails high And field goal hunters are gunning. The colors clash as silk suits flash And race on a shimmering floor. Repressions die, and partisans vie In a goal acclaiming roar. On a Championship Trail toward a holy grail, All fans are birds of a feather. It's fiesta night and cares lie light When the air is full of leather. Since time began, the instincts of man Prove cave and current men kin. On tournament night the sage and the wight Are relatives under the skin. It's festival time, sans reason or rhyme But with nation-wide appeal. In a cyclone of hate, our ship of state Rides high on an even keel. With war nerves tense, the final defense Is the courage, strength and will In a million lives where freedom thrives And liberty lingers still. Now eagles fly and heroes die Beneath some foreign arch Let their sons tread where hate is dead In a happy Madness of March.

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Essays About Basketball: Top 5 Examples and 7 Prompts

Among the many essays about basketball out there, how can you make yours stand out? See this article for examples and prompts that will aid you in writing.

Basketball is a famous sport that has been around for 131 years. It was invented by a Canadian physical education instructor named James Naismith with two objectives: to keep athletes playing indoors during winters and to have a safer sport compared to football.

Over the years, basketball has grown to be a loved sport worldwide. It’s why it’s not surprising that it’s a great subject to talk about in your essay.

Below are examples to learn more about the game and how you can effectively write essays about basketball:

1. What Basketball Taught Me by Josh of San Diego, California

2. essay on basketball –  a sport of agility and endurance by randhir singh, 3. national basketball association and the woman national basketball association by lewis rios, 4. basketball: then vs. now by jaime moss, 5. essay on the last shot by darcy frey by mamie olson, 1. the most important skills for basketball, 2. what i learned through basketball, 3. why do i like basketball, 4. my unforgettable basketball experience, 5. my life as a basketball player, 6. basketball book or movie review, 7. the negative side of basketball.

“I believe basketball has taught me many valuable life lessons, and perhaps more importantly, played a significant role in developing me into the successful student and employee I am today.”

The author talks about how he fell in love with the basketball game – from watching it on television to participating in competitive basketball. He took the game with him as he grew. 

Through this sport, he learned many lessons, including commitment, responsibility, and teamwork. He expounds on how these values helped him through life through his essay. Finally, he ends his piece by encouraging others to try basketball or any sport to have motivation in life. For more, see these articles about basketball .

“Basketball is a sport of agility and endurance that develops by hand and eye co-ordination… Basketball even overtakes baseball as the unofficial American pastime.”

Singh reviews basketball rules and how they changed over time but with the same principles. He discusses the main rules and scenarios straightforwardly, making his essay short but informative. You may also be interested in these articles about baseball .

“Some of the differences between NBA basketball and WNBA basketball appear to be related to the differences in size or physical capacity of men and women… I think we can all come to the conclusion that no matter what the gender is or what the rules are, that both of them are out on the basketball court to just WIN.”

Rios’ essay focuses on the differences between the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Women’s NBA. Some of the things he mentions are ESPN and their basketball video game, where fewer people spend time on WNBA. Additionally, owners of WNBA significantly make less from their teams, thus having less to invest in or pay their players.

He also talks about some similarities between NBA and WNBA, including their popularity among fans. At the end of his essay, Rios hopes he has shared enough information with his readers about basketball.

“Other changes such as uniform colors, dunking rules, regulation on backboards… some over and over again until they became what they are today… Basketball is a great American sport, and perhaps one that requires the most skill along with a great mental game.”

Moss’ essay consists of James Naismith’s original 13 basketball rules and how these rules evolved. These modifications were done to make the game more efficient and fun. Some significant changes include dribbling, boundary lines, and pointing systems. 

He also mentions the controversy surrounding the three-pointer and how it affected the other game rules. In the future, basketball’s rules will continue to develop.

“I do think basketball is a valid option for most students to escape poverty… Basketball may open a few doors but there’s still no guarantee.”

The author recounts what The Last Shot by Darcy Frey is all about, retelling the story of Russel, Tchaka, Stephon, and Cory, who lived in a dangerous neighborhood and found escape in basketball. She then relays her input of basketball, helping these characters stay out of trouble, but it still isn’t enough to prepare them for the lives they’ll have to endure. 

She further expounds on the events in the book, centering on the direct relation between academics and basketball in the story. You might also be interested in these essays about volleyball .

7 Prompts on Essays About Basketball

After understanding more about the different subtopics of basketball, here are prompts that you can get inspiration from for your essay:

You don’t have to be a basketball player to know what skills are in demand for the game. You can simply be a fan or a casual spectator who knows how the game works. Tell your readers what you are so they can appreciate your essay from your point of view. 

Dedication, commitment, and consistency are only some of the things you develop when you love a sport. If you’re not a player yourself, but a close relative is, you can relay what they told you about basketball.

For example, you can relate to what your father tells you when you watch basketball gameplays with him. He may say he loves a particular team because of their teamwork. He may also say it shows in their gameplay. Then, you can delve into what “teamwork” means.

Like the other prompts in this list, this particular prompt doesn’t need you to be a player. Instead, to give you an idea, you can share your experience with the game, such as watching gameplay and liking how the people cheer for the players.

 You can also narrate how great the game was, not because the players are professionals but because they never give up.

If you’re a basketball player yourself, feel free to recount a scene that played out in one of your games that you will never forget. Describe how you got to that point and why. Include what it made you feel like then and what it makes you feel now. 

If you expect non-players to read your piece, write in a way that non-players will understand by avoiding basketball jargon. Or you can briefly explain what those related terms mean, so every reader will understand why it’s a memory you hold dear.

If no one thing stands out for you during your time as a basketball player, you can still write about it in the general term. For instance, you can share how a day in your life went when you were a player.

There are many books, movies, and literary pieces that you can check out and write an essay about. If you have a favorite piece about basketball, briefly summarize it and list why you’re so fond of it. You can also persuade your readers to check out the book themselves through these prompts.

Are you new to persuasive writing? For help with this topic, read our guide explaining what is persuasive writing ?

You can write about the problems connected to the game to give your essay a different atmosphere, such as the potential injuries for players, bullying within a team, or how few only make it to professional basketball. You can talk about something you want to give attention to and let your readers know your thoughts on it.

On the other hand, you can also share a bad experience related to basketball, like your father preferring to watch basketball on television than play with you and your siblings.

Here’s a great tip: If writing an essay sounds like a lot of work, simplify it. Write a simple 5 paragraph essay instead.

Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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The Thrills of the NCAA Tournament: Unmatched Excitement and Intense Competition

There’s something surreal about the men’s NCAA basketball tournament. One of the great things about the tournament is the excitement created by the one and out format if you lose. The uncertainty creates a level thrilling basketball that’s only found at the college level. Sixty-four teams will be competing to for a chance at the National Title. The teams can get to the tournament by means of two ways. The first way is to be highly ranked by a system called the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), which was formulated to help the NCAA basketball committee assemble and seed the teams for the tournament. The true selection process by the RPI is unknown but many former selection committee members have acknowledged that it is derived from three components including a team’s winning percentage (25%), its opponent’s winning percentage (50%), and its opponent’s winning percentage (25%). The other possibility of going to the tournament is to win the conference tournament, which teams belong. For those teams who have little hope of getting an at-large bid by the RPI system, they have a chance at the NCAA tournament by winning their conference tournament. Teams all across the nation are scrambling at a shot for this prestigious tournament. The tournament itself is better known as “March Madness.” Sports analysts, commentators, and announcers’ use of metaphoric terminology to help describe, explain, and illustrate why the men’s NCAA basketball tournament is so highly prestigious.

A metaphor allows one to describe a text so that it gives meaning and is understandable to others. Michael Osborn and Douglas Ehninger suggest that that a metaphor functions as a “communicative stimulus that allows a user to identify an idea or object through a sign which generally denotes an entirely different idea or object. Metaphor also functions as a mental response because of the interaction between ideas suggested by the terms usual denotation and its special denotation in the particular context.” Metaphors are critical in describing the event of the NCAA tournament and its importance.

The tournament is generally referred to as “The Big Dance.” This description of the tournament is widely used showing the importance of the event. There are many teams that would give anything to attend this so called “Big Dance.” This term in itself describes the prestige of a team going to the tournament. “Big” is officially known as great in size, and “dance” is officially known as moving one’s body and feet in rhythm. Many sports writers and commentators use these terms when March rolls around. The “Big Dance” was used just as often as the NCAA tournament was used in my research. Dick Vital is one of the commentators who often uses these terms and uses them with extreme intensity stating, “It’s that time of year fans, and here’s who I like in the “Big Dance…”

The pattern of these prestigious metaphors is also apparent in the different levels of the tournament bracket. Any team that advances two games into the tournament are immediately apart of what is normally called the “Sweet Sixteen.” At this point in the tournament, a team has made it to either the West, Midwest, South, or East, semifinals, but “Sweet Sixteen” is typically used as a more convincing term. The next round in the tournament is the separate divisional Championships. Most writers and commentators call this the “Elite Eight.” Another advancement in the tournament would send you into the National Semifinals where only four teams remain. The National Semifinals are better known as the road to the “Final Four.” The National Semifinals would be foreign to most people but the phrase “Final Four” is widely common. A team would then advance to the National Championship after winning a “Final Four” game. There have only been twelve teams in history to win two or more NCAA National Championship titles. UCLA leads with eleven titles, Kentucky with seven, Indiana with five, Duke with three, and North Carolina with three titles leading out the top five teams. The National Title is also known in the sports world as winning the “Crown.” These metaphors are highly known in the sports world including the “Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four, and the Crown.”

The next term that is widely used in the sports world describes a team who has had an average regular season and proceeded to upset a higher ranked team in their conference tournament. They try to ride that wave of momentum into the field of sixty-four and hope to upset another higher ranked team in the first and second rounds of the tournament to make it to the “Sweet Sixteen.” These teams are commonly known as the “Cinderella” teams. These teams typically don’t make it farther than the “Sweet Sixteen” where their season comes to an end. A perfect example of a “Cinderella” team would be Gonzaga University. What Gonzaga did was give every other team in the West Coast Conference hope. To most of the college basketball world, it must seem as if Gonzaga magically busted onto the NCAA tournament scene out of nowhere. What Gonzaga accomplished was reaching the “Sweet Sixteen” for the third straight season. Only the two other teams including Duke and Michigan State can say the same. This is why they are generally called “Cinderella” teams. Since Gonzaga has accomplished this feat in the past three years, they are no longer called a “Cinderella” team. If a team completes an upset during the first round but doesn’t go on to win another game they’re just called “One Hit Wonders.” There are also many other metaphors describing this type of team which many people call “David vs. Goliath” success stories. Teams such as Duke or Michigan State are typically known as “Powerhouse” teams. They are called this because of their frequent appearances in the “Big Dance.” A “David vs. Goliath” success story is described when a smaller team such as Temple who had a seed of eleven beats a team such as Florida with a number three seed. Another example would come from last year’s 2001 tournament when number two seeded North Carolina lost to number seven seeded Penn State to advance to the “Sweet Sixteen.”

In particular, I looked at the live coverage of the 2001 NCAA final four and all of its media coverage. There were three games that I researched including the two final four games that consisted of (Arizona versus Michigan State and Duke versus Maryland) and the National Championship game, which hosted Duke versus Arizona. One of the metaphors used to describe the tournament is war. Many commentators often refer to the NCAA tournament in a sense of comparing the competition to aspects of war. On the other hand, this terminology was in no means used in a negative context concerning events that have happened in the past or that are currently affecting us. They use this language of warfare to explain, define, illustrate, and compare the tournament with war. The games are typically referred to as battles.

Holly Cross coach Ralph Willard claims, “This is do-or- die basketball for the so called mid-major schools. You have to be tough out there… Set tone and tempo from the start. Fight your way through screens, set good picks, block out strong, and battle on the floor for loose balls.” This statement shows the level of intensity, which the games are being played. Players are also referred to as warriors out on the court. Shane Battier of the Duke blue devils discussing the tournament claimed, “We’ll never wave the white flag… We have too much pride. We know what it’s like to look into the eyes of a surrendering team.” Battier was also described as a “veteran” of the Duke blue devils. This metaphor is used to describe a player who has played for a team for duration such as Battier has done for four years. Many players who have as much talent as Battier end up leaving college early to enter the NBA draft before they finish their college career. During the games of the final four of the 2001 NCAA tournament, many warlike connotations were used. First, Duke was referred to as an “enemy” of their opponent Arizona. This suggests somewhat of a rivalry between the two teams. They were the only two teams out of sixty-four to successfully win five straight games and make it to the National championship. Another term that was used was “bombs.”

This terminology referred to Duke’s Jason Williams “dropping bombs” which was used in the manner of him scoring several points consistently. He made four baskets in a row which could have also been taken as him “shooting” very well. Williams was also referred to as being a very “explosive” player. This terminology was used to describe is quickness on the court to drive past his opponents. The use of ‘attack” was used many times to describe players getting rebounds and driving into the lane to score points. For example, Shane Battier was described as “attacking the boards” which means he was getting a lot of rebounds. There were many other terms used in describing the final four such as “war,” “hero,” and “defeat.” These terms are all helpful in describing the tournament and basketball in general so that people can understand it better.

Another typical use of metaphor terminology involves the use of fantasy and myth. The tournament is described as an event that is so prestigious the whole experience is said to be surreal. Many terms related to fantasy and myths are used to describe the tournament. First of all, as I stated earlier, teams that aren’t expected to win are called Cinderella teams. These teams are typically called Cinderella teams because of the success story that was not supposed to have happened. These teams’ success stories are related to the story of Cinderella (hence the name.) The “David and Goliath” success story is another use of metaphor typically describing an underhanded team that beats a more prestigious team in the NCAA tournament. Maryland was the only team who was described this way last year in the finals because they lost to Florida State (the worst team in the ACC) during their last regular season game. Once they were in the tournament, they beat the number one seeded Stanford in the West’s final to advance to the final four while they were only ranked a number three seed in their division. The game was a “David and Goliath” match because Stanford was the number one seed in the West division. The tournament is also referred to as a “dream” for the players. There is only sixty-four teams that get a chance in the tournament and for those teams who win four straight games; they have made it into the “final four” best teams of the nation. Many references were made to the senior players that may or may not get a shot at the next level of the NBA. These players at least got to go out in style if they didn’t have a chance in the draft.

There were also many more metaphors used in covering the tournament that didn’t fit into a specific “bracket.” One of these metaphors described the tournament as a “cornucopia of basketball madness.” This was a way of describing the number of games in which the tournament hosts or showing how so many different teams across the nation were involved in the tournament. The entire tournament is described more often by the two metaphors of “March Madness, The Big Dance, and/or March Mayhem.” First, “March Madness and March Mayhem” describes the one and out style of the tournament if you lose. This puts pressure on the players and coaches because upsets are always bound to happen. “The Big Dance” also describes the tournament’s diversity where teams shuffle to gain spots no matter how they compare to the other team’s strength. This reiterates the fact that so many teams are fighting for the same goal (The NCAA men’s basketball championship.)

Sports analysts, commentators, and announcers use of metaphoric terminology help to describe, explain, and illustrate the why the men’s NCAA basketball tournament is so highly prestigious. Metaphoric categories of war-like and fantasy terminology help in showing why the tournament is so prestigious. The tournament coverage of CBS closes with David Barrett’s piano preamble. The song is also shows how the “thrill of victory and agony of defeat” wraps up the tournament. The power of these metaphors exemplify why the tournament is so important to the players, coaches, and fans of colleges who get a chance to participate.

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Game on: London street basketball tournament – a photo essay

With the official London basketball league postponed until November – but informal sports fixtures of up to 30 people allowed – a group of local players organised a street tournament to lift their spirits

Words and pictures by Juan Trujillo Andrades

B asketball is not the most high-profile sport in the UK, somehow seen as an American phenomenon, but a thriving community of young Londoners ardently follow and play the sport. With competitive games on hold, basketball player Nhyira Asihene, known as Heish, decided to organise an impromptu tournament in south-east London.

With the official London basketball league postponed until November, it seemed that a street tournament would be the perfect way to get players together enjoying their sport.

As the tournament progresses the games become ever more intense

“A lot of people were itching to get back on the court and were happy to get active again,” says Nhyira. “I wanted to create an atmosphere of peace, love and positivity among the young people in our community. We are aware of what’s been happening with all the protesting, and this comes to show how we can all get along and be united as one.”

Clockwise from top left, a player aggressively pushes his way to the basket during the play-offs; a player dunks the basket; the defence was aggressive in every fixture; reaching for a rebound

The tournament took place on a sunny morning on Monday 31 August. At the call time of 11.30am, the players had arrived at the street court in Curlew Close. The court had a palpable buzz, full of players warming up and practising their shots. Some were already dunking the ball to the cheers of their competitors.

Players were divided into teams of four. One one side of the court were those who play together in local teams such as the Greenwich Titans; on the other, those who had only just met, having seen the tournament advertised on Facebook, TikTok or Instagram.

No player is given an easy time on the court

The games were played in half-courts, and as soon as the whistle blew, the environment became charged with tension and excitement.

Joe fights for position as the game becomes ever more intense

The teams played short, intense matches, battling to be the first to 15 points, in a fashion typical of street tournaments. As the intensity of the games increased, the court grew louder and livelier. Suddenly, a hush descended in a moment that revealed how hard the guys had been playing; one player had dislocated his knee and an ambulance was called. Everyone clapped and shouted encouragement as he was wheeled away on a stretcher.

Clockwise from top left, Jordan fights his way through the defence; some players still have the energy for one more game; Emmanuel, in centre, helps keep track of the scores; the eliminated teams remain to watch the end of the tournament

As teams were eliminated, players that had been knocked out remained around the court to watch the drama unfold. The final game finished at around 4.30pm and the atmosphere courtside was as though people had witnessed the final of the NBA, all impassioned shouting and dedication.

A player fights hard to reach the basket

“Due to this pandemic, a lot of people haven’t been as willing to go outside and take part in team sports such as basketball,” says Asihene. “But basketball and other sports have provided and continue to provide our young ones with role models to look up to.” The last few months must have felt like an eternity to these young players, but they certainly can still play hard.

The winning team: left to right, Afeez, Joe, Samson and Emmanuel

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From the Judges, to the People

Tournament Reports as Tournament Essays

Written by Joshua Feingold

There’s a new requirement that you must write a “tournament report” in order to test for L2. A page of tournament reports exists on JudgeApps for reference and sharing.  These tournament reports vary widely in format, length, and style, so figuring out how to write your own tournament report and what to include in it can be daunting. This article will examine the inherent value of tournament reports and formulate an approach to writing tournament reports that will bring more value to the reader.

Critical Essays, Not Book Reports

The purpose of writing a tournament report is for someone else to read it and learn from it. If the reader is going to invest time into reading your tournament report, you should strive to make it worth that time.

When you were older, you probably wrote critical essays examining themes of a book, recurring elements, references to outside events, and literary influences. You chose a point you wanted to make about the book, and focused on whether, how, and why that book had some specific characteristics. If you read a book and then read a critical essay regarding it, you learned something new.

Your tournament report should aim to be a critical essay, not a book report. Don’t just tell readers what happened. Explain why it happened and what can be learned from your experience. The value comes from analysis, not recitation.

Introductions

Instead, focus your report on a stated topic. Use the first paragraph to help the readers understand what information you will take for granted and what you are hoping to teach. This will mentally prepare them–or let them know this report isn’t for them.

Do: Focus on discussion and insight

“This tournament had a number of very unusual rulings arise. During the day, floor judges approached me with four separate situations they thought a deviation might be appropriate, and I additionally deviated on one appealed ruling. While deviations are rarely advisable, I will examine each of these cases and discuss why I chose to deviate or not. I will be assuming the reader has a thorough knowledge of policy and focus instead on the philosophy behind each potential deviation.”

Do: Highlight specific challenges

“Last Saturday I had the challenge and pleasure of running a PTQ where two of my three floor judges had never before worked at a competitive event with more than 12 players. This tournament report will focus on how I managed each judge’s duties to maximize the quality of the event for the players and opportunities for mentorship for these new judges.”

Don’t: Emphasize unnecessary details.

“This event was a Standard GPT. We had 26 players. The event was scheduled for noon. The players’ meeting started at 12:13. Round 1 began at 12:19. The average round turnaround following that was 61 minutes.”

Exploring Themes

Your tournament report is built around the topic you set out in your introduction and molded to suit your audience. You should include enough detail that your target audience can both learn from your experience and offer constructive feedback.

Do, in a report on logistics for running an efficient tournament:

Do, in a report on logistics:

“Three deck checks were planned for each round without a full-round break: one start of round and two mid. As soon as each check finished, the judge who was not returning decks would go look for another table to swoop. This reduces delay between checks. As soon as he got back to the judge station, both participating judges began sorting. The match slip was then handed to the third judge who would pull the list for each before returning to the floor until he saw the judge swooping new decks. This speeds up the check itself. Using this technique, we managed to get three decks done before 25 minutes had elapsed in each round, making it easy to give half-round breaks following the end of deck checks.”

Don’t, in a report on logistics:

“Round 4 started at 3:09 PM. We did 1 beginning-of-round check and 2 mid-round checks. Each resulted in a 6 or 7 minute extension. During one mid-round we gave a Marked Cards warning and asked the player to replace his sleeves after the match. We had 2 appeals. One was a player who didn’t want a game loss for Drawing Extra Cards. The other regarded the interaction of Blood Moon and Fulminator Mage. The player thought Blood Moon made the lands Basic. Both were upheld. Three matches went to turns, but all finished quickly after time was called. Jeff went on a half-round break this round.”

Resist the urge to simply state things you know. Stay focused on the parts of the event that pertain to your theme. In your introduction, you made a contract with the reader. Some people stayed, and you don’t want to waste their time with miscellaneous facts. Others moved on, and you don’t want them to be missing valuable content because you told them the topic was something else.

You may not know what lessons you learned until the tournament is over and you’ve had time to process feedback from players, staff, and the TO. You may even think you know what you want to write about, then discover later another theme would be better. Missing notes can hamper your ability to write the report you want to write. It is far easier to skip over notes that aren’t relevant than to recall facts you didn’t record. Write everything down.

Conclusions

Do: Conclude with analysis

“For the first couple rounds, I shadowed Bert whenever I had the chance. I was looking not just at whether he was correct or incorrect, but also at the way he presented information. I let him make a small mistake (i.e., LEC where it should technically be GRV), but I stopped him when he was about to make a big one (i.e., GRV vs DEC). After I had a rough feel for his knowledge level, I used some additional scenarios to dig a bit deeper. At the end of the day we talk about what I observed, and he reminded me of a couple important things I had been too busy to note as they happened.”

Don’t: Wrap up with details

“We had 5 appeals, 4 upheld. We checked 26% of decks in the field. We had one potential cheating investigation, but determined it was just very sloppy play. Except for round 6, we kept turnaround under 60 minutes each round. Failure to reveal morphs actually resulted in more game losses being given out than D/DLPs.”

Make your tournament report valuable. Think of it as a critical essay, not a book report. Determine what aspect of the tournament was worth talking about and who would be interested in that topic. Explore the relevant aspects of the event in enough detail that your target audience can learn and give feedback. Write down plenty of notes from the event, but don’t bog down your report with extraneous information. Give a summary they can quickly refer to or copy down to remind them of the lessons of the report.

Now get out there, and share your lessons with the judge community!

May 3 & 4, 2024 (Gem State Shootout)

Basketball Tournament 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, JV, and Varsity boys and girls- 3 game- $300.

May 10 & 11, 2024 (Western States Championship)

May 17 & 18, 2024 (Sportsmanship Championship)

May 31 & June 1, 2024 (End of Season Championship)

June 21 & 22, 2024 (Golden Rule Championship)

July 5 & 6, 2024 (Summertime Madness #1)

July 26 & 27, 2024 (Summertime Jam)

August 16 & 17, 2024 (Summertime Madness #2)

August 30 & 31, 2024 

September 13 & 14, 2024 

October 11 & 12, 2024 

October 25 & 26, 2024 (Smash the Pumpkin Championship) 

November 1 & 2, 2024 

More dates to be added. Please check back.

Justin Abson Pens Papers With Bulldogs

April 26, 2024 | Men's Basketball

Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year transferring to UGA

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Ex-Nebraska women’s basketball assistant coach denies sexual involvement with player who sued

FILE - Nebraska associate head coach Chuck Love instructs players from the sideline during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Indiana, Feb. 14, 2022, in Lincoln, Neb. Love, in his answer to a civil lawsuit filed in February by former Nebraska player Ashley Scoggin, denied having a sexual relationship with Scoggin. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz, file)

FILE - UNLV guard Ashley Scoggin (0) dribbles during an NCAA basketball game against Creighton, March 23, 2024, in Los Angeles. Former Nebraska assistant Chuck Love, in his answer to a civil lawsuit filed in February by former Nebraska player Ashley Scoggin, denied having a sexual relationship with Scoggin. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong, file)

FILE - Nebraska head coach Amy Williams watches from the bench during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Iowa, Jan. 27, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. Williams and former Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts said in their joint response to Ashley Scoggin’s civil lawsuit, that they had no knowledge of the sexual relationship Scoggin alleged to have with former assistant coach Chuck Love. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, file)

FILE - Nebraska Athletic Director Trev Alberts stands on the sideline before the team plays against Ohio State plays in an NCAA college football game, Nov. 6, 2021, at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb. Nebraska women’s basketball coach Amy Williams and former Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts said in their joint response to Ashley Scoggin’s civil lawsuit, that they had no knowledge of the sexual relationship Scoggin alleged to have with former assistant coach Chuck Love. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz, file)

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Former Nebraska women’s basketball assistant coach Chuck Love denied ever having a sexual relationship with former Cornhuskers player Ashley Scoggin but acknowledged in a court document that he did meet with her late at night in a Lincoln parking lot.

Scoggin in February filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. District Court describing how Love allegedly took a special interest in her and saying the relationship turned sexual and caused Scoggin to fear retaliation if she refused to engage in it.

The lawsuit named Love, the university’s Board of Regents, women’s head basketball coach Amy Williams and former athletic director Trev Alberts as defendants. Scoggin seeks a jury trial in Lincoln and unspecified damages for the alleged violation of her civil rights.

Williams and Alberts, now the athletic director at Texas A&M , are accused of not setting rules, training or policies prohibiting staff members from having sexual relationships with athletes.

Scoggin played two seasons for the Huskers. She was dismissed from the team on the same day Love was suspended with pay in February 2022. Love resigned three months later. Scoggin, who is from Dallas, Oregon, transferred to UNLV.

Love’s response, filed Friday, disputed most of the allegations by Scoggin, who was kicked off the team a few days after teammates discovered her, fully clothed, in Love’s room during a road trip.

Love denied Scoggin’s claims he sought sexual relationships with students, that he discussed inappropriate topics with her and that he invited her to go out for drinks.

Love acknowledged he met Scoggin at a parking lot, saying in court papers she was “emotionally distraught and urgently insisted that she needed to see (him) immediately, so they agreed to meet at a parking lot, a place where Scoggin felt she could speak without fear of being heard by others, in particular other players on the team.”

Love denied Scoggin’s allegation of a second late-night meeting at a Costco parking lot, where she said he kissed her and asked, “Have you ever done anything with a coach before?”

Scoggin was discovered in Love’s hotel room during a trip to Penn State in February 2022. Teammates engaged in a ruse to obtain a key to Love’s room. When they entered, they discovered Scoggin on the bed fully clothed. Love said Scoggin had been in his room at her request to discuss a personal problem.

The regents, Williams and Alberts said in their joint response to the civil lawsuit that they didn’t have “sufficient information and belief to either admit or deny the allegations” of a sexual relationship between Scoggin and Love.

They said Scoggin admitted during a meeting with administrators that she violated university rules and policies. The nature of those violations weren’t specified in the court document. Williams and executive athletic director Keith Zimmer then told her she was off the team. Alberts supported that decision during another meeting that included Scoggin’s parents. Scoggin, at that meeting, said there was nothing sexual between her and Love.

“Defendants admit Williams told Plaintiff and her parents that violation of the University’s rules and policies, and the dishonesty and distrust between Plaintiff and her teammates, warranted her removal as an active member of the Team,” the document said.

AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

Stars on the court and in the lab: Vote for the Student of the Week, April 29-May 3

Student of the Week offers schools the chance to celebrate teens who have placed in an art, dance or music competition, excelled in a science fair, won an essay contest, received a scholarship, were recognized for their volunteer service or have shined in some other way.

All high schools in Arizona are invited to nominate students to be included in an online poll where azcentral.com readers vote to choose the Student of the Week.

Student of the Week voting is open from 6 a.m. Monday through noon Thursday. Each week's winner is announced online Friday at 6 a.m.

Meet this weeks nominees!

How to nominate: Know a teen we should celebrate? Choose them for Arizona Student of the Week

Riley Outram, senior, West-MEC & Millenium High School

Riley Outram is an officer in Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) and qualified in three events for the HOSA state competition. She will be competing this year at the National HOSA competition in Texas. She led the way for West-MEC Physical Therapy to receive the platinum award from HOSA - the highest award ever received as a class.  She was also instrumental in creating the first-ever Anatomage team, competing at state and becoming the first-ever state champion for West-MEC. Riley and her team will compete for AZ this June at the National Antomage competition at UNLV University.  Riley is always willing to lend a helping hand; she organizes blood drives, helps future students, and has served on panels to help educators. Her ability and efforts were recognized by receiving a scholarship at this year's HOSA conference.

Nomination submitted by JD Burgess, Physical Therapy Instructor, West-MEC Southwest Campus.

Grace Howell, senior, Arete Preparatory Academy

Grace Howell is a senior at Arete Prep who finished her final high school basketball season by passing the 1,000-point mark, making her the all-time leading scorer at the academy. It was a great capstone to an amazing high school basketball career that has included three trips to the state tournament, two of those her team made it to the Sweet 16 and one to the Elite 8. In the 2020-21 season she was Freshman Player of the Year. She was First Team All-Region player all four years, and 2A Valley All-Region Offensive Player of the Year. Howell is currently ranked 56th in the nation for three-pointers.

Nomination submitted by Riley Chaisson, Marketing Coordinator for Great Hearts Academies.

For more information on Student of the Week, email   [email protected] .

Saint Katherine athletes shocked by university’s sudden closure: ‘We were blindsided, basically’

The women’s beach volleyball team was at the NAIA national tournament in Tennessee, in the middle of a match, when the announcement was made

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The University of Saint Katherine Firebirds were playing the Park University (Mo.) Pirates in the NAIA women’s beach volleyball national tournament Thursday night in Greeneville, Tenn., in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

Mike Miller, USK’s sports information director, was posting some videos of the action to social media when he noticed an incoming text from his athletic director.

Miller found head coach Lauren DeTurk immediately after the match, a 4-1 loss, and whispered something to her. DeTurk rushed to her players before they could turn on their phones and see the email blast from the university president.

“She wanted us to hear it from her first,” sophomore Anne Mayfield said.

Citing deep financial losses and plans to file for bankruptcy, the 14-year-old private university in San Marcos was ceasing operations. Like, immediately.

The final few weeks of classes, canceled. Mayfield was halfway through her final paper for a macroeconomics class, about the positive economic growth following the pandemic shutdowns.

The irony isn’t lost on her: Apparently, that doesn’t apply to Saint Katherine.

“We were just blindsided, basically,” Mayfield said. “It was definitely a really emotional conversation. Everyone was crying. She was apologizing over and over, even though obviously she had no role in it. She was just apologizing, knowing what this would lead to and what we would have to go through after this.”

Mayfield’s parents had made the trip to Tennessee. She’s generally not an emotional person, so they knew something had happened when she collapsed in their arms, tears streaming down her face.

“Word traveled pretty quickly,” Miller said of the scene at the eight-school tournament. “Everybody sees these girls bawling. Normally people are upset when they lose, but not like that.”

Saint Katherine isn’t the first U.S. university shuttered in recent years for financial reasons — President Frank Papatheofanis referenced “a steep shortfall in operating cash” in his Thursday email sent at 4 p.m. PDT — but the timing and sheer abruptness caught students, faculty and coaches by surprise. Just two weeks ago, they announced plans to add men’s and women’s golf programs.

It hit athletes particularly hard because, well, almost every student at Saint Katherine is one. It operated on a similar model to many small schools that attract students (and tuition dollars) through the opportunity to play sports, just to an extreme. Of the roughly 275 undergrads this year, all but eight are members of Firebirds sports teams.

Men’s basketball coach Kevin Williamson was on the phone Thursday afternoon with a recruit from Houston, booking him a flight for a campus visit, when he heard a ruckus from the locker room as his players were preparing for open gym.

“I walk in the locker room and put the kid on mute,” Williamson said. “I’m like, ‘Guys, what is going on?’ I thought it was maybe a fight. They were like, ‘Coach, look at your email.’”

He read it, unmuted the recruit and told him he’d call him back.

He spent the afternoon consoling his players, telling them to “cherish everything you have because it can literally be gone in the next moment.” He spent the evening downloading their transcripts and other academic records for fear the university computer system would be shut down the following day, as his school American Express card was. He cleaned out his office until 1 a.m. He went to bed at 1:30, woke up at 5 and called the recruit.

The conversation: “I just said, ‘Hey, I got news while I was on the phone with you. The school shut down. This is not going to be an option after all.’”

Saint Katherine offered five men’s and six women’s sports that had experienced increasing success at the NAIA level. The women’s indoor volleyball team went 30-5, had a 25-game win streak, was conference champion, finished No. 17 in the NAIA rankings, qualified for the national tournament for the first time and won a first-round game. Women’s tennis reached the second round in 2022. Women’s soccer went 11-5-3 and just missed the national tournament last fall. Men’s volleyball had its first winning season in program history.

The flagship program, though, was men’s basketball, which immeasurably lifted the school’s profile from four games against San Diego State at Viejas Arena since 2013, including one last December just eight months after the Aztecs played for the NCAA Division I national championship. In a 2021 preseason exhibition, the Firebirds lost by a respectable 21 points (after being drilled 118-35 in 2013 ).

“They did not have to,” Williamson said. “It honestly does not help them. It was very kind and generous of them to continue to come to us. But (coach Brian Dutcher) does a great job of trying to take care of the local schools first. They’ve always done that.

“It means everything to a small program and a player in it. I know our guys still talk about the games at San Diego State. On our group texts, they still talk about this guy hit this shot or this guy did this thing. They’ll send videos of it. Those kind of games meant everything, not just to the student-athletes but the school in terms of notoriety and getting your name out there.”

Williamson used it as a recruiting pitch and quickly built a competitive NAIA program after it was shuttered twice in the five years before he arrived. In his five seasons, the Firebirds were 83-42, won two conference titles and qualified for the NAIA tournament three times. His teams had a cumulative grade-point average of 3.38 and graduated 26 of the 27 players who finished their college careers there, plus an expected five more this season.

Captain David Odinigwe, a 6-foot-9 senior forward from Victorville, was recently named valedictorian for the Class of 2024.

Williamson had 14 players eligible to return from a team that won a school-record 23 games and reached the NAIA tournament. In an era of unprecedented transiency in college basketball, none wanted to transfer.

“They loved it,” Williamson said. “They loved our system, they loved the school, they loved living here. We were going to be really good.”

Now he’s scrambling to find them new teams while interviewing for jobs himself. Ideally, he’d like to take four of five of them with him.

Back in the northeast corner of Tennessee, the women’s beach volleyball team was coming to terms with playing for a university that no longer exists.

They showed up Friday in Firebirds uniforms but not wearing their warmup jackets. Parents weren’t wearing Firebirds gear, either.

When they broke the huddle, instead of chanting “USK,” they chanted “Beach” or “Family.”

“It felt like the ground had been pulled out from underneath us,” said Mayfield, who transferred last summer from Mt. San Antonio College and has two years of eligibility left. “We had grown so close as a team throughout the season. It’s such an amazing group of girls.

“It was like, OK, we’re playing for each other now. This is the family we created. We’re representing this family, and we’re not representing our school anymore because they didn’t look out for us. Now we’re doing this for each other.”

They lost 3-1 to Arizona Christian in the quarterfinals Friday, the final sports team still playing, and the dying embers of a university were extinguished.

Flights and hotel rooms were prepaid, but the team wasn’t scheduled to return until Sunday and they had to eat. Miller said the athletic department arranged to keep their school credit cards open through the weekend.

Mayfield spent Saturday at the hotel in a daze while some of her teammates watched the semifinals and final. No point in grinding on that econ paper. Whatever grades you had before Friday are logged as your final grades. Seniors, the hope is, will receive degrees, although details of any formal commencement exercises remain unclear.

“Especially since we’re still here in Tennessee, the reality hasn’t really set in,” Mayfield said by phone. “There’s nothing to go back to now, which is going to be the weirdest thing when we get back home. I think the student body is feeling really betrayed right now and really saddened. You get so close. With everyone being athletes, going through all that you do, you’re really close. And now it’s all gone.

“I think most people are still in a state of shock, but as time goes on I do feel myself getting angrier.”

Mayfield was asked if she’ll keep her Firebirds gear.

“Even though the year is ending on this note, I still have many amazing memories and moments from being at Saint Katherine,” she said, pausing to collect her thoughts. “Just the community, the people I went to class with, the professors I had. Because none of this was their fault.

“It made such an impact on my life, and many of my teammates, we’ll be friends forever. Even going through this has brought us closer together. I don’t think I’ll get rid of (the gear). But it’s definitely going to sting to look at for a while.”

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Basketball — Reach for a Dream Charity’s Basketball Tournament

Reach for a Dream Charity’s Basketball Tournament

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Howie Schwab, ESPN Researcher and Trivia Star, Dies at 63

He stepped out of his behind-the-scenes role in 2004 when he was cast as the ultimate sports know-it-all on the game show “Stump the Schwab.”

By Richard Sandomir

Howie Schwab, a sports nerd who parlayed his love of statistics into a long stint at ESPN that was most notable for his starring role as the ultimate trivia expert on the game show “Stump the Schwab,” died on Saturday in Aventura, Fla. He was 63.

His death was announced on social media by his wife, Suzie Davie-Schwab. His mother, Dona (Bressner) Schwab, said he was in a hospital being treated for an infection when he died, apparently of a heart attack.

Mr. Schwab had been at ESPN for 17 years in behind-the-scenes roles as a researcher and producer when he was tapped in 2004 to star in his own show.

On “Stump the Schwab,” three challengers vied to outdo Mr. Schwab in answering questions posed by the host, Stuart Scott , in the opening rounds. In the final round — called the Schwab Showdown — the best of the three went head to head against him for a $25,000 grand prize. Mr. Schwab almost always won.

In the episode that decided the 2005 season’s champion , Mr. Schwab entered the studio at the start of the show wearing a red boxing robe, with a woman on each arm; he then doffed the robe, revealing a Derek Jeter jersey, and shadowboxed.

“I am ready to rumble,” he told Mr. Scott.

Mr. Schwab did not look like a typical television star: He was overweight, wore glasses and sported a goatee.

In a review of “Stump the Schwab” for The New York Times in 2005, Marc Weingarten wrote : “The appeal of the show lies in its carefully cultivated reverse snobbery. Watching Mr. Schwab gun down all comers is a bit like watching Homer Simpson prevail over Ken Jennings, the all-time ‘Jeopardy!’ champion, in a college quiz bowl.”

The show ran from 2004 to 2006 and was then seen in reruns.

“Everybody wants to stump me,” Mr. Schwab told The Tampa Bay Times in 2007 . “People come up and say, ‘What shoe size was So-and-So in 1941?’ I’m like, ‘Got me.’ See, I don’t know everything.”

The depth and breadth of Mr. Schwab’s sports knowledge translated into providing statistics “that made sports fans smarter every night, the kind of information really good sports fans could use when talking to other fans who loved sports,” John Walsh, a former executive editor of ESPN, said in a phone interview.

As ESPN’s first staff researcher and then as the manager of its research department, Mr. Schwab contributed to various programs, including “SportsCenter” and “College GameDay,” and worked with individual sportscasters. He was particularly close with the college basketball analyst Dick Vitale.

Howard Arlen Schwab was born on Sept. 17, 1960, in Brooklyn, and grew up in Baldwin, N.Y., on Long Island. His mother was a high school teacher and administrator, and his father, Theodore, a German immigrant and Holocaust survivor, owned a wholesale photographic accessory business.

Dona Schwab said that as a child Howard “was a terrible athlete, but he enjoyed playing in the street,” where he was the goalie in street hockey games. At summer camp, he delivered the previous day’s scores to other campers over a loudspeaker.

“He had a photographic memory,” she added. “He could tell you every seat he sat in for every game he attended.”

At St. John’s University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in athletic administration, Mr. Schwab wrote for The Torch, the campus newspaper, and broke the news in 1981 that the hotly recruited high school basketball star Chris Mullin was going to play for the university.

After the school’s basketball coach, Lou Carnesecca, read the article, Mr. Schwab told the St. John’s website in 2019 , he called Mr. Schwab into his office and said: “It’s not a done deal. What if he changes his mind?” Mr. Schwab stood by the story. And Mr. Mullin signed the next day.

After graduating in 1982, Mr. Schwab was hired by College & Pro Football Newsweekly, where he was a senior editor from 1982 to 1985 and the editor in chief from 1986 to 1987.

ESPN hired him in 1987 as a freelance researcher, promoted him to staff researcher the next year, and put him in charge of its growing research department in 1991. Four years later, he was named coordinating producer of espn.com. He moved up to coordinating producer of studio production in 1998.

Keith Olbermann, the former “SportsCenter” anchor, wrote on the social media platform X , “Simply, ESPN never rises to the heights it did, nor exists today, without him.”

Dan Patrick, another former ESPN anchor, said on his radio show on Monday: “Howie was Sports Google before Sports Google. Google would have Googled Howie Schwab.”

In 2013, Mr. Schwab and about 300 other ESPN employees were laid off. Angrily, he wrote on Twitter , “I was a loyal employee, displayed respect for others , worked with numerous charities, represented the company well. I always did everything asked of me and more. What did I get in return today … Word that I should get lost.”

In the following years, Mr. Vitale hired him to help with his game preparation, as well as with his books, his website and his charitable work to defeat pediatric cancer. Mr. Schwab was also on the board of Make-A-Wish Connecticut.

Mr. Schwab was hired in 2014 as a consultant to “Sports Jeopardy!,” a game show Mr. Patrick hosted on the digital service Crackle. He was also the bracketologist for Fox Sports during its coverage of the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament in 2018 and 2019.

In addition to his wife and his mother, Mr. Schwab is survived by his sister, Elysa Schwab. His father died last year. His first wife, Jodi Singer, died in 2014.

About a decade after “Stump the Schwab” ended production in 2006, Mr. Schwab reprised it when a friend, Jerry Capozzalo, whom he knew from a fantasy sports league, invited him to his daughter Denise’s engagement party and asked him to stage a “Stump”-like contest. She had been a fan of the series.

“He couldn’t attend, but he sent her a tape where he posed trivia questions for the group at the party,” Mr. Capozzalo said by phone. “They loved it. They got some of the answers, but he stumped most of them.”

Richard Sandomir is an obituaries writer. He previously wrote about sports media and sports business. He is also the author of several books, including “The Pride of the Yankees: Lou Gehrig, Gary Cooper and the Making of a Classic.” More about Richard Sandomir