College Basketball: Beginnings

Basketball is a game wherein two teams composed of five players each try to score against one another by shooting a ball through a hoop raised three (3) meters above the ground. The hoop is also known as the goal, and basketball athletes develop the necessary skills needed to propel the ball through the hoop. Each team has a goal, on opposite ends of the court, which the opposing team tries to shoot the ball into. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. Both college basketball and professional leagues generally follow the same basic rules.

People have enjoyed playing the game of basketball from the time it was first played. Indeed, in the United States, college basketball has gained quite a following nationwide. Now, with the immense popularity of the NBA and its superstars, many students are looking to get noticed in college basketball recruiting, to play in college teams and even perhaps in the NBA.

In 1891, Dr. Luther Halsey Gulick Jr., then superintendent of physical education at the International YMCA Training School (which is now Springfield College), gave a young, Dr. James Naismith, the task of creating a new indoor game that could easy to play in the winter and by artificial light. Naismith puzzled over this, and examined the popular games of the day. He also remembered the games he played during his childhood, one of which was called "duck on a rock". Eventually he came up with a few rules to guide a game that would be caled Basket Ball. It wasn’t until 30 years later that the term got shortened to one word.

Because Naismith wanted a non-violent game that could be played inside, the first seven rules consist of set guidelines for play, with scoring not even mentioned until the eighth rule. Though the rules have been modified over time, the essential principles remain constant. The original rules were published in The Triangle, the International YMCA Training School newspaper, on January 15, 1892. Each team during those early years had nine players, which soon became the standard. It would take ten years for the five-players-per-team rule to become the norm.

The Internet has proven to be a useful venue for both students in college basketball and coaches involved in the process of college basketball recruiting. There are many websites and online forums wherein students and scouts can come together and interact. D1Athletes is an online community wherein high school athletes and coaches alike can share and exchange information they need during college basketball recruiting. D1Athletes offers them a place to build an online presence and gain important public exposure.