Hoops In Connecticut

Home to both the University of Connecticut's men's and women's NCAA championship teams as well as the Connecticut Sun WNBA team, this small state has made a name for itself in basketball. Infatuation with the sport started here in 1896 with the first intercollegiate game between Yale and Wesleyan Universities. The roster of Connecticut's round ball greats includes Naismith Hall-of-Famer Calvin Murphy; NBA stars Vin Baker, Marcus Camby, Charles Smith, the late John Williamson, Johnny Egan and John Bagley; and Harlem Globetrotter Alvin Clinkscales. Award-winning sportswriter Don Harrison wows fans with stories of the Nutmeg State's most notable players and coaches through personal interviews and firsthand accounts.

Looking for a game? Here's your guided tour of the country's best pickup basketball courts, from the blacktops of Brooklyn to the asphalt of Anchorage to the gyms of Jackson, Mississippi. It's all inside: where the pros play, the most scenic runs in the land, and a ranking of the top five courts. ø Chris Ballard and three other former college players piled into a used Chevy van and traveled thirty-one thousand miles in seven months, playing at over a thousand courts in 166 cities in forty-eight states. This is the story of their roundball road trip and a guide to the places, people, and communities they encountered. ø More than a travel guide, Hoops Nation is "a celebration of the game of basketball as it is played in America." It includes guides to streetball fashion, the lingo of the courts, the etiquette of the pickup world, the tricks of old-guy basketball, and tips for the dunking impaired. Also included are profiles of playground legends and dispatches from the legions of basketball lifers who populate the country's courts. ø This book can tell you where they?re running today, all over America. Who?s got next?

Longhorn Hoops documents the history of basketball at the University of Texas. For men's basketball, Richard Pennington goes season by season, describing every game the Longhorns have ever played from 1906 to 1998. He does the same for women's basketball, except for the first two chapters, which cover longer spans of time leading up to the establishment of basketball as a varsity sport for women in 1974. Pennington demonstrates that Texas basketball, while always secondary to King Football, actually has a long and colorful history. Beside stories of games won or lost, points scored, and rebounds collected, Pennington recalls the orange-and-white stars of yesteryear--from Clyde Littlefield to Reggie Freeman--and brings the greatest teams to life, including the unbeaten Steers of 1924, the Final Four team of 1947, Harold Bradley's 1963 team, Abe Lemons' 1978 NIT champions, and Tom Penders' 1990 Longhorns. Perhaps the most interesting story in Longhorn Hoops is how Anna Hiss, director of women's physical education at Texas from 1921 to 1957, helped lead a nationwide movement against intercollegiate competition for women, which shut down UT women's basketball for several decades and and made progress in the 1960s and 1970s much more difficult. Some determined co-eds got it going again, and, with the energy and direction of women's athletic director Donna Lopiano and coach Jody Conradt (whose teams have won more than 700 games), the Longhorns built a powerhouse program that reached its apex with an undefeated team in 1986, winning the NCAA championship with the heroics of freshman star Clarissa Davis. Basketball, as Pennington notes in his preface, is the most beautiful sport ofall, and its history at the University of Texas has now been told. This comprehensive book features a foreword by Dr. Denton Cooley, the world-famous heart surgeon who helped the Longhorns win an SWC title in 1939.

From its beginnings at the turn of the 20th century to its pervasive presence in 21st-century America, basketball has grown into an undeniably important sport. The 575 entries in this biographical dictionary present concise narratives on the lives and careers on the most important names in basketball history. Entries include both classic players such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bob Cousy as well as more recently established and up-and-coming stars such as Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Garnett, and LeBron James. Entries for coaches such as the Boston Celtics' Red Auerbach and Mike Krzyzewski from Duke University present the figures who have shaped the game from courtside, while the inclusion of female players and coaches such as Lisa Leslie, Diana Taurasi, and Pat Summitt show that basketball is not just a sport for men. From its beginnings at the turn of the 20th century to its pervasive presence in 21st-century America, basketball has grown into an undeniably important sport. The 575 entries in this biographical dictionary present concise narratives on the lives and careers on the most important names in basketball history. Entries include both classic players such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bob Cousy as well as more recently established and up-and-coming stars such as Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Garnett, and LeBron James. Entries for coaches such as the Boston Celtics' Red Auerbach and Mike Krzyzewski from Duke University present the figures who have shaped the game from courtside, while the inclusion of female players and coaches such as Lisa Leslie, Diana Taurasi, and Pat Summitt show that basketball is not just a sport for men. This volume is an ideal reference for students seeking easily accessed information on the greats of the game.

The easy way to get the ins, outs, and intrigue on this beloved sport The National Basketball Association (NBA), with 30 teams and an average attendance of more than 17,000 spectators per game, is the richest and most popular basketball league — and arguably the most viewed American sport — in the world. This new edition of Basketball For Dummies not only covers the rules and regulations of the NBA, but offers coverage on the WNBA, NCAA, and international basketball leagues. Basketball For Dummies is a valuable resource to the many fans of this beloved sport, covering everything from players and personalities in the game to rules, regulations, and equipment. Completely updated with information and intrigue that's occurred in the sport since publication of the previous edition, Basketball For Dummies gets you up to speed on everything from NCAA Tournament brackets to college players en route to the NBA. Coverage of the rules and regulations of the NBA Interesting topics like LeBron the Phenom, ESPN'S influence on the NBA, and the UCONN women's basketball dynasty Digger's take on John Wooden Whether you're a basketball player or a courtside spectator, Basketball For Dummies is a slam-dunk of information and intrigue for anyone who loves the sport.

This title explores everything a young reader would want to know about basketball, from high-flying dunkers to long-range sharpshooters. The title also features informative sidebars, a glossary, and further resources. SportsZone is an imprint of Abdo Publishing Company.