Basketball is on the rebound in Australia. Australia is no
stranger to basketball, with the first game in the country recorded in 1897
–only six years after the invention of the sport by Canadian James Naismith.
However, the sport would not go into the forefront of the national
consciousness until Luc Longley made it into the National Basketball
Association, playing for Minnesota Timberwolves in 1991 and later with the
Chicago Bulls where he became the first Australian to win an NBA championship
as part of the 1996 Chicago Bulls.
While the sport’s popularity in Australia did somewhat ebb
in the 2000s, it’s experienced a resurge in popularity due to the current
prevalence of playing styles and strategies more suited for Australian players
as well as a larger worldwide trend where basketball has seen unprecedented
popularity outside of North America.
Today, more Australians are in the NBA than ever before,
further sparking the imagination of children all over the country and leading
to the proliferation of basketball
camps throughout
Australia.
It was one of the most entertaining games in the history of college basketball. The six overtime marathon of a battle between Syracuse and Connecticut in the quarterfinals of the 2009 Big East Tournament was for starters, thrilling. Adjectives are never ending in describing it. Phenomenal. Amazing. Exhausting. Climactic.
Filled
with the suspense and drama on when, not to mention if, the game would ever end,
it was equally as attractive for being a
marquee matchup of two longtime Big East rivals lead by prestigious head coaches
in Jim Boeheim of the Orange and Jim Calhoun of the Huskies. The glamour and
glitz of New York City added to this game as the school’s dueled on the
national stage of Madison Square Garden, known as the world’s most famous arena.
Both teams were ranked in the AP Poll with Connecticut at No. 3 and Syracuse at
No. 18. The sixth-seeded Orange and the third-seeded Huskies were also meeting
for the fourth time in the last five seasons in the Big East Tournament with
Syracuse having won the prior three matchups from 2005 through ’07.
In
playing the longest ever game in the shot clock era, Syracuse and Connecticut
tied for the second longest game in the history of NCAA Division I college
basketball. Only two other games have ever gone six overtimes. Both those
happened in the 1950’s when Minnesota beat Purdue 59-56 in 1955 and Niagara
beat Siena 88-81 in 1953. The game was eclipsed in number of overtimes only by
a game on Dec. 21, 1981 when Cincinnati beat Bradley 75-73 in seven overtimes. That
game in 1981 tied for the most overtimes in the history of college basketball
regardless of NCAA classification.
However
overtime almost never happened for the Orange and Huskies.
Connecticut
freshman guard Kemba Walker’s offensive rebound and layup with 1.1 seconds left
in regulation tied the game at 71. Following a Syracuse timeout, Orange junior
guard Eric Devendorf gathered a long inbounds pass off a deflection and quickly
got off a 3-point shot that went in giving the Orange an apparent victory.
However replays showed that the ball was still contacting Devendorf’s
fingertips as the buzzer sounded and the basket was waived off by officials and
the game went into overtime.
It seems like a day doesn’t go by this time of year without another reminder that college athletics is really a major business that likes to pretend it is something more noble and altruistic.
Full disclosure that today’s example is a bit personal and especially frustrating for me because it involves a former colleague who has spent his entire career representing all the positive attributes that college sports supposedly are about.
After 16 years of success that is unparalleled in the history of William & Mary men’s basketball, the college has decided to part ways with 65-year-old head coach Tony Shaver.
In a statement, Athletic Director Samantha Huge said that “We have high expectations for our men’s basketball program, including participating in the NCAA tournament, and we will not shy away from setting the bar high. Now is the time to begin a new chapter in William & Mary basketball.”
That sounds all well and good, but what Huge seems to not understand is that prior to the arrival of Shaver, “high expectations” for the men’s basketball program basically meant double-digit victories every few years.
Perhaps no sport is more associated with fashion than the NBA. The competition among players to dress the best is fierce, and it’s become a big part of the news cycle surrounding the league.
Players receive a lot of chances to flaunt their fashion choices. The most notable is the pre-game walk through the tunnel. Traveling to and from games, press conferences and other events provide opportunities as well.
Over the last few decades though, the story of the NBA and fashion has moved beyond just pre-game and press conference outfits. Players such as Russell Westbrook and James Harden make regular appearances at world-famous fashion shows and on the covers of style magazines. Many players also have their own fashion lines and brand collaborations. Westbrook even wrote a book, titled Style Drivers, about his relationship with fashion.
In 2017, the NBA officially recognized the importance of fashion for the league by introducing the NBA Style Award, which the league gave out alongside awards for most valuable player and rookie of the year. Westbrook took home first place, followed by Cleveland’s Iman Shumpert and Chicago’s Dwyane Wade. Read the rest of this entry →
The Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month may have had a pretty common name, but his iron man streak as an NBA player was anything but ordinary.
In a streak that lasted more than a decade, Randy Smith played in 906 consecutive NBA games to establish an NBA iron man record that lasted more than a decade.
That Smith made it to the NBA at all was somewhat of an underdog story.
A three-sport standout at Bellsport High School in Long Island (basketball, soccer and track), Smith also was a three-sport All-American at Division II Buffalo State College. He helped lead the Bengals to three straight basketball conference championships and a spot in the 1970 Division II Final Four. Read the rest of this entry →
Committing three turnovers, four fouls, and shooting 0-for-3 including one missed layup – all which cause the head coach to make three substitutions over the first 3:02 of the game – is not a recipe for a win, especially against the number one team in the country on its’ home court. Add in the fact that you trail 12-0 before scoring your first point of the game and two of your team fouls are on your starting senior point guard who does not score in the first half, and you have even more of a hole to dig out of. However that is exactly what Syracuse did in a thrilling 95-91 road victory over No. 1 Duke on Monday Jan. 14 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC. It was the first victory for the Orange over a No. 1 ranked team since Jan. 19, 2013 when it won at Louisville, 70-68.
Tyus Battle elevates for a breakaway dunk during Monday’s thrilling overtime victory over No. 1 Duke.
Junior shooting guard Tyus Battle lead the Orange (12-5, 3-1) with 32 points and had four assists while junior forward Elijah Hughes shot 4-for-9 on three-pointers en route to 20 points and grabbed five rebounds. Senior center Paschal Chukwu added a career-high 18 rebounds and scored 10 points. Battle’s 32 points represented the most points ever scored by a Syracuse player against the Blue Devils. Duke (14-2, 3-1) was lead by freshman forward Zion Williamson who had a career high 35 points and 10 rebounds while freshman forward RJ Barrett fell one assist short of a triple double with 23 points, 16 rebounds, and 9 assists. Williamson’s 35 points were the most ever by a Blue Devil freshman in a single game.
The Orange were coming off a sluggish performance in a 73-59 home loss to Georgia Tech just 48 hours earlier on Jan. 12 in which they had their worst shooting performance of the season (18-for-57, .316) in dropping their first Atlantic Coast Conference game of the season. However all that was short lived as Syracuse made a quick turnaround to notch a marquee win. Meanwhile, Duke was coming off a thrilling 80-78 win at Florida State on Jan. 12, secured by a late three-pointer by freshman Cam Reddish with 0.8 seconds left to play.
Against the Orange, The Blue Devils assumed control early with a 12-0 lead three minutes into the game. However that would be the largest margin for either side the whole game. Although Reddish did not play at all and Duke starting point guard Tre Jones did not return to the game after suffering a shoulder injury while diving for a loose ball at the 14:23 mark of the first half, Syracuse still faced a major challenge. The Orange soon found its’ rhythm behind the play of Battle and Hughes who literally shot Syracuse back into the game. The Orange mounted a 17-6 run over the next five minutes to pull within one at 18-17. Battle and Hughes accounted for all of those points with Battle netting 12 and Hughes adding five. Each of them hit one three-pointer during the run. While the Blue Devils would push their lead to as many as six at the midway point of the first half, Syracuse would stay close. A 5-0 Orange run on a Hughes three and two free throws by Battle forced the game’s first tie at 29 with 6:38 left in the first half. A Battle free throw gave Syracuse its’ first lead of the game at 34-33 with 5:12 left. The teams would exchange leads over the last five minutes of the half which ended with Hughes converting a three-pointer on a three quarter court heave that beat the halftime buzzer bringing Syracuse to within one, 49-48. Read the rest of this entry →
The Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month is one of the most underappreciated wide receivers in NFL history, despite boasting a career that spanned 16 seasons and saw him excel as one of the league’s premier deep threats. Known for his speed, route-running, and ability to make plays downfield, Harold Jackson left an indelible mark on the game during an era that was not yet pass-heavy. Standing at 5’10” and weighing 175 pounds, he defied expectations of size to become a dominant force on the field. Over the course of his illustrious career (1968–1983), Jackson totaled 10,372 receiving yards and 76 touchdowns, placing him among the top receivers of his time.