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• Remember Booger Smith? The New York City schoolyard legend featured in the 1997 documentary Soul In The Hole and on the cover of Sports Illustrated? You can read about him here.

• Don't you love baller nicknames? Check out a short list of great nicknames: Best Nicknames

• How do you shoot a two-handed set shot? Sixty years ago everyone knew how to. Today, it's a lost art. Read about it here.

• Ever wonder about the beginnings of organized basketball? We have a case study of how high school ball got started in Chicago. Read about the Cook County High School League in the early 20th Century.

• Who is David Kalb? You know, the former D-3 player who beat LeBron James in a game of H-O-R-S-E? Read about him here.

• Don Haskins, the Hall of Fame coach who led Texas Western to the historic 1966 NCAA championship, passed away recently at age 78.

• The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame just inducted the Class of 2008. Check out the new honorees: Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Pat Riley, Dick Vitale, Adrian Dantley, Bill Davidson and Cathy Rush. To read about all Hall of Famers, click here.

Palin in High School

Obama in High School

• Right: If Senator Barack Obama and Governor Sarah Palin went one-on-one, who do you think would win? The lanky lefty from the Land of Lincoln certainly has a height advantage. But don't underestimate a former point guard who led her team to an improbable state championship. Especially if her nickname is "Barracuda." You can read Sen. Obama's basketball bio here and Gov. Palin's here.

• Who's the greatest young player you never heard of? Ricky Rubio of Spain played for his country in Beijing and people noticed. He's only 17 years old and already has two pro seasons under his belt already.

• The 1936 Olympics were the first to include men's basketball. In the gold medal game "College Joe" Fortenberry (a graduate of West Texas State Teachers College) scorched the nets for eight points to lead the USA to a 19-8 win over Canada. The scoring was held down by a downpour in the second half of the outdoor game.

This 12th Street YMCA team from Washington, DC was declared Colored Basketball World's Champions in 1910.

• The NBA traces its roots back to 1946 and the Basketball Association of America. But the first documented professional basketball game in the US took place in 1896, just five years after James Naismith wrote the rules. The first pro league -- the National Basket Ball League -- began operations in 1898.

It was a wild time, with barnstorming teams, leagues that came and went, and men who could play for three teams in three leagues at the same time. Read about the beginnings of pro ball in NBA Roots.

Nat Holman in his Original Celtics uniform, 1922.

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• Who was the first men's college national champ? Temple, winner of the 1938 National Invitation Tournament (NIT)? The Oregon Ducks, winners of the 1939 NCAA championship? The Helms Foundation picked mythical national champions for every season between 1901 and 1983. That expert panel picked Yale, 1901, as the first national champ. See if you agree with the Helms Foundation picks.

• African-Americans
• "Why are they so good at basketball? They dominate the sport. They must have some innate physical advantage that the rest of us don't have." Sound familiar? But in the first half of the 20th Century "they" were Jews. Many of the top players were kids who grew up playing ball on the tough streets of New York and Philadelphia. Kids like Nat Holman (right), Barney Sedran, Bennie Borgmann, Max Friedman and Eddie Gottlieb, who all grew up to be Hall of Famers. To learn more about race and hoops, read Questions of Race.

• In 1897 the Amateur Athletic Union organized a tournament to determine a national men's basketball champion. They've been holding such tournaments ever since. For most of the first half of the 20th Century the AAU was the most prestigious championship there was. For a listing of all the championship games, go to AAU Men's Champions.

The Nankai Five Tigers: China's first dominating team, ca. 1896.

• Basketball is a world game. It is huge in China, and has been since the early 20th Century (right). Read about the beginnings of basketball in China. You might be surprised to learn that Professional Basketball in China started only in 1995.

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• 1966 - Bill Russell coaches his first game as the NBA’s first black head coach, leading the Boston Celtics to a 121-113 win over the San Francisco Warriors at Boston Garden.

• 1966 - Matt Guokas Jr. plays in his first game for the Philadelphia 76ers, marking the first time a father-son combination competed in the NBA. Matt Sr. played with the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1940s, and at the time of his son’s debut, was a sportscaster for the 76ers.

• 1970 - (Above) The tradition of Midnight Madness begins in College Park, Maryland. The NCAA does not permit basketball teams to begin their official practices before October 15. Maryland coach Lefty Driesell was the first to have his team's first regular-season practice begin at 12:01 A.M.

• 1985 - Max Zaslofsky, named to four All-NBA teams, including the very first one, passes away in New Hyde Park, New York. He was the youngest player ever named to the All-NBA team until LeBron James.

• 2005 - Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier tragically dies en route to a hospital from a "sudden heart rhythm disturbance caused by an abnormally enlarged heart." He was only 28 years old.

News

• New look for the Knicks debut preseaon opener against Raptors read more here

• K. Bryant Jersey most popular in Europe Read more here

• Wizards Brendan Haywoods wrist injury might be serious readmore here

• Oden makes strong preseason debut for the Trail Blazers game recap here

• Kevin Love, Mike Miller shine as Timberwolves rout Bucks 117-79. game recap here.

• Maurice Evans leads bench players to lift Hawks over Magic 118-101 game recap here.

The first basketball card? Murad Cigarettes 1909 card for Williams College.

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• What do Barack Obama, Amos Alonzo Stagg and John Edgar Wideman have in common? They are all basketball players better known for other things.

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Hack-a-Shaq demonstrated.

• Basketball: The Basics
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• Right: Did you know that Coach Don Nelson came up with the Hack-a-Shaq strategy with Dennis Rodman in mind, not Shaq? Read more about Hack-a-Shaq here.
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