Pivot Points: Dr. Naismith's Game Endures

We've come a long way from peach baskets. Who could imagine that the game of basketball was created as a way to escape the freezing temperatures of the New England winter?

When Canadian-born, James Naismith invented basketball in 1891, it was simply an invention of necessity, something to occupy his students because it was too cold to be outside.

The original basketball was actually a soccer ball that players dribbled up and down a court that had no specific dimensions, and the ball had to be retrieved from peach baskets after every made goal.

The iron hoop wasn't introduced until 1893, and it was full decade later before the net was opened up to allow the ball to freely pass through it.

Naismith, much like the framers of our Constitution, had the foresight to understand that the game would evolve so he left room for the rules to change as the game progressed.

Like our Constitution, many amendments have been made to the rules in basketball, as there were only 13 to begin with and now we have entire rule books.

One of those original rules called for the opponents to be awarded a field goal after three consecutive fouls were called. Now we have entire strategies based on fouling on purpose.

Imagine how the rule of going back to center-jump after every made basket would affect the flow of the game today. The athleticism of the players pictured would have been hindered greatly.

That rule survives though, on playgrounds across America in games such as 21, where the ball goes back to the top of the key after every basket made.

Dr. Naismith would not recognize the game as it is played today, but I'm sure there are many parts of it that he would appreciate.

He would love how the skill aspect of the game has changed, and he would marvel at the level of athleticism that his creation had cultured.

As a thinking man, he would smile at the way coaches develop strategies to deal with specific instances in games, and he would approve of the chess matches that take place in the end of tight games.

The triangle offense when ran to perfection, is a thing of beauty, artistry in motion, and Naismith would revel in the precision, timing and execution involved in making it work.

There are also elements of the game that would make Naismith shake his head in disgust.

The most reviled thing would be the me-first attitude that exists in the game, after all it was invented as the ultimate team sport. The show-boating and posing would have been something he detested.

He would not have understood what all the hoopla was about over the dunks that we now worship. I mean it still only counts as two points right?

He would have been puzzled by the commercialism of the game, and the almost savage attitudes of the fans that follow his sport. He could never understand how a game could mean so much to so many different people.

About the only thing that would be recognizable to Naismith would be the height of the goals, because that is about the only thing that has stayed the same.

After observing how easily players climb to the rim, he probably would have thought that he should have changed the height, but how could he ever had imagined that players would soar through the air.

I feel that eventually though, he would come around to today's game, because as the inventor of the sport, he would be the ultimate fan.

He would appreciate players such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade, and the attention that they pay to their skill.

He would love the passion and the drama associated with the game, and he would appreciate the players who compete until their wills are sapped, from leaving every ounce of themselves on the court.

Most of all Naismith would feel proud to know that he had created a game that brought joy to so many people, players and fans alike.

At the start of what should be another dynamic season for basketball, we should take a moment to pay our respects to the man who made possible the game we all love today.