Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball through the defender's hoop, while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop. A field goal is worth two points, unless made from behind the three-point line, when it is worth three. After a foul, timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a technical foul is given one, two or three one-point free throws. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but if regulation play expires with the score tied, an additional period of play (overtime) is mandated.
Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn was an American sportscaster who was the play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association for 41 years, as well as the team's assistant general manager for seven years beginning in 1972. Hearn was the first broadcaster named to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Hearn is remembered for his rapid fire, staccato broadcasting style, associated with colorful phrases such as slam dunk, air ball, and no harm, no foul that have become common basketball vernacular. Hearn broadcast 3,338 consecutive Lakers games starting on November 21, 1965. Most of Hearn's games in the television era were simulcast on both radio and television, even after most teams chose to use different announcers for the different media.
The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,0000 exhibition games in 124 countries and territories, mostly against deliberately ineffective opponents, such as the Washington Generals and the New York Nationals (1995–2015). The team's signature song is Brother Bones' whistled version of "Sweet Georgia Brown", and their mascot is an anthropomorphized globe named "Globie". The team is owned by Herschend Family Entertainment.
Duane Martin is an American actor. He began his career making appearances on numerous television sitcoms before starring as Robert James on the UPN/CW sitcom All of Us (2003–2007) and as Detective Ben Baines on the police-procedural series L.A.'s Finest. Martin has also appeared in many films throughout his career including White Men Can't Jump (1992), Above the Rim and The Inkwell, The Faculty and Woo, Deliver Us from Eva and Ride or Die, and The Seat Filler (2004).
Earl Manigault was an American street basketball player who was nicknamed "the Goat" or "the Lip". He is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players never to have played in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton was an American professional basketball player. He is best known as one of the first African Americans to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was also a professional baseball player.
Jeffrey Kyle Sheppard is a retired American professional and collegiate basketball player.
Sherwin David "Wood" Harris is an American actor. He first garnered attention for his role as Motaw in the Jeff Pollack film Above the Rim (1994), prior to portraying high school football player Julius Campbell in the Walt Disney Pictures film Remember the Titans (2000) and Jimi Hendrix in the Showtime television film Hendrix (2000). He attained further recognition for his portrayal of drug kingpin Avon Barksdale on the HBO crime drama The Wire (2002–2008). Harris also played the role of cocaine dealer Ace, based on the life of Azie Faison, in the crime film Paid in Full in 2002.
Ronald "Flip" Murray is a retired American professional basketball player who last played for Al Mouttahed Tripoli of the Lebanese Basketball League. At 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), 200 lb, Murray played as a point guard–shooting guard. After attending Strawberry Mansion High School in Philadelphia, where he starred on the basketball team, he played college basketball for four seasons, first at the Meridian Community College in Meridian, Mississippi, from 1997 to 1999, and then at Shaw University located in Raleigh, North Carolina, from 2000 to 2002. He is nicknamed "Flip" by childhood friends who often said he looked like Bernie Mac's character, "Flip", from the movie Above The Rim.
A half-court shot is a shot taken from beyond the 3-pointer line as defined by a semicircular line before the 2-pointer zone. Anything beyond the half-court line and on the side of the court a team or player is defending is considered a full-court shot. It is most commonly used as a buzzer beater as there is a limited amount of time before a turnover. It is also used as a streetball term where the teams only use half of the full court. The most common backcourt shot style is known as "the Runner". If the shooter has a few seconds to spare, "the Runner" can be used to shorten the distance to the rim while also adding extra power to the shot. Other backcourt shot styles include: "the Sheed" ; "the Contested Prayer"; and "the Zoran". Since an NBA game court is 94 feet (29 m) long, the midcourt line is 47 feet (14 m) away from each baseline.
The Luck of the Irish is a 2001 American sports comedy-drama film released as a Disney Channel Original Movie. The film, starring Ryan Merriman, Alexis Lopez, Timothy Omundson, and Henry Gibson, contains elements of fantasy and sports film combined with Irish culture. Conceived as a Saint Patrick's Day film, it was first broadcast on Disney Channel on March 9, 2001.
Richard "Pee Wee" Kirkland is an American streetball player and drug trafficker.
Harlem Beat is a Japanese manga series created by Yuriko Nishiyama. It details the struggles of young Nate Torres to go from a benchwarmer to a street-ball player. The story's scope expands as he makes friends and eventually becomes a member of his high school basketball team. It was compiled into 29 tankōbon volumes.
Ross Sheppard High School or École Ross Sheppard is a high school located in a northwest neighbourhood of Coronation Park, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The school colours are Colombia blue and navy blue, and it is represented by a Thunderbird, also known as a T-Bird. Outside the school is a totem pole with a T-Bird on top, which has been given by British Columbia's Indigenous elders, representing the school mascot. The school serves the needs of over 2,000 students attending grades 10-12, including approximately 35 international students annually. Ross Sheppard School's philosophy is based on four pillars - Academics, Arts, Athletics and Service.
Johnny Lee Jackson was a Mexican-American multi-platinum songwriter, music producer and rapper best known for his early career with Death Row Records, and for his work with 2Pac on Me Against the World and All Eyez on Me, as well as 2Pac's posthumously released albums. He was born in Juárez, Mexico, in 1969 and raised in South Los Angeles. Johnny "J" was co-owner and CEO of Klock Work Entertainment Corp.
Sheppard "Shep" Homans Jr. was an All-American football player and insurance executive. He was selected as an All-American at the fullback position while playing for Princeton University in both 1890 and 1891.
Franklin Martin was an American documentary film director, producer, screenwriter and actor best known for his sport documentaries Walking on Dead Fish in (2008) and Long Shot: The Kevin Laue Story in 2012. He founded and ran the production company Dutchmen Films based in Los Angeles. He died of glioblastoma in New York on December 1, 2018.
Justin Brian Melton, popularly known as QuickMelt, Mouse, The Flying Minion, and Minion, is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player. He was drafted 13th overall by the San Mig Coffee Mixers in the 2013 PBA draft.
James "Speedy" Williams is a streetball basketball player from the Bronx, NY who has been called a "Rucker Park legend". He attended Morris High School in the Bronx. He played at Medgar Evers College where he averaged 26 points per game, later going on to play with the Harlem Globetrotters and the Continental Basketball Association. He played 10 seasons with the United States Basketball League and the Harlem Wizards.
Ryan Anthony Rollins is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Wisconsin Herd of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Toledo Rockets.
