Basketball

James Naismith was from Canada. He was a teacher in the United States. In 1891 he thought of a new game so his students could play a game in the winter when the ground was frozen.

In Dr Naismith's game there were two teams of five players. They played with a ball and two baskets. It became popular very quickly. Now we call this game basketball. Today people play basketball in many different countries.

Basketball players can throw and bounce the ball. They can also jump with the ball but they must not run with it. Players throw the ball into the other team's basket to score Doints. Each game is divided into two parts of twenty minutes.

The best basketball players in the world are tall. They need to be tall to throw the ball over other players. Some of them are over two metres tall.

The tallest basketball player in the world was Suleiman Ali Nashnush from Libya in Africa. He was 2. 45 metres tall.

Good basketball players must be fast. They must also have good balance. Someone with good balance does not fall over often.

Michael Jordan is one of the most famous basketball players in the world. He plays for a team called the Chicago Bulls in the United States.

People call him 'Air' Jordan. This is because he jumps so high in the air. People say, 'Michael Jordan can fly!'

Puzzles

You are the coach of a basketball team and you need two more players. Choose one boy and one girl. Fill in the blanks.

Peter Hall is 2. 1 metres tall but he often drops the ball, and he cannot catch or throw.
Betty Fall is 1. 7 metres tall. She is very fast and very tall, but she has very bad balance.
Carol Ball is 1. 8 metres tall. She is tall and she can throw and catch the ball, and she has very good balance.
Tommy Tall is 1. 85 metres tall. He can throw and catch the ball. He has bad balance sometimes, but not often.

I choose because she . I choose because he .