Fast Break Basketball: How a Black Coach Revolutionized the Game
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Posted By: Hija Chang on April 23, 2011 By Doug Merlino The fast break—whether it’s Rajon Rondo dropping a no-look dish to Paul Pierce or Derrick Rose setting up Joakim Noah with a lob—is basketball’s signature play, a few moments in the open court when all the game’s improvisational qualities come pulsing to life. On the surface, the play would seem a long ways from the game James Naismith invented in 1891. But it’s perhaps the founder’s final contribution to basketball, a product of his mentoring late in life of an African-American student named John McLendon. In fact, in the development of the fast break we not only see the ways that basketball has been able to cross racial divides, but also the grand absurdity and human cost of America’s policies of segregation. John McLendon was born in 1915 in the town of Hiawatha, Kan., to an African-American father and a Delaware Indian mother. From the time he saw his first game at the age of 10, he became obsessed with basketball. Full Story: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/673434-... If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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Hija Chang
Management, See Moss Interactive Bellarmine University class of 2021 Member Since January 2011 |
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