Basketball Memory Lane

[CousinRicky]

So, I recorded the 1966 National Championship game the other night and finished watching it last night.  Brought back so many memories.  Just wanted to put down some things that some of the young members probably didn't know or don't remember.  There are in random order and I'll try to indicate if it related to college and/or pro:

1. Most obvious - no 3 point line.  All baskets were 2 pointers. (Both)

2. Common Fouls committed were a 1 shot foul.  If a guy fouled going over the back at one end, they'd walk to the other end to shoot 1 shot.  (Both)

3. A common foul committed in the back court resulted in a 2 shot foul (think this may have just been in the pros)

4. In the NBA when a team went into the bonus, the penalty was an extra shot if you missed one of your attempts.  The old 2 to make 1 and 3 to make 2.

5. Only 2 refs

6. Really short, shorts

7. Only 1 announcer doing the 1966 championship game.

8. Jump balls started each 1/2 in college and quarter in the pros.  No alternating possession like in college now.

9. Dunking was disallowed for a while in college when Lew Alcindor (Kareem Jabbar) was just too dominant.  

10. No shot clock in college.  UNC perfected the 4 corner offense.  They'd get a lead, run 4 guys into the corner of the offensive zone with one guy in the middle.  Could play keep away for large chunks of halves.  Less talented teams would "stall" to shorten the game against better teams.  The Ivy League comes to mind but others did it.

11. When a foul was committed the ref would point to the player who committed it and he would have to raise his hand.  There there came a time when player numbers were to use only the digits 0 - 5 so that the ref could indicate to the scorers table the number of the player committing the foul.  Don't think that is true any more but not sure.

12. The NIT was as prestigious at the NCAA tournament.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Invitation_Tournament

13. The red, white and blue ball and the 3 point line from the ABA.

14. Two KY players from that 1966 game went on to the Hall of Fame - Pat Riley and Louis Dampier (who became a top 3 point shooter in the ABA and played most of career in that league until the KY Colonels folded. 

Hope it brings back some memories for some of you and serves as a history lesson to some of the younger people on here.

[Fold FB Invest in BB]

I remember back in my day, you could play defense on a ball handler and set screens without getting called for a foul. Ah, the good old days of 2014.

[smazza]

i was running the streets in  nyc  in 66

[Fold FB Invest in BB]

39 minutes ago, smazza said:

i was running the streets in  nyc  in 

Which one was it Steve?

[usfgrad84]

The game he is describing was portrayed in the movie Glory Road. It was a little before my time, but another very interesting (maybe the most)  aspect of that game was it was the first time 5 black players started i major game like that. It was a black team against a team coached by an arrogant, racist head coach. 

Great movie if you haven't seen it. 

 

[CousinRicky]

Also, it was the first time only black players scored all the points in a Nat'l Championship game.  Has only been done 7 more times since.  Very weird watching the game in black and white, no 3 point line, the short shorts, shooting every foul AND seeing very little contact.  It looked nothing like the roller derby that basketball has become.  Basically if you touched an offensive player they called a foul. And traveling was called where I didn't see it. I vaguely remember a change in the definition way back.  Of course they may have just been bad calls.

[Buller64]

On 4/2/2016 at 4:25 PM, Bourbon Bull said:

Also, it was the first time only black players scored all the points in a Nat'l Championship game.  Has only been done 7 more times since.  Very weird watching the game in black and white, no 3 point line, the short shorts, shooting every foul AND seeing very little contact.  It looked nothing like the roller derby that basketball has become.  Basically if you touched an offensive player they called a foul. And traveling was called where I didn't see it. I vaguely remember a change in the definition way back.  Of course they may have just been bad calls.

The rule back then was that you had to stop with your dribble no extra step. Also you had to hold your pivot foot in one place, if your pivot moved that was a travel. Today they slide their feet and even change pivot feet. Also they tended to call a palm ball as a travel. A palm ball for the youngsters (who have probably never seen one called) was when the dribbler made contact with the ball and the hand was not on the top quarter of the ball, no sideways push allowed. They also called offensive fouls on drives if the defensive player established position before the offensive player left the ground (there wasn't a too far beneath the basket either) or if the offense player jumped into the defender (a forward jump on the shot was an offensive foul). Other major changes include the hand check (you weren't allowed any), you could not use your elbow to hook around a defender to go to the hoop, a reach in foul had to make contact, and an offensive player could not "bump" the defender when backing in. 

[CousinRicky]

On 4/2/2016 at 4:25 PM, Bourbon Bull said:

Also, it was the first time only black players scored all the points in a Nat'l Championship game.  Has only been done 7 more times since.  Very weird watching the game in black and white, no 3 point line, the short shorts, shooting every foul AND seeing very little contact.  It looked nothing like the roller derby that basketball has become.  Basically if you touched an offensive player they called a foul. And traveling was called where I didn't see it. I vaguely remember a change in the definition way back.  Of course they may have just been bad calls.

 

6 minutes ago, Buller64 said:

The rule back then was that you had to stop with your dribble no extra step. Also you had to hold your pivot foot in one place, if your pivot moved that was a travel. Today they slide their feet and even change pivot feet. Also they tended to call a palm ball as a travel. A palm ball for the youngsters (who have probably never seen one called) was when the dribbler made contact with the ball and the hand was not on the top quarter of the ball, no sideways push allowed. They also called offensive fouls on drives if the defensive player established position before the offensive player left the ground (there wasn't a too far beneath the basket either) or if the offense player jumped into the defender (a forward jump on the shot was an offensive foul). Other major changes include the hand check (you weren't allowed any), you could not use your elbow to hook around a defender to go to the hoop, a reach in foul had to make contact, and an offensive player could not "bump" the defender when backing in. 

Thanks for the memory jog on the travel call.  I didn't start refereeing until the 80's and the rule had already changed I guess.