FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE...
“For the Love of The Game: an elevated view of basketball…”
"The basket height has never been changed [since James Naismith first
invented the game] despite the fact that we have players that can dunk the
ball with their teeth if they tried to."
- Hall of Fame Coach, Pete Newell, 91 years young
Bellevue-based sports website Family Sports Life Today is proud to announce today that it will stage an experimental exhibition basketball game at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on June 16 at 1 pm.
Former local basketball stars who played in the Pac 10, WCC, Big Sky and local colleges will compete in a game that will feature an 11-foot hoop in what event organizer Tom Newell, a former NBA and WNBA coach and longtime Northwest Native, calls "a science experiment.''
Newell's interest in announcing this unique endeavor is for players, coaches, officials, fans and participants to observe just how a player would "adapt" to a basket that has been raised 12 inches.
His original inspiration was his father, legendary Coach Pete Newell, who in 1961 elevated the basket to 12 feet and held an exhibition on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, where he was the Athletics Director.
Newell believes the game has become stagnant at all levels with players dominating the ball for a "perfect" slam or individual play that draws attention and perhaps the notice of others who can help the player propel this athleticism into something bigger and better down the road.
So, he asked himself "what if..." and devised a game in which the basket will elevated another foot along with a few other tweaks such as eliminating dunk shots during the exhibition, having a 30-second shot clock, and allowing 3-point baskets only during the fourth quarter. There will be four 12-minute quarters and the rules for fouls will be similar to the professional game.
Newell also believes that basketball has evolved enough athletically that it's time to "experiment" with the height of the rim instead of doing things such as changing the dimensions of the ball, the textures and the seams in an attempt to improve the game.
While this may seem like a drastic alteration, he believes that it is no different than the changes football and baseball have made to adapt to the incredible physical skills of today's athletes.
Newell discusses some examples, such as the NFL moving goal posts and MLB moving fences in ballparks in the podcast episode "The NBA Game: Time for a Change?" at www.FamilySportsLifeToday.com/ForLoveOfGame
Admission to the June 16 game is FREE, with Newell asking only that spectators bring a canned food item for donation to the Northwest Harvest Food Bank of Seattle.
Newell promises a "full" entertainment program for attending fans. Spectators, Coaches and others will be asked to participate as an Observer. If people are interested in participating as an Observer of this event, and providing your input on the evaluation of the shot selections, the Pick and Roll plays, Fast Breaks, Post Play and the Defensive alignments, they can register with http://www.familysportslifetoday.com/
There will be shooting contests for prizes provided by this event's title sponsor, The Legacy Group, a Bellevue-based Capital, Mortgage and Escrow company. Half court attempts for prizes will also be included in the timeout periods and halftime. There will be live entertainment as well.
The coaches for this event will be: Alton Lister, former Seattle Sonics Center, 1986-90, current Head Men's Coach at Mesa Community College, Mesa, Arizona; James Edwards, former NBA Championship Team member of the Detroit "Bad Boys" Pistons, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, currently private instructor for player development in the Puget Sound area; Coach Paul Woolpert, Coach of the CBA Champion Yakima Sun Kings; and Coach Ernie Woods, former Bellevue Community College Coach, Hall of Fame member of Northwest Athletics Community Colleges Hall of Fame, current Director of Hooptactics.com and CybersportsUSA.com, both basketball resource programs.
This event is preceded by a High School Coaches Basketball Clinic beginning at 8:30 am, June 16th. All high school coaches, assistants and head coaches, are encouraged to attend the program that will feature guest speakers from the University of Washington Men's Basketball Team. The clinic is directed by Coach Newell and Coach Woods. This program will include "chalk talk" sessions, strategizing on the floor, player development stations and an innovative presentation on "How to Interview with Confidence and Vision...". Coach Newell says application forms have been submitted to the WIAA for clock hour approval for the coaches.
For more information regarding registration to the Coaches Clinic and Exhibition Game, please visit http://www.familysportslifetoday.com/
Additional information on the Rosters of both teams for this exhibition will be released over the next several weeks.
For more information:
Contact Tom Newell
familysportslifetoday@gmail.com
Coach Tom Newell discusses the exhibition with his father, Pete Newell, who held such an event in 1961, in an interview which you can listen to at www.FamilySportsLifeToday.com/PeteNewell
Tom also discusses the impact on the NBA game at www.FamilySportsLifeToday.com/ForLoveOfGame
About Family SportsLife Today
Founded in 2006, dedicated to assisting volunteer coaches, parents and participants develop better teaching models and motivational methods, bringing families to improve the dynamic of the youth sports experience. FSLT provides internet radio podcasts, news articles, documents and resources for youth coaches, parents and players at http://www.familysportslifetoday.com/