KBOrange23
Walk On
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2013
- Messages
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- 36
I fell in love with the sport of basketball when I was in the fifth grade, courtesy of the SU men's basketball team. The year was 1975, and the squad went to the program's first Final Four. I started playing basketball and begged my parents to buy me every book and magazine I saw on basketball. I wanted to know its history. My father bought me the Sports Illustrated magazine that covered that final four.
That magazine also contained coverage of the women's national championship. I was intrigued. I began to read the article and I became fascinated. After reading it I was psyched! I thought it was SO COOL that women played basketball. Delta State won the title, defeating Immaculata College which ended Immaculata's three year reign as champion. At that time it didn't dawn on me that the NCAA wasn't governing women's sports. An organization called the AIAW, the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, conducted the women's tournament. Delta State's star player, Lusia (pronounced "Lucy") Harris was voted MVP of the tournament.
The Olympics in Montreal came the next year, which included Women's Basketball for the first time. Harris was the starting center for Team USA and scored the first basket in the history of the tournament. The USA won the silver medal. She was the team's leading scorer and rebounder. I began to wonder why was it I never heard or read anything about her or any of the women players or their teams outside of Sports Illustrated's coverage? I also wondered why the women's national championship wasn't televised? Then I came to the realization that the NCAA didn't govern them and just couldn't understand why. I also couldn't find any history about the women's game. By that time I knew UCLA's dynasty under the great John Wooden won 10 NCAA championships in 12 years. Was there such a dynasty in the women's game? The books at that time couldn't tell me that.
As I grew older, I found out that my dad's oldest sister played basketball in grade school up through high school in the late 1940s to the early 1950s in Alabama. The girls didn't play 5-on 5 full court. They played 6 on 6, 3 offensive players of one team vs. 3 defensive players of the other team in one half of the court. The other half of the court was the 3 offensive players of the other team vs. the 3 defensive players of my aunt's team. My aunt was the top offensive player on her team so she scored most of her team's points. They also played in dresses. I asked my aunt why were the rules like this. She replied that people during that time felt playing full court basketball was too strenuous for women.
I do believe if the history of the women's game was communicated to the public, perhaps they could appreciate as I do how far the game has come and that women have proven they are as capable of playing the game as the men do, and maybe it could get more recognition than it does. I feel the college game seems to be more popular than the WNBA but that's another topic unto itself that I won't get into now.
Thoughts? I'd love to hear any comments on this.
That magazine also contained coverage of the women's national championship. I was intrigued. I began to read the article and I became fascinated. After reading it I was psyched! I thought it was SO COOL that women played basketball. Delta State won the title, defeating Immaculata College which ended Immaculata's three year reign as champion. At that time it didn't dawn on me that the NCAA wasn't governing women's sports. An organization called the AIAW, the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, conducted the women's tournament. Delta State's star player, Lusia (pronounced "Lucy") Harris was voted MVP of the tournament.
The Olympics in Montreal came the next year, which included Women's Basketball for the first time. Harris was the starting center for Team USA and scored the first basket in the history of the tournament. The USA won the silver medal. She was the team's leading scorer and rebounder. I began to wonder why was it I never heard or read anything about her or any of the women players or their teams outside of Sports Illustrated's coverage? I also wondered why the women's national championship wasn't televised? Then I came to the realization that the NCAA didn't govern them and just couldn't understand why. I also couldn't find any history about the women's game. By that time I knew UCLA's dynasty under the great John Wooden won 10 NCAA championships in 12 years. Was there such a dynasty in the women's game? The books at that time couldn't tell me that.
As I grew older, I found out that my dad's oldest sister played basketball in grade school up through high school in the late 1940s to the early 1950s in Alabama. The girls didn't play 5-on 5 full court. They played 6 on 6, 3 offensive players of one team vs. 3 defensive players of the other team in one half of the court. The other half of the court was the 3 offensive players of the other team vs. the 3 defensive players of my aunt's team. My aunt was the top offensive player on her team so she scored most of her team's points. They also played in dresses. I asked my aunt why were the rules like this. She replied that people during that time felt playing full court basketball was too strenuous for women.
I do believe if the history of the women's game was communicated to the public, perhaps they could appreciate as I do how far the game has come and that women have proven they are as capable of playing the game as the men do, and maybe it could get more recognition than it does. I feel the college game seems to be more popular than the WNBA but that's another topic unto itself that I won't get into now.
Thoughts? I'd love to hear any comments on this.
