Basketball

Basketball originated in the late thirties or early forties, I think. Back then there were no rules or exceptions to the game. People just played it because they loved it. Many young children made their own baskets out car tires, laundry baskets, bike rims, milk crates and any other cylindrical object they could find. But as the years flew by organized basketball started to emerge. Rules and regulations started to hinder the game from being just a game. People started to take the game more seriously as if their lives depended upon them winning or loosing. In the early fifties we started the National basketball Association which is now the most adored level of basketball there is. At first there was only high school and college basketball, for those who could afford it. Now with the National Basketball Association (NBA) in mind the players in high school and college have something to look forward to after their school years are over with. In this paper I will try and show you the differences between the two and some of their similarities.

High school basketball is every man or woman's first shot at making it to a higher level of basketball and becoming a true athlete. I got involved in basketball because I loved the excitement and the rush that the game brought to you and the people that watched you. I also loved the fame, popularity, girls, and free food that came along with the game. In high school basketball you can get away with a lot of things. The referees are not as tough on you as in higher levels of basketball. The one thing that makes high school basketball so special, is that the love for the game is still there. You are one of a million people playing basketball in high school and you have to be better than half of

them in order for you to make it to the next level which is college basketball. College basketball is high school basketball without that half million that did not make it. In college, the referees get a little tighter and look a little closer. But overall it is the same just on television now. You still have your love, girls, popularity, fame, and now you have money. Some players that make it to college are endorsed by many companies for shoes, clothing material, and other things. On this level of basketball you still have a goal to achieve. You fight, hustle, hurt, bleed, butt this is what basketball is all about. Only strongest, or the people who want it the most, will survive.

The National Basketball Association, better known as the NBA, is the highest level of basketball you can go in your basketball career. This is the level where the referees lock down on everything. No biting, no hitting, no cursing, no crying, no stomping, no kick, just a little bit of pushing, but overall no nothing. You can't even breathe hard with out them calling a foul or something like that. On this level you get fined for getting kick out of the game verses college or high school were you only get suspended for a couple of games. You only get what you work for. The players who make it here are the players that are better than two thirds of that million playing in high school and half of the ones playing in the college. In high school and college you were playing for the love you had for the game but now in the NBA you are also playing for a minimum salary of 250,000 dollars a season. Because you are paid that much money for doing something that you would do for free, it makes you very happy. But in the process of your happiness you slowly start loosing