Basketball History 101

 CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "60s & 70s Rock" by Hyde "Horizons" by Roa   SPORTS HISTORY NETWORK sportshistorynetwork.com sportshistorynetwork.com/podcasts/basketball-history-101/   FACEBOOK m.facebook.com/Basketball-History-101-103801581493027/   BUSINESS CONTACT bballhistory101@gmail.com

 Pistol Pete’s time at Louisiana State University could not have gone better from an individual perspective, but the team did not win as many games as expected. While Pete was able to break Oscar Robertson’s all-time college scoring record, things at home were falling apart, and Hall-of-Fame coach John Wooden predicted Pete would never win a championship. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, wri...

 On our first 3-part episode, Rick covers the story of the great “Pistol” Pete Maravich, one of the most influential players in NBA history. In this first episode, we cover his family history and childhood, especially how his father, Press Maravich, provided him with college-level coaching from day 1 and pushed him to be the best he could be... and more. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writ...

 Back in the 1960s, basketball media wanted to promote Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain as hated rivals. But this was simply not the case. While they were competitors on the court, they were good friends everywhere else, often spending the night at each other’s house when they were in town. This is the story of that friendship. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza...

Continuing from last week's episode of BBH.101, Moses Malone is one of the greatest players in basketball history. Today, we discuss his professional career as "The Chairman of the Boards." The NBA/ABA merger moved him into the NBA, and he is one of only eight players to win 3 or more MVPs in that league. When he finally retired in 1995 after 21 total years of pro ball, he was the last active memb...

 Moses Malone was the first basketball player to enter the professional ranks directly from high school. The NBA required him to be four years removed from high school, but the ABA had no such regulations. Although that league had never recruited someone his age before, neither had anyone that young ever been as good. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, p...

Renowned as the strongest amateur team of all time, the USA's 1960 Olympic basketball team went undefeated for the whole tournament, bringing home the gold and winning their games by an average of 42 points. That edition of the team, led by Oscar Robertson and Jerry West, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, produ...

Thanksgiving Day, 1924 . The recently-established tradition of the University of Pittsburgh Panthers football team hosting the Pennsylvania State Nittany Lions on the afternoon of the national autumnal holiday continues. Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer is sent to cover the Pitt-Penn State “Keystone Classic” of 1924; in so doing, he discovers a throughline of the football-on-Thanksgiving tradition...

On today's edition of BBH.101, Rick visits the Rucker, Harlem's playground basketball tournament that gave birth to streetball. While it featured mostly amateur players, it also managed to attract even NBA All-Stars like Wilt Chamberlain, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant. This is the story of the tournament's creation and its current impact on today's NBA. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head res...

 Elgin Baylor’s was undoubtedly one of the greatest players of all time, but his legacy in basketball history is complicated. He once averaged 38 points per game for the entire 1962 season, but that was the same year that fellow Laker Wilt Chamberlain averaged 50. Baylor's own greatness was overshadowed by his teammate. And despite his personal achievements, he never won a championship and lost t...

 Elgin Baylor was undoubtedly one of the greatest players of all time. He is the third-greatest scorer ever in terms of points per game. Not only that, but his entrance to the NBA revolutionized the game forever. He was the first person to really use his incredible jumping ability to create a deadly advantage, turning an otherwise horizontal sport into a vertical one as well. He could stay in the...

I n 1970, Oscar Robertson sued the NBA in order to win free agency for all the players in the league. Prior to the lawsuit, a player was stuck with one team for his entire career and was not allowed to leave, even if his contract was over. This rule changed the financial landscape for players in all American sports, even beyond the NBA. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jaco...

 Back in the early days of basketball, there was a center jump after every made basket. The problem? This resulted in a terribly slow and boring game. So today, Rick unpacks the story of how that rule was changed and how it led immediately to higher scoring, both in college and in the professionals. This single rule change is what launched the game from its humble origins into a wildly popular at...

Back in Episode 14, we talked about the 1951 College Betting Scandal. Jack Molinas was involved in it all, but was never caught. A decade later, in 1961, there was a new betting scandal -- and this time, Molinas was the ringleader. A graduate of Columbia University, he was selected for the NBA All-Star Game as a rookie, and eventually became a lawyer. He had every opportunity to have a successful...

 Dave DeBusschere was a Hall of Fame player, a coach, a general manager, a commissioner, and a Major League Baseball pitcher. But despite his extensive and impressive resume, he always remembered where he came from. His parents had had to work hard to provide for the family, and he always put 100% effort into his game. After championships, All-Star games, and even being inducted into the NBA Hall...

 Isaiah Thomas once scored 25 points in a single quarter in the NBA Finals while playing on a severely sprained ankle. This is that story from Game 6 of the 1988 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Take Care" by Julian Avila "Horizons" by Roa   SPORTS HISTORY NETWORK spo...

 Today, Rick concludes our story on the Van Arsdale twins as he covers their NBA careers. Not only were they identical in appearance, but they each finished with nearly identical statistics, including going to exactly three All-Star games each. While they had played together all through college, they were on separate teams for their entire NBA careers -- until their final season, that is, when th...

 The van Arsdale twins, Tom and Dick, managed to win multiple awards for their individual skills, yet never managed to win any titles. In high school, they were named co-Mr. Basketball of Indiana, and in college they won co-Big 10 Player of the Year, but couldn't seem to secure a championship in either era of their lives. This is a situation that would haunt them throughout their entire careers,...

 In remembrance of Bill Russell, Rick decided to make this bonus episode dedicated to him. While not a full profile, Rick shares some thoughts on the great man who not only won 11 NBA rings but also was a major civil rights activist. His book Second Wind is what first lit the spark that would become Rick's love of basketball history. Without him, this podcast would not exist. The impact of this g...

 On February 4, 1986, Larry Bird decided to play a game with his left hand out of sheer boredom. He often felt the need to give himself ridiculous challenges within the game in order to stay motivated. Despite this handicap, Bird still managed to score 47 points against the Portland Trailblazers and take home the victory that night. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Lo...

As the first-ever African-American to play in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) for NCAA basketball, Perry Wallace destroyed racial barriers and paved the way for every single black collegiate to come. Despite having college options in the North, where integration was normal, he decided to stay home in Nashville, Tennessee and play for Vanderbilt University. Wallace set for himself a high standard...

1977 saw the first All-Star Game since the merger of the NBA and the ABA. Historically, the NBA had held disdain for the ABA and expected little from those players. Nonetheless, 10 of the All-Stars that year were ex-ABA players who proved that their skill matched their NBA counterparts, especially Dr. J. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and pu...

 Harvey Pollack is the only statistician to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He invented the tracking of rebounds, assists, blocked shots, turnovers, and triple-doubles. He was also the last original NBA employee still working for the league until he passed away in 2015. Today, Rick tells his story. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor...

 When John Wooden was the coach of the UCLA basketball team, he had a ritual where he would "discover" a lucky penny in the locker room during his annual pep talk. Every single year, the same speech would be given and the same penny would be found. One year, however, Bill Walton noticed his coach planting the penny just before the speech, and decided that this year would be different, although th...

 In this conclusion of our two-part story on Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, Rick tells of his NBA career with the Bullets and the Knicks, including his championship run in 1973 with one of the most balanced teams in NBA history. CREDITS Rick Loayza: Head researcher, writer, and voice Jacob Loayza: Editor, producer, and publisher   MUSIC "Disco Funk" by Jam Morgan "Horizons" by Roa   SPORTS HI...