IT'S A BEAUTIFUL THING

I have been researching various rules and topics for the last several posts.  It is hoped that they have been beneficial to the readers.  Please allow this diversion into the forgotten corners of basketball history

I have been trying to think about what parts of the basketball game I find the most appealing.  Part of that thought is wrapped around the idea of why one might continue to run up and down a basketball court, chasing young people, at such an advanced age.  I recently have met officials that are in their late sixties, who still get out there and give it their best every night.  Now, I am nowhere near sixty, but as I look at the calendar-it shows me every day I need to value each hour I live "cause" the clock is ticking.

When thinking about what I enjoy about the game, I was drawn to what I believe is one of the prettiest sights in the gym on any given night.  AND NO, it is not a particular person or gender I refer to - like some of my referee buddies will kid about.

I think one of the most beautiful pictures I like to see on the court in a game is the one-handed jump shot.  There is just something about watching a perfectly executed jump shot from start to finish.  No matter what the level of play, or the length of the shot, seeing that shot is just thrilling.  And, it is even more rewarding, at times, to watch it go in.

In today's game, so much of the TV hype and highlights swirl around the dunk.  Take a look at ESPN's top ten any night during a basketball season, and chances are very high some of the plays you watch over and over and over again, are pictures of very tall men, maybe women next WNBA season, getting close to the basket and throwing the ball "down."  That is all well and good, nothing here against a good dunk.  They get the crowd, in any gym, going.

But, give me the jump shot.  The player coming to a stop, squaring up, jumping to his/her maximum height, extending the arm/ball upwards and towards the goal, with a flick of the wrist at the end, and then floating back to the floor. Wow, what a moment.  That small amount of time, even maybe as long as a second or two, as the ball follows a trajectory towards the goal.  Then falling, sometimes perfectly, through the net.  That, also takes skill.  I mean think about all the mental functions in a human being that must occur in order for a jump shot to be successful.  I wonder if it takes more skill to shoot over 30% from the three point line, than 99% from the restricted area in the paint.

I was curious about the jump shot so I looked it up.  It seems the NCAA website had a whole story on who they credit with introducing and perfecting the one-hand jump shot at the college level.  His name is Kenny Sailors.  And, he was still alive last year 2012, at the right smart age of 92.

The story goes, that Kenny had an older brother as a kid.  And this older brother was much taller than he was, about 6' 5" to Kenny's 5' 7".  Kenny got tired of his brother's swatting his set shots out of the sky in their backyard playing one-on-one.  It dawned on him one day to add the jump while shooting just to get the ball over his brother.  And, the rest is as they say, "history."

Kenny would later travel to an AAU tournament where he would see a player using a one-hand set shot.  You see in that day, most shots were executed with two hands, and in fact, Kenny used two hands in his first jump shots.  He fell in love with the one handed shot.

Later he would go to the University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, and using his 36" vertical leap, and his new love of one-hand shots, along with some other great skills, and become an All American.  In fact, Kenny was so good he led his team, the Cowboys, to the NCAA 1946 title game, where the Cowboys prevailed over Georgetown 46 - 34.  Kenny scored 16 points in that game at Madison Square Garden.

Now a days, you see various iterations of the jump shot all over high school, recreation, college or pro sports.  And I guarantee you, almost none of the people taking the shot you see, know anything about Kenny Sailors.  But, without him, we would not have what I think is the most beautiful shot in basketball today.