Basketball for Beginners
The Basic Rules and Regulations

Basketball is a sport in which five players from each of two teams take to a court and score points by throwing a ball through a hoop (the basket).  The sport was invented in 1891 and has become an international phenomenon.  The first organized league was in the YMCA, and other early play was taken up in college.  Eventually, it became a professional sport, carried on in North America, and now, players come from all over the world.
Professional basketball is an indoor sport, played on a court, and the team who scores the most points by making baskets wins.  The ball is moved across the court towards a team?s basket through passes between players and by bouncing, or dribbling, the ball.  Physical contact is allowed, but if it is disruptive, a foul is called.
Over time, techniques have been developed for shooting, passing, and dribbling.  Positions have been named, and offensive and defensive sides of play structured.  Though heavy regulations exist for professional play, there are several forms of informal and casual play that have come from ?shooting hoops? in resident driveways and on small public outdoor courts over the years.
Basketball is dominated by the tall and slender athletic.  Professional basketball players are almost always over six feet tall, and many are close to or above the seven-foot mark.  One of the tallest players to date, hailing from the tallest tribe in the world in Africa, stood seven-foot-seven.  Though not in the rule book, it is universally accepted that tall players are generally more talented at a sport that requires players to reach a goal that is mounted high over the head of the average individual.
Baskets can earn a player one, two, or three points, depending on how they are achieved.  A standard basket earns two points.  A three point shot, or ?field goal?, is made from the half court line or further.  A single point is earned through a free throw.  Free throws are awarded when a foul is called.  The player who was injured or burdened by the foul from the opposing team is given one or two chances to make a basket with no interference from the ?free throw line?, each worth one point.  The number of chances given is determined by the severity of the foul.
Bad sportsmanship, misconduct, or repeated disruption in a basketball game can get both players and coaches ejected.  This means not only being taken out of the game, but actually involves being sent out of the arena for the remainder of the game.