Spalding became the official ball of the NBA in 1983. Made from the finest full grain leather and meeting the most stringent quality and performance standards, the NBA Game Ball is embedded in the sport as much as Michael Jordan or LeBron James. To make something so pivotal takes skill, passion and most importantly a love for the game, so let’s find out how.
Creating the Ball
The NBA Game Ball is made of leather that comes exclusively from the Horween Leather Company in Chicago. Horween is one of the oldest leather tanneries in the United States and receives shipments of 3,000 cowhides a week, which go through a rigorous three-week process. The process used to achieve this is:
The leather pieces are sorted by how clear the grain is, and the thickness and size of the piece.
The chosen leather pieces are then coloured. They are put into tanning drums where the leather is preserved and tanned.
The leather is stamped with a 1,000-ton press with German-made embossing plates that give the basketballs their distinct pebbling.
The embossed leather is painted in lighter coats for a combination of colour, durability and feel.
The leather then goes through a double drying process.
A final check is conducted. The leather is graded, trimmed, and then packaged and shipped to China for cutting and sewing.
Quality Assurance
Once the balls are made, they go through multiple quality assurance tests in the United States. These include:
The balls are inflated at an ‘inflation station’ by automatic gauges, and then manually inflated and checked.
The balls are measured to ensure that the circumference of every ball matches the requirements and is the exact same.
A vertical test is conducted. Every ball is dropped from 6 feet and must meet the minimum rebound of 52 inches.
The final step is waking the windings. The balls are rebounded at 20 miles per hour, 50 times. This is to ensure that each ball is consistent in its form.
Game Ready
After quality assurance testing, the balls are delivered to the teams and are ready for play. There are so many important factors in making the NBA Game Ball, but none more important than the fact that the ball is a performance instrument. This means that not only do the basketballs need to look good, they need to feel good. Spalding take great care to ensure this is always the case.
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Here's the history of basketball—from peach baskets in Springfield to global phenomenon
James Naismith, a Canadian American physical educator and innovator, invented the game of basketball in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891 to keep his students active during the winter. The game was an immediate success and the original American sport spread instantly to other colleges and YMCAs. Naismith is pictured here with his wife Maude Evelyn Sherman Naismith.
Photograph via Agefotostock / Alamy Stock Photo
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The nets used by athletes to dunk the ball and score points in the beloved game of basketball evolved from peaches, or rather the baskets used to collect peaches.
That’s what a young athletic director ultimately used on a cold day back in 1891 for a new game he created to keep his students engaged.
James Naismith was a 31-year old graduate student teaching physical education at the International YMCA Training School, now known as Springfield College, in Springfield, Massachusetts when students were forced to stay indoors for days due to a New England storm. The usual winter athletic activities were marching, calisthenics, and apparatus work but they weren’t nearly as thrilling as football or lacrosse which were played during the warmer seasons.
James Naismith, the creator of basketball, stands with the 1899 University of Kansas basketball team.
Photography via Florida Historical 1A / Alamy Stock Photo
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Naismith wanted to create a game that would be simple to understand but complex enough to be interesting. The game had to be playable indoors, and it had to accommodate several players at once. The game also needed to provide plenty of exercise for the students, yet without the physicality of football, soccer, or rugby since those would threaten more severe injuries if played in a confined space. (See 100 years of football in pictures.)
Naismith approached the school janitor, hoping he could find two square boxes to use for goals. When the janitor came back from his search, he had two peach baskets instead. Naismith nailed the peach baskets to the lower rail of the gymnasium balcony, one on each side. The height of that lower balcony rail happened to be 10 feet. The students would play on teams to try to get the ball into their team’s basket. A person was stationed at each end of the balcony to retrieve the ball from the basket and put it back into play.
The first game ever played between students was a complete brawl.
Two boys stand on the first basketball court in the gymnasium of the School for Christian Workers, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1900s.
Photograph via. Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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“The boys began tackling, kicking and punching in the crunches, they ended up in a free for all in the middle of the gym floor before I could pull them apart,” Naismith said during a January 1939 radio program on WOR in New York City called We the People, his only known recording. “One boy was knocked out. Several of them had black eyes and one had a dislocated shoulder. ” Naismith said. “After that first match, I was afraid they'd kill each other, but they kept nagging me to let them play again so I made up some more rules.”
The humble beginnings of the only professional sport to originate in the United States laid the foundation for today’s multi-billion-dollar business. The current National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) March Madness college basketball tournament includes the best 68 of more than 1,000 college teams, stadiums that seat tens of thousands of spectators and lucrative television contracts.
Details of the original 1891 copy of the rules of "Basket Ball" are presented at Sotheby's auction house December 3, 2010 in New York City. The two-page document sold for $4.3 million.
Photograph by Chris Hondros, Getty Images
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Original rules of the game
Naismith didn’t create all of the rules at once, but continued to modify them into what are now known as the original 13 rules. Some are still part of the modern game today. Naismith’s original rules of the game sold at auction in 2010 for $4.3 million.
In the original rules: The ball could be thrown in any direction with one or both hands, never a fist. A player could not run with the ball but had to throw it from the spot where it was caught. Players were not allowed to push, trip or strike their opponents. The first infringement was considered a foul. A second foul would disqualify a player until the next goal was made. But if there was evidence that a player intended to injure an opponent, the player would be disqualified for the whole game.
Umpires served as judges for the game, made note of fouls and had the power to disqualify players. They decided when the ball was in bounds, to which side it belonged, and managed the time. Umpires decided when a goal had been made and kept track of the goals.
If a team made three consecutive fouls, the opposing team would be allowed a goal.
A goal was made when the ball was thrown or batted from the grounds into the basket and stayed there. If the ball rested on the edges, and the opponent moved the basket, it would count as a goal. When the ball went out of bounds, it was thrown into the field of play by the person first touching it. The person throwing the ball was allowed five seconds; if he held it longer, the ball would go to the opponent. In case of a dispute, an umpire would throw the ball straight into the field. If any side persisted in delaying the game, the umpire would call a foul on that side.
The length of a game was two 15-minute halves, with five minutes' rest between. The team making the most goals within the allotted time was declared the winner. If a game was tied, it could be continued until another goal was made.
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Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
Left: University of Kansas women's basketball team members Marcella Morewitz, left, and Grace Endicott get expert coaching from Dr. James Naismith, a member of the university's faculty and inventor of basketball, in 1926.
Photograph by George Rinhart, Corbis/Getty Images
Right: Olivia Nelson-Ododa (#20) of the University of Connecticut Huskies goes up for a basket against Digna Strautmane (#45) of the Syracuse Orange during the second round of the 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at the Alamodome on March 23, 2021 in San Antonio, Texas. UCONN won the game and advanced to the Sweet 16. The Huskies have won more NCAA championships than any other women's basketball team in the nation. They cut down the nets, an honor for the winning team, in 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016.
Photograph by Carmen Mandato, Getty Images
First public games
The first public game of basketball was played in a YMCA gymnasium and was recorded by the Springfield Republican on March 12th, 1892. The instructors played against the students. Around 200 spectators attended to discover this new sport they had never heard of or seen before. In the story published by the Republican, the teachers were credited with “agility” but the student’s “science” is what led them to defeat the teachers 5-1.
Within weeks the sport’s popularity grew rapidly. Students attending other schools introduced the game at their own YMCAs. The original rules were printed in a college magazine, which was mailed to YMCAs across the country. With the colleges’ well-represented international student body the sport also was introduced to many foreign nations. High schools began to introduce the new game, and by 1905, basketball was officially recognized as a permanent winter sport.
The first intercollegiate basketball game between two schools is disputed, according to the NCAA. In 1893, two school newspaper articles were published chronicling separate recordings of collegiate basketball games facing an opposing college team.
In 1892, less than a year after Naismith created the sport, Smith College gymnastics instructor Senda Berenson, introduced the game to women’s athletics. The first recorded intercollegiate game between women took place between Stanford University and University of California at Berkeley in 1896.
With the sport’s growth in popularity, it gained notice from the International Olympic Committee and was introduced at the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis as a demonstration event. It wasn’t until 1936 that basketball was recognized as a medal event. Women’s basketball wasn’t included as an Olympic medal event until the 1976 Montreal games. (Wheelchair basketball in Cambodia changed these women's lives.)
Jim Baechtold (10) of the New York Knickerbockers and Bob Brannum (18) of the Boston Celtics try to get a rebound in the first quarter of a March 16, 1954 NBA playoff game at the Boston Garden. Others in the picture are Celtics Chuck Cooper (11) center, and Bob Cousy (14) left. In 1950, Cooper was the first Black basketball player drafted by an NBA team.
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As the sport continued its rapid spread, professional leagues began to form across the United States. Basketball fans cheered on their new hometown teams. The first professional league was the National Basketball League (NBL) formed in 1898, comprised of six teams in the northeast. The league only lasted about five years. After it dissolved in 1904, the league would be reintroduced 33 years later in 1937 with an entirely new support system, with Goodyear, Firestone, and General Electric corporations as the league owners, and 13 teams.
While professional sports leagues gained nationwide attention, college basketball was also a major fixture. The first NCAA tournament, which included eight teams, was held in 1939 at Northwestern University. The first collegiate basketball national champion was the University of Oregon. The team defeated Ohio State University.
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Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
Left: Villagers watch a basketball game at Yangping Village in Yuncheng, Shanxi Province, China on July 12, 2020.
Photograph by Shi Yunping, VCG / Getty Images
Right: Oklahoma City Thunder player Steven Adams (12) rebounds in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on April 21, 2019.
Photograph by Greg Nelson, Sports Illustrated / Getty Images
Like most of the United States in the early to mid 1900s, basketball was segregated. The sport wouldn’t be integrated until 1950 when Chuck Cooper was drafted by the Boston Celtics. Prior to Cooper being drafted there were groups of black teams across the country, commonly known as “the black fives”, which referred to the five starting players on a basketball team. All-black teams were often referred to as colored quints or Negro cagers. The teams flourished in New York City, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Chicago, and in other cities with substantial African American populations. They were amateur, semi-professional, and professional.
Of the more than 1,000 collegiate basketball teams across all divisions of the NCAA, 68 teams play in the annual March Madness tournament. The best college teams from each conference around the country compete for a place in the Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four and, ultimately, the national championship. Though basketball might not be played the same way as it was when Naismith invented it—peach baskets have been replaced with nets, metal hoops and plexiglass blackboards—its evolution proves that the game has transcended a century.
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Terms in basketball that everyone should know
These 11 concepts will help even a beginner to better understand the game
WE DECIDED TO HELP LEARN BASKETBALL LANGUAGE FOR BEGINNERS, IN ORDER TO NOT LOSS ON THE COURT AND BETTER UNDERSTAND EXPERIENCED PLAYERS.
RUNNING
Foul when a player with the ball takes too many steps without starting or after dribbling. The simplest and at the same time complex rule, because it has many nuances. This video breaks down the latest amendments and clearly explains what is possible and what is not:
RUNNING
Foul when a player with the ball takes too many steps without starting or after dribbling. The simplest and at the same time complex rule, because it has many nuances. This video breaks down the latest amendments and clearly explains what is and isn't allowed:
PENALTY (PENALTY)
A free throw that is taken after a foul in the "throw phase", a technical or unsportsmanlike foul, or overrun of team fouls. On the site it is easy to find the line from where the free kick is taken.
We have a free throw recommendation article. Read the blog: BASKETBALL PENALTY SHOT
AND1 (END ONE)
The exclamation and symbol used by players after a foul shot is scored. Denotes "and one more", because after hitting in violation of the rules, it will perform a free throw, and this is an opportunity to score more points for attack.
PAINT (THREE SECOND ZONE)
An area on the court in which an attacking player cannot stay for more than 3 seconds, otherwise there will be a violation. The name "paint" was derived from highlighting it with color on set.
THREE / LONG / OUT OF THE ARCH (THREE-POINT SHOT)
A 3-point shot in big basketball and 2 points in 3-on-3 basketball. On the court, the 3-point zone is marked with a line in the form of an arc.
LAY UP
The most common shot from under the basket, during which the player usually moves towards the basket.
DUNK / SLAM DUNK
Overhand throw when the ball is released from the hands over the hoop and moves straight down.
ALLEY-OOP
A pass after which the receiving player throws the ball before landing. Most often, such a transfer ends with a dunk, and it looks spectacular.
To dunk and finish alley-ups beautifully, you need to have a good jump. We have a video with 5 top tips for this:
ASSIST (ENG - ASSIST)
A successful pass, after which the player hits the basket. In basketball, before throwing, he can perform one or two hits without beating the opponent, and the transfer will still be considered in the scoring column.
To give a lot of assists, you need to be able to make different passes. Read the article with types of passes: PASSING IN BASKETBALL
REBELLING
The event when a player receives the ball after a shot or block shot. Some players have made a whole art out of this element of the game. For example, Dennis Rodman:
Do you want to take your first steps in basketball or improve your basic skills? We have a Basic Basketball Skills workout for you. See the schedule and sign up:
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Coach: Yuriy Bespalov
- Professional player of the INANOMO 3x3 team; - Champion of Russia 3x3 2019; - Winner and medalist of the MOFB championship; - 2017 MLBL Summer League MVP; - Multiple participant of Moscow Open; - Champion of Moscow 3x3 2017; - MVP GrunisCup 2017.
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#THIS IS YOUR GROUND . Stanislav Sharov broke glass, worked as an installer, took silver at the Olympics - “Upward Movement” - Blogs
Editor's Note: You're reading the Upward Movement User Blog, where you talk to interesting people from Russian basketball. Subscribe and there will be even more interesting people.
Stanislav Sharov - Olympic silver medalist in 3x3 basketball in Tokyo and champion of the European Games. He tells how, as a child, he hit car windows and worked as an installer, put everything on the line in favor of basketball and got to the Olympics from the student bench.
— I tuned in to our meeting today with a certain enthusiasm, and I will explain why: to some extent, I saw in you my unfulfilled dreams. You come from the small town of Gusev with a population of 30,000 people, I am from the city of Gorki, where there are also 30,000. All my life I dreamed of getting to the Olympic Games, playing at a professional level. You succeeded in all this. Tell me how it all started? I know that you were involved in athletics, sambo. Why did you choose basketball?
“You said it right, I did sambo, track and field athletics… In such a small town, you probably have to do something, or you can get into some bad company, in my childhood it could easily happen. I was energetic, and therefore I was always taken to sports clubs so that I would splash out all my energy there. At some point, I first finished with sambo, then I got bored with athletics. Then I had a short break. I also remember that I went to football for a month, maybe two, just to go. Then my first coach appeared at the school, Yuri Anatolievich Strolis. He recruited children, invited me to training, and everything immediately began to work out for me, there was a quick jump in basketball. I came to basketball at the end of the seventh grade, perhaps even in the eighth, that is, quite late, but in the ninth grade I already played for the adult men's team of the city of Gusev. So it all started spinning, fifteen years have passed since that moment.
- Stas, as I understand it, you invested your endless energy not only in basketball. I also know that you liked to break the windows of cars a little. How did you manage to combine basketball with that?
- Break glass, misbehave - this was before basketball. Basketball put me in my place. I came home, threw my briefcase, took my bag and ran to training, I was very drawn in. Before basketball, they were hooligans with friends a lot, they just didn’t do it - you can write a book. The usual childhood of boys in such towns.
- I think that in order to break the windows of cars, you also need good physical condition.
- I got it from my father, but I don't regret anything. But I had a real childhood. It’s hard to find something like that now, if only in the same small towns where we are from. Now, children in such big cities as Moscow or even Kaliningrad, even though it is a small city, I think, will no longer have such a childhood.
- You know, now I'm coming to my hometown of Gorki, I repeat once again 30,000 people. I remember how there were about 40 people on the court, and everyone was waiting to play basketball. That is, you came there and really could wait an hour.
- And we had such a square area, and behind one house they built a large football field, just huge, put up a goal, a net. All this was done by my first basketball coach. And we played football from district to district, we could leave early in the morning and cut ourselves to death until nightfall.
Yes, similar. And now I have arrived and see that there is a wasteland and no one at all. It feels like the city is dead. I have both nostalgia and regret. I remember how much emotion and energy there was then ... As far as I know, your first job was as an installer. How did it happen?
- I have a friend Vadik Fadeev. I was kicked out of one school after the ninth grade, they said that it was better not to enter the tenth, and I went to another.
- Why?
- There was such a decent school, and I'm a bully, gouging. They didn't want to spoil their image. And they sent me to another school, more gangster or something.
- I think they regret it, because your portrait could be hanging there now.
- I wanted to go to the tenth grade, but my mother said that I shouldn't. Then there was BFU, and they had a strong student team, good, mature. I wanted to go there and play for them. There we became friends with Vadik. He is still my friend to this day, a good friend of the family. He has an uncle, and one summer he offered us a job. Vadik can do everything, he has golden hands, and he took me as an assistant. At first I just went to look, helped, and then I started to work myself.
Did you enjoy it?
- I earned my first 5 iPhones over the summer, I felt cool. It was fun. There were two of us, no one controlled us: we drove, set, laughed, broke these windows, by accident, of course, we paid fines, gained experience.
- Olympic medalist earned his first iPhone while working as an installer. Tell us, please, how did you enter BFU? What was the reason for this decision? What role did basketball play in your studies?
- Again, there was a team at that time, and I wanted to go there. I had to pass Russian, biology and entrance exams in physical education. Previously, everyone passed Russian, mathematics, a subject that is needed for admission, and a spare. And I didn’t even hand over the reserve, because I was focused only on going there.
- Did you prepare for the exams?
- Yes, yes, I was preparing. I have always had a problem with studying. I went to a tutor in mathematics, Russian, only in biology he was not needed.
- Here I want to make a little emphasis. If there was hooliganism in the ninth grade, then you began to move to enter the university, and you have already consciously begun to study and prepare, because this is the way to basketball?
Yes. It's not even that I started to study, but that I started going to tutors. It was clearer to me. I never understood why teachers in school can't explain things the way tutors do. I came to school for math and didn’t understand anything, I just sat there like an idiot and stared at the wall. When I came to the tutor, he explained in two minutes with the help of some joke or drawing, and I immediately understood everything. To this day, this issue remains unresolved for me. I had a goal - to enter the university, and we had the championship of the Kaliningrad region, a fairly strong championship, I played for Gusev and already smashed some strong teams, there was a rumor about me, and this helped me enter the BFU. Their manager was already able to promote me there when I was just taking my exams. It was funny that when I entered, the whole team was renewed, and there was no one left from the strong team that I wanted to join.
- You joined a young team. I hoped to gain experience from the elders, and the functions of a leader fall on you. Who else joined the team? Danya? Dima Semenas? Did they come with you?
- Yes, Danya Pluzhnikov came with me. But there were no such hopes for me. We had quite a lot of competition. There were twenty people at the training camp. Eleven or twelve were going to be selected for the team. Everyone was equal. I didn't know much about basketball then. I only had my village basketball. They asked me who I looked up to, what I looked up to before, but I didn’t look up to anyone, except for AND1 Mixtapes, I had CDs, they are still recorded somewhere. I loved looking at Professor, Escalade. Maybe it was just after them that the street remained in my soul. It was cool. I didn't watch the NBA, regular basketball. We then had a good backbone in the team.
- Was Semenas still around then? Or did he move to the MGAFK?
- No, he was like in the youth team of CSKA or played in the MBA for the last year. When I entered the second year, he arrived, returned to Kaliningrad, and from the second year we all started playing together.
- Stas, did you go to classes at the BFU, at the Moscow State Academy of Physical Culture? Studied? Or is it all formal?
- I went to the IKBFU for the first semester, it was quite interesting. But then again, sometimes I didn’t understand, I’m studying sports, why do I need such subjects, for example, as an ordinary story? We had a history of physical culture, I understand that, I didn’t understand some subjects at all, why we need them. They were put just like that, for general development. At first I went, studied, and then stopped. After the Olympics, I had many meetings with children, and I honestly told everyone that I almost never studied at the university. It's probably wrong. I just put everything on the line, and my bet played. You can't do that. If I didn't succeed in basketball, what would I do? I would go to the army and that's it.
- Tell me, you bet everything on basketball. How many hours did you train at the BFU, in Malakhovka?
- Every day we had training, on weekends we went to the playground. He came to school when he had to take something. I was sick of basketball, but sometimes it brought me to such thoughts that I called my mother and said: “That's it. I don't want to do it." And my mother answered me: “You acted for this.” She supported me at such moments, I somehow found motivation later, stepped over myself, trained.
- Stas, I know that you spent a lot of time on bodybuilding and training. Was it your inner motivation, understanding, instructions from the coach, or did you just enjoy it?
- Now I generally enjoy training, from the rocking chair. But before I didn’t have such simulators in Gusev, we had a horizontal bar and parallel bars. I remember how I started to work out on the horizontal bar, and in a short period of time - 3 weeks, a month - I noticeably grew in breadth. I was surprised at myself, before that I was quite skinny, and then my muscles began to appear. It mattered to me, I wanted to be physically strong, walk into the aisle so that people would fly away from me, and not me from them.
- I think it gave you a very strong advantage when you played at a high level, especially in three-on-three basketball.
- It is clear that in children's, youth basketball this is superfluous, because the body has not yet formed. I was already strong at that time, went through a street school, worked on the horizontal bars. It was easy for me then, and it still is.
- Let's remember the 2016/2017 season. You and Danya are the most productive duet in the ASB. You just made a splash. What are your memories of that season?
These are great memories. Together we smashed the VTB student league. I remember we came to the first round in Malakhovka, just played against Dima Semenos. It was cool, I like this time to remember.
- Many now say that this was the strongest duet in the history of the ASB. What do you think about this?
“Maybe I don’t like to go too far, but no one could stop us. You can look at the average statistics, about 50 for two have always been scored.
- It's powerful. Tell me what was missing in that season? You flew to LAST-32 that season, if I'm not mistaken.
- I didn't play then.
- Did you play those last games? What happened?
- I had grief in my family, my father left us. I didn't go to this tournament. But then we played the student league cool. The Final 8 was held in Chelyabinsk. Ukhta seemed to have lost.
- Ukhta was powerful.
- Yes, all the teams were good. I would love to return to that season, I would cut myself more.
― Few people knew you then, and suddenly two such guys from Kaliningrad appear.
Yes, no one knew us. In this league, we gained experience, got stronger.
- Do you communicate with Danya now?
Rare. I'm busy now, I'm trying to fully devote myself to basketball again. But when we cross paths in Kaliningrad, then, of course, we communicate, we do not lose touch.
- Do you know that Dan was considering continuing his career in the Philippines this season?
- No, Anton Vladimirovich and I talked, I know that they were looking for options.
- It seems to me that a player of this level is at least Superleague 1.
- He is a smart player. We differ with him in that I go to the ram all the time, and he is more accurate, he will pass somewhere, crawl through, and therefore we complemented each other very well.
- Stas, we continue to remember 2017. Getting to the All-Star Game in Eagle. What memories?
- I've been to two All-Star Games and this one was the craziest. I still remember, when we went out, the fans yelled so that, probably, the whole Eagle heard, and not just this hall, just to goosebumps. It was necessary to be there, to be personally present, because it was amazing.
- You're not the only one talking like that. Alexander Vladimirovich and I recalled that each All-Star Game is good in its own way, but some kind of extravaganza was going on there.
- Yes, although there is a small hall, there are not many stands, but it was something with something, incredible.
- Considering three points for dunking that year, the record was broken, but objectively the score was like 126:125.
- - We also won this game with a buzzer. All stars converged in this match.
- What did it mean to you to get to the All-Star Game for the first time? Was it something special, or did you already understand that you are a status player, and for you it was a matter of course?
- No, I knew that they were writing something in the ASB, they were looking at Danya and me. It was nice that I was called to the All-Star Game, so to speak, they put a tick that Sharov should go. In my heart it was very pleasant.
- Considering it was the first All-Star Game, it was certainly a surprise.
- Yes, the one that took place in Orel. It was doubly cool.
- Tell me what happened next? How did you get into MGAFK? I still remember the story, it was probably your first match for the MGAFK, I arrived in Malakhovka, sat next to you on the bench, you were warming up, we greeted you, I asked how your mood was. Do you remember? Tell me how it happened
- Yes, I had already graduated from the BFU, I was looking for options to continue playing basketball. Dima Semenas has already played in Malakhovka, he talked with Anatoly Vladimirovich. They called me back in St. Petersburg, in GUTID, but I did not receive any specific information from them. And Anatoly Vladimirovich called and explained everything. The next day I flew in, passed the exams, entered, everything was fast. I love specifics, and I had no questions about him.
Have you considered staying in Kaliningrad?
- No, I had nothing to do there.
- Were there any offers from professional clubs?
- No, it wasn't.
- What was your general impression of the microclimate that reigns in the Moscow State Academy of Physical Culture? Were there any serious differences from what you saw in Kaliningrad?
- There were no serious ones. More discipline, you won’t get loose, because you have to go to Moscow by train, by metro ... And that’s good. Training, and I really liked the fact that at any time you can come to the gym, quit, work out.
- Did you devote much time to individual training in Malakhovka?
- Not myself, but Dima and I worked together individually, with Anatoly Vladimirovich. First, I had to understand what and how I need to work in order to make progress.
Your role in the team has changed, of course. You can even draw a comparison with Alexei Shved. In Khimki, he could do everything, in CSKA - already systemic work. How much did you agree with your new role, accepted it? How comfortable were you?
- I felt absolutely comfortable. There was no such thing that I could not score my 28 points and was upset about it. I played, at first, a little, then quite a lot and calmly scored 30-35 points in my 15-20 minutes. I had to learn to play, this is a different level, so I didn’t get hung up on the scorers and the statistics.
- I think this is a good example for young basketball players. When you come to a higher level, you must come consciously, with a desire to learn and reach a higher level yourself, accept new rules of the game - this is important.
- Yes, you come to a place where there is a system, and you cannot resist it, otherwise it will simply break you and that's it. I immediately understood this, but I also understood that I could become a leader in this team, because there were no such attacking players anymore. I calmly accepted these rules, rebuilt.
- There is a lot of controversy in the field of student basketball that physical education universities, specifically the Moscow State Academy of Physical Education, have a clear advantage over other universities in that they can train a lot, they have specialized subjects, there is an opportunity for some things close your eyes. Do you think it is easier to grow a basketball player at a sports university than at other universities?
- No, I think those who say this are looking for excuses. If you want, you will achieve yours. There is no such thing that we, for example, played at the BFU and said that Malakhovka is the Academy of Physical Education, they are working in this direction, and we have one sports department, the rest are mathematical, and some other. No, we came, we trained, we worked, we enjoyed it. These conversations are just an excuse.
- How was the education in Malakhovka organized?
- There was light in general, I was already in the magistracy, I’m even still studying there, I haven’t finished Malakhovka yet, because I switched to professional basketball three by three, immediately to the national team, there was no time at all, I’ll finish in the winter.
- So you spent a year and a half studying for a master's degree?
Yes, yes. You go to school one day a week, nothing complicated. We have already completed the bachelor's degree, and the master's degree is just like refresher courses.
- Do the guys who study at the bachelor's degree in Malakhovka, what attention is paid to their studies?
- I honestly don't know. Although we had young people who studied at the bachelor's degree, they directly went to classes all the time, they even missed training because of couples.
― Stas, there is a story that one day at a training session at the Moscow State Academy of Physical Sports, you were so hard on defense that the guys came up to you and said: “Yes, you play easier, we have different games with rivals.” Were you that tough on defense?
- I'm always like this, I don't like to give in anywhere. If I do, I do it to the end. I'm more worried about the guy that I keep in defense, because I'm not afraid of getting injured, I don't care at all, but I'm worried about other people.
- So you always give your best? Does it matter if it's practice or play?
- In the team, in the club, in the national team, we cut ourselves so that we are asked to be more careful, but sometimes the training ends due to the fact that someone was injured.
- Do you think three-on-three basketball is more traumatic than classical basketball, given the level of contact?
- I wouldn't say. Maybe there are more microtraumas, because it is tougher. There are bruises, injuries, bruises, but there are no serious injuries.
- And what about the intensity, several games a day, all the time in contact?
- You need to take care of yourself, your body - warm up, if there are any sores, work them out, warm up well, then there will be fewer injuries. You can also play five-on-five basketball, just walk on foot and twist your ankle.
- If you remember this season in MGAFK, then you won the Moscow Student Games, in ASB Moscow you went through all the rinks, won the VTB Student League, were the clear favorites. What happened in the final?
- I don't even know, they just outplayed us on character. I think it was precisely the fact that we did not lose a single game. Nothing happens. I was not upset then, it was my first final. This medal was like gold for me.
- Did you underestimate your opponents?
- I think we rather overestimated ourselves.
- Tell me, please, if you didn't get into the Moscow State Academy of Physical Culture, could you give up basketball?
Yes.
- So, in fact, the MGAFK gave you a path to basketball, became the next step in your development?
- Yes, a huge step forward so that I can develop further, the MGAFK is a big basketball school that I went through. I didn’t have a sports school, no grades, I didn’t know a lot of things.
- Can you tell us a little more about your relationship with Anatoly Vladimirovich Laptev? What did he require of you? What accents on what components of the game did you make? What was easy for you? What is difficult?
- The only thing that was difficult was head work, combinations, because no one taught me, and this is not an excuse, but it has always been difficult for me. The cool thing is that he understood what kind of player I am and what I need. He put me in when I was needed. I defended, attacked, played along somewhere in combinations. I really like him, an experienced coach. He guided me in the right direction, and for that I thank him very much.
- I quite clearly remember the situation when we counted on you at the Universiade in Naples as one of the key players, and Oleg Ushakov called me and said: “Sereg, there is an interesting guy, can we take him to the tournament?” Tell me how it all happened, how did you get into three by three?
- There was such a story, now I already know about it, that I also played in MLBL, there was some kind of additional income. We played against some team in which Dmitry Zimin played. He was then the coach of the main national team. And we fought hard, but I didn’t know who it was, they also constantly gave me techies in MLBL, kicked me out of the hall, we almost got into a fight, and I was disqualified from the game. Then Oleg Ushakov calls me, the showdown began, I did not understand what to do, such an unexpected call. Agreed, I remember it was 8 or 9May, I arrived in Rizhka, and the national team had been sitting there for 9 days at the training camp. There were three guys in U23: Antonikovsky, Abramovsky and Zuev, and I should be the fourth. I greeted them, somehow I felt uncomfortable, they explained to me what to do. And there the tournament was among themselves: two adult teams and a young one. We all won, even the youngest ones. I was lucky that I had a passport with a Schengen visa. I was told that tomorrow I am going to Latvia. There was a huge tournament, no one had hopes for us, but we took second place, the adults all flew out. We qualified for the Tinkoff Moscow Open, the adults already had a ticket. And so the career began. Then we won the Tinkoff Moscow Open.
- Tell me, when you came to Rizhka, were you not scared?
- No, I came, I thought, now we will play basketball. They gave me the national team jersey. At first, I did not know their system, in this regard, it was not clear, but the guys immediately received me well, explained everything, we started playing, everything worked out for us.
- So you literally immediately joined the squad?
Yes, yes.
- Tournament in Riga. How did you manage to do this if you practiced one day and rode the next day? When Oleg called me, we agreed only on the tournament in Riga. Then he said: "Well, your kid is just power." I realized that in Naples I can no longer count on you, the interests of the national team are more important.
- I don't know how, we were just playing. No one bet on us there at all, almost nothing was explained. There were adults, it was necessary to see them in the main team. We didn’t even know where we were preparing, we played for the soul, and so we quietly won everyone there.
- Then you won the Tinkoff Moscow Open?
- Yes, there was also a lunatic asylum, no one bet on us again, no one knew us, they just played.
- Stas, you are now telling that no one bet on you, no one expected you, and so it lasted until the Olympic Games?
- At the Olympic Games, they already knew who we were, but there, no one at all. "Gagarin", some young ones. We, roughly speaking, went through everyone, only lost one game in the group.
- If you look like that, it seems to me that your passion for basketball, love and long patience, starting from a small town, Kaliningrad, Malakhovka, it all suddenly paid off in one moment.
- Yes, work is bearing fruit.
- Again, I appeal to our young basketball players, it's all patience and colossal work.
- Yes, I always say that one should not deceive oneself in work. Not only in basketball, in any. You have to work, work, and someday she will reward you big, everything will pay off, nothing just happens. Do not give up, injuries are all nonsense, it will pass.
― You told an interesting story about how you told your mom how tired you were of this basketball and it probably takes one moment to just break down and end your career. Imagine how many people broke down at that moment, who could potentially be at the highest level.
- Someone thinks about the pros and cons, and something outweighs. My mother just supported me, and the next day I went to training.
- When you started playing three-on-three basketball, how good was this sport for you? Did you have any reluctance? Did you get high on this? Did you feel the benefits, or was it still drawn to the classic?
- He came to me right away, because in Gusev I constantly played for one ring, they played streetball. He was not alien to me, but, on the contrary, as a native, I came there as if to my home. I spent my whole life like this, in the summer we always played not in the hall, but on the street. If there were few people in training, then we played for one ring.
- If, as soon as you moved to the Moscow State Academy of Physical Culture, you would be told: “Boy, in four years you will be the winner of the Olympics. ” Could you imagine it?
No, of course not. At that time, I didn’t think about three-on-three basketball at all, I wanted to play only five-on-five and go further in this direction.
What qualities helped you achieve such a high result in three-on-three basketball? Name 3-4 key qualities.
- Diligence, diligence, I never give up.
- Your anthropometry, physical qualities, it seems to me that you just fit perfectly into three-on-three basketball, it seems that this sport was created for you.
- It's all thanks to the street, horizontal bars, athletics, sambo - everything I did. I was a thin guy, but these sports somehow pumped me, made me stronger, I became stronger. Everyone says I don't look like a basketball player. Doctors told me that they have a completely different anthropometry, but everything is universal with me.
- Stas, but if you remember your path to the Olympic Games: European Games, Tinkoff Moscow Open, European Championship U23. Is there something that is especially memorable, has remained in your memory for a long time?
- Winning the U23 World Championship is probably the most memorable. The European Games in Minsk, because I was recovering from an injury for a year, and they immediately took me to the squad. The main adult team went to the World Championship, and we went to Minsk, we played well there.
- Do the three-by-three teams in which you played differ in their chemistry and does the Russian national team have its own unique style that differs from others?
- Can't say anything is different. I have played in many places, we are one. We can be divided into different teams, and we will still be strong. The fact is that someone was out due to an injury, someone else had something else, and then it’s hard for them to roll in, because the system has already been developed, and if you change something, it can affect the game.
- Training camp, preparation for the Olympic Games, extended line-up. Ponkrashov arrived. The highest competition. Were you sure or had doubts? At what point did you realize that you would definitely go?
- I didn't even think if I would get in or not. I just got high from the fact that I am now in the expanded composition of the Russian national team before the Olympic Games, we are training, working. I just worked, tried not to think, not to bother my head.
- I think this is a great example of focusing on the main things, on a specific process.
- I was honest with myself, I didn’t freebie anywhere, I constantly worked. If the coaches thought it right not to take me, I would not be upset. I would be glad that I had such a crazy four years of preparation for the Olympic Games.
- You say golden words: "I enjoy basketball."
- Yes, you get tired, but you even enjoy the fact that you come exhausted, swear, swear, say that you don’t want to do this anymore, and the next morning you get up again with a smile.
- And when they told you that you were in the squad, were you just as calm and cool? Or were there emotions?
We were all calm. So we're going.
― Tell me, what are your impressions of the Olympic Games? Describe the general atmosphere. They are clearly held in a different format than regular tournaments, which probably left a certain imprint. But still, what are the general impressions?
- At first, none at all. It was not clear that this was the Olympic Games. A lot of masked people were walking around the village, eating. The first three days we just trained, then four played. There were no sensations until the moment when we were already standing under the stands, and we were called to the first game.
- Did you manage to see anyone? Maybe from the American basketball team?
- No, we only saw Skola. Everyone met someone there. Someone took a picture with Doncic. I watched what people post in stories on Instagram, how they take pictures with someone, but we didn’t see anyone at all. I don't know why it happened.
- I think this is the result because you didn't see anyone.
- We tried once again not to go anywhere, so as not to contact. You never know. There were rumors that someone was already sick.
- Did you manage to see the city?
- No, we looked at the city when we were traveling by bus to training and back.
- Rigid insulation was. Before the start of the Olympic Games, Serega Bondarev and I broadcast on Instagram, thought about what could be, watched the ratings. If I'm not mistaken, our men's team was second or third from the end. Was it better that you were riding as outsiders? Did it allow you to be free?
- It didn't bother us. We knew why we were going. This is the most important thing, the rest did not care.
- Was the goal to get into the prizes?
- We went there just for this. We strived for medals, for gold medals. We have set such goals. Someone's conversations, ratings - this is their opinion. We knew why we were going.
- Did you believe it?
- Of course. What's the point of going there then? Just? It's better to stay at home then. We only went to win.
- The tournament was quite difficult. Especially if you remember the quarter-finals with the Netherlands.
- It was a very cool tournament. All these twists, who gets where or does not get. Some Serbs calmly played and got into the semi-finals, while everyone else had spins.
- Let's remember the playoff match with the Netherlands. What made it possible to win?
- I don't even know, we just always stuck to our line. We played quietly, no matter how much we lose, at least 20:0, it doesn't matter. I think at some point we finished them off.
- Then we sat on the Playground and watched the match with the Serbs on the big screen. Someone at the same time says something to someone, finishes some things, works in a laptop, but when you won, there was such a cry. I believed in the team, but for me it was a surprise. Yes, it was not easy, but you led with a very serious advantage. What happened to the Serbs?
- We just destroyed them morally. I remember sitting on the sub, I can’t say what the score was, but I already noticed in their eyes that they were everything. It was evident that morally they had already lost.
- There are different people: more emotional, more calm. Knowing you, even talking to you today, it seems to me that when there is such a player in the team, it, of course, calms and brings everyone else back to normal. One person who is unshakable, calm, who, as you say, bends his line to the end. Your role, not only on the site, but also in this team, is just a calm heart, common sense. Do you infect teammates with this?
- I can say that all four of us are like that, and this is a big plus, because we slowed down each other, calmed down on timeouts.
- I got the impression that our team's key advantage is chemistry.
- Excellent chemistry. It didn't matter if we lost or won, we moved on, all together.
- Have you discussed this, or did the stars just agree that four basketball players have a common vision, or is this the work of a psychologist, a head coach?
- It all came gradually. We played together, we won the Moscow Open, it was already clear that we could work on something to become better. Then we arrived at the Olympics, and the team chemistry was fully formed and ready.
Did you sleep well before the final against Latvia?
Yes.
- As always.
- We do not have such problems, we have one game, what was before is already gone.
- A shameful, in my opinion, defeat in the final. After all, in the group we beat the Latvians. Everyone believed and hoped. Was there any sadness?
Yes, I did. In fact, very disappointing, the first five minutes somewhere. But I remember when we lost, we immediately got together and were ready to work on. It was embarrassing.
- And everything started again.
- Yes, the tournament is over. We were a little happy when we realized what we had done, that we were standing on a pedestal.
- Stas, your example shows that everything in sports is real. From the streets to the Olympics is just your option. From the streets, from the students. This is a vivid example for young guys who are starting to play basketball, who have some doubts.
- I hope my words can help someone.
- What happened to your phone during the Olympics? How many messages did you receive?
- He just burned. Sorry to those I didn't answer, I tried not to get distracted by it. I wrote only to my mother, close friends. I could even delete it so that it does not bother me.
- Did you feel supported? Is she important to you? Or is it more important to focus on the goal at this moment?
- I tried not to read messages before games, only after. Support is always nice. But you are here and people are there. You need to tune in here, with the team.
- How were you received? Not just in Russia, but above all your family?
- They arrived at the airport. A huge crowd of people met me, there was a big banner at the airport. When I went out, I saw my nephew, he was sitting on a friend's neck. I didn't know they were coming. It was stressful when so many people meet, I'm not used to this, but when the family came up, it became easier.
- There was a huge banner in Kaliningrad. How nice was it for you to drive into the city and see it? You dreamed of entering the Baltic Federal University, playing with older guys, studying, but here you came already in the status of a national hero?
― I had pride in myself in my soul. I try not to show it, but somewhere inside I am proud that I got out of such a small town.
One of the last questions. Would you like to take the gold of the White League? Return to the student team?
- You can say that I have it, but I would like to take it on the court. It's part of me, part of history. It so happened that I was injured when the guys played. I'd love to take that gold.
― Stas, we met with many basketball players: Sergei Bykov, Vitya Keyru, Svetlana Abrosimova, and Svetlana Antipova. Everyone has their own way and their own philosophy. No one has just achieved success, no one has had a career fall out of the blue. In my opinion, your focus on what you are doing, removing everything superfluous, focusing only on basketball, not worrying about the consequences - whether the result will be positive or negative, along with great diligence and perseverance - this is what needs to be recommended and told to young guys . In fact, you are right to say that this is not only in basketball, but in any field of activity. I'll ask an obvious question, but still, Stas, what is your biggest basketball victory?
- Olympic medal.
- What is your biggest victory in life?
- Probably because my mother is now proud of me.
What is your basketball dream?
Just play basketball, practice.
- This simplicity gives you goosebumps. Someone builds some imaginary castles for themselves, but in your simplicity there is a solid foundation.
- It is clear that you need to earn money, feed your family, yourself. I am doing what I love, and at the moment it feeds me. I don't play for the money, but because I've been doing it all my life. Now the fifteen years that I worked can feed me.
- Stas, thank you very much. We talked very deeply. Once again, simple things, when they are conscious, give a colossal result. We are always glad to see you at the Site, in the CSB. I know the entire college basketball community is rooting for you because we consider you part of our family and you can always count on us.
Photo: East News/Andrej ISAKOVIC / AFP; globallookpress.com/ZhangXiaoyu/XinHua; Gettyimages.ru/Christian Petersen; instagram.
Every ball is dropped from 6 feet and must meet the minimum rebound of 52 inches.
The game was an immediate success and the original American sport spread instantly to other colleges and YMCAs. Naismith is pictured here with his wife Maude Evelyn Sherman Naismith.
The height of that lower balcony rail happened to be 10 feet. The students would play on teams to try to get the ball into their team’s basket. A person was stationed at each end of the balcony to retrieve the ball from the basket and put it back into play.
” Naismith said. “After that first match, I was afraid they'd kill each other, but they kept nagging me to let them play again so I made up some more rules.”
Some are still part of the modern game today. Naismith’s original rules of the game sold at auction in 2010 for $4.3 million.
If the ball rested on the edges, and the opponent moved the basket, it would count as a goal. When the ball went out of bounds, it was thrown into the field of play by the person first touching it. The person throwing the ball was allowed five seconds; if he held it longer, the ball would go to the opponent. In case of a dispute, an umpire would throw the ball straight into the field. If any side persisted in delaying the game, the umpire would call a foul on that side.
James Naismith, a member of the university's faculty and inventor of basketball, in 1926.
The instructors played against the students. Around 200 spectators attended to discover this new sport they had never heard of or seen before. In the story published by the Republican, the teachers were credited with “agility” but the student’s “science” is what led them to defeat the teachers 5-1.
In 1950, Cooper was the first Black basketball player drafted by an NBA team.
All-black teams were often referred to as colored quints or Negro cagers. The teams flourished in New York City, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Chicago, and in other cities with substantial African American populations. They were amateur, semi-professional, and professional.
But with the right gear and planning, you can adjust in no time.
S. is coming to an end
Denotes "and one more", because after hitting in violation of the rules, it will perform a free throw, and this is an opportunity to score more points for attack. 
Most often, such a transfer ends with a dunk, and it looks spectacular. 
Then my first coach appeared at the school, Yuri Anatolievich Strolis. He recruited children, invited me to training, and everything immediately began to work out for me, there was a quick jump in basketball. I came to basketball at the end of the seventh grade, perhaps even in the eighth, that is, quite late, but in the ninth grade I already played for the adult men's team of the city of Gusev. So it all started spinning, fifteen years have passed since that moment. 
He is still my friend to this day, a good friend of the family. He has an uncle, and one summer he offered us a job. Vadik can do everything, he has golden hands, and he took me as an assistant. At first I just went to look, helped, and then I started to work myself. 
And I didn’t even hand over the reserve, because I was focused only on going there. 
To this day, this issue remains unresolved for me. I had a goal - to enter the university, and we had the championship of the Kaliningrad region, a fairly strong championship, I played for Gusev and already smashed some strong teams, there was a rumor about me, and this helped me enter the BFU. Their manager was already able to promote me there when I was just taking my exams. It was funny that when I entered, the whole team was renewed, and there was no one left from the strong team that I wanted to join. 
I only had my village basketball. They asked me who I looked up to, what I looked up to before, but I didn’t look up to anyone, except for AND1 Mixtapes, I had CDs, they are still recorded somewhere. I loved looking at Professor, Escalade. Maybe it was just after them that the street remained in my soul. It was cool. I didn't watch the NBA, regular basketball. We then had a good backbone in the team. 
They were put just like that, for general development. At first I went, studied, and then stopped. After the Olympics, I had many meetings with children, and I honestly told everyone that I almost never studied at the university. It's probably wrong. I just put everything on the line, and my bet played. You can't do that. If I didn't succeed in basketball, what would I do? I would go to the army and that's it. 
Was it your inner motivation, understanding, instructions from the coach, or did you just enjoy it? 
It was easy for me then, and it still is. 
I didn't go to this tournament. But then we played the student league cool. The Final 8 was held in Chelyabinsk. Ukhta seemed to have lost. 
Do you remember? Tell me how it happened 
More discipline, you won’t get loose, because you have to go to Moscow by train, by metro ... And that’s good. Training, and I really liked the fact that at any time you can come to the gym, quit, work out. 
If you want, you will achieve yours. There is no such thing that we, for example, played at the BFU and said that Malakhovka is the Academy of Physical Education, they are working in this direction, and we have one sports department, the rest are mathematical, and some other. No, we came, we trained, we worked, we enjoyed it. These conversations are just an excuse. 
Nothing happens. I was not upset then, it was my first final. This medal was like gold for me. 
The cool thing is that he understood what kind of player I am and what I need. He put me in when I was needed. I defended, attacked, played along somewhere in combinations. I really like him, an experienced coach. He guided me in the right direction, and for that I thank him very much. 
Then Oleg Ushakov calls me, the showdown began, I did not understand what to do, such an unexpected call. Agreed, I remember it was 8 or 9May, I arrived in Rizhka, and the national team had been sitting there for 9 days at the training camp. There were three guys in U23: Antonikovsky, Abramovsky and Zuev, and I should be the fourth. I greeted them, somehow I felt uncomfortable, they explained to me what to do. And there the tournament was among themselves: two adult teams and a young one. We all won, even the youngest ones. I was lucky that I had a passport with a Schengen visa. I was told that tomorrow I am going to Latvia. There was a huge tournament, no one had hopes for us, but we took second place, the adults all flew out. We qualified for the Tinkoff Moscow Open, the adults already had a ticket. And so the career began. Then we won the Tinkoff Moscow Open. 
They gave me the national team jersey. At first, I did not know their system, in this regard, it was not clear, but the guys immediately received me well, explained everything, we started playing, everything worked out for us. 
Imagine how many people broke down at that moment, who could potentially be at the highest level. 
” Could you imagine it? 
Is there something that is especially memorable, has remained in your memory for a long time? 
Ponkrashov arrived. The highest competition. Were you sure or had doubts? At what point did you realize that you would definitely go? 
I don't know why it happened. 
We have set such goals. Someone's conversations, ratings - this is their opinion. We knew why we were going. 
Someone at the same time says something to someone, finishes some things, works in a laptop, but when you won, there was such a cry. I believed in the team, but for me it was a surprise. Yes, it was not easy, but you led with a very serious advantage. What happened to the Serbs? 
In fact, very disappointing, the first five minutes somewhere. But I remember when we lost, we immediately got together and were ready to work on. It was embarrassing. 
Support is always nice. But you are here and people are there. You need to tune in here, with the team. 
It's part of me, part of history. It so happened that I was injured when the guys played. I'd love to take that gold. 
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