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Ashley 8aughman
8orrero
11/16/11



Memo: I chose to do a research paper. You can Iind this in my Iolder and here.














Ashley 8aughman
8orrero
11/16/11



Auto Ethnography on West Stokes Basketball
There are 30 seconds leIt in the game, your team is down by one point, and your heart,
beating so Iast you can barely breathe! What can YOU do to make sure your team ends up with
the victory? This is a Ieeling everyone should experience, and a Ieeling I have experienced many
times in my high school career, but to experience this Ielling you need to Iirst, become a good
basketball player. Becoming a good basketball player is very time consuming and very
challenging, but with the right skills and the knowledge oI how to play the mental side oI the
game you can lead your team to victory. Playing the mental side oI the game means reading your
opponent, and then composing your next move; it also means using communication skills.
Communication is a key Iactor to becoming a great basketball player, because without
communication a team may not be on the same page, resulting in a lost game. There is a lot that
goes into this game, but with the practice, and time anyone can learn to play basketball.
BeIore jumping into how to play the game, it`s important to know how the game oI
basketball was born. AIter reading the article 'History oI Basketball written by George
Laughead I learned, the game was introduced by a YMCA teacher, James Naismith, in 1891, and
was Iirst played with two peach baskets, and a soccer ball. James wanted the kids he was
watching to be able to play a game that dealt more with skill than strength (Laughead). In the
game oI basketball it is beneIicial to be strong, but it is way more important to have skill. The

Ashley 8aughman
8orrero
11/16/11

only way to win game is by scoring baskets, and all the strength in the world can`t help you do
that. To acquire the right skills you must practice the correct shooting, and dribbling the right
way numerous times. His game started with only thirteen rules, most oI which we still use
today.(Laughead). Naismith told the kids No shouldering, holding, pushing, striking or tripping
in any way towards the opponent or it would be considered a Ioul (Laughead). AIter two Iouls
the player must sit until the next scored basket; iI the Ioul was intended to hurt the opponent the
player would sit Ior the rest oI the game, no exceptions (Laughead). He also said they were not
to run with the ball, but instead must pass it, these rules are still apart oI the game, but have been
tweaked a little bit.
While playing basketball there are a Iew basic rules everyone, who wants to play, needs
to know. A Ioul is when you take an illegal action against your opponent. AIter one team has
accumulated over seven Iouls, or Iouls their opponent while shooting, the opposing team gets to
shoot on the Iree throw line (displayed on the diagram oI the basketball court below).

Ashley 8aughman
8orrero
11/16/11

The Iree throw line is where the person that was Iouled gets to take two shots without any
deIense on them. One oI the most common Iouls is a reaching Ioul. This is when you are on
deIense
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, and reach across your opponent`s body to take the ball away. Another common Ioul is
body contact, this is when you are on deIense and run into your opponent, and even iI it is not
intentional you must try your best to not bump into them (Mullin 29). One way to stop yourselI

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uefense When your Leam ls defendlng Lhe ball you are Lrylng Lo prevenL Lhe opposlng Leam from scorlng
1he CenLer clrcle ls where Lhe
players begln Lhe game by seelng who
can [ump hlghesL for Lhe ball
1he slde llne ls Lhe llne LhaL no player
wlLh Lhe ball can cross or Lhe oLher
Leam wlll recelve Lhe ball
1he half courL llne Lhls llne
deLermlnes Lhe Lwo dlfferenL Leams
slde of Lhe courL
1hree olnL Llne CLher Lhan shooLlng
free Lhrows Lhls ls Lhe only way a
player can score more Lhree polnLs ln
one shoL
8ase Llne 1hls llne ls slmllar Lo Lhe
slde llne lf any player wlLh Lhe ball
passes Lhls llne Lhe opposlng Leam
geLs Lhe ball

Ashley 8aughman
8orrero
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Irom committing either one oI these Iouls is to get into the appropriate deIense oI stance
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, and
keep your eyes on your opponent`s belly. This action is taken to make sure your opponent
doesn`t pump Iake
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on you, and beat you to the goal. Another common Ioul is called a charge
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.
This is when you are dribbling to the goal and you run into the opponent aIter he has got his Ieet
set under the basket. To prevent yourselI Irom doing this you can perIorm a jump stop
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beIore
you reach your opponent. Though Iouls can really hurt a team, because the opposing team gets to
shoot Iree throws, another way a team could really hurt themselves is by creating turnovers.

A turnover is when you give the other team the ball by not Iollowing the rules. One oI the
most basic turnovers is called a walk. A walk is when you move Irom one spot to another
without dribbling the ball. Another common turnover is called a double dribble, this is when you
dribble, stop, pick the ball up, and then dribble again. Turnovers can really hurt your team
because every time your team is charged with a turnover, the opposing team gets the ball. Now
that you know the basic rules oI the game, lets` talk about how to play the mental side oI the
game. One oI the tree most important components oI the mental game is reading your opponent.
Reading your opponent is a key Iactor in most sports. What I mean by reading your
opponent is simply the Iact oI thinking what action he/she might take beIore he/she does it. I

uefense of sLance Legs shoulder wldLh aparL arms ouL and you sllde ln Lhe dlrecLlon your opponenL ls drlbbllng
(Mullln C)

ump lake ls when you slowly acL as lf you are golng Lo shooL Lhe ball Lhen qulckly drlbble pasL Lhe opponenL

ChargeA drlbbler shall nelLher charge lnLo nor conLacL an opponenL ln Lhe drlbbler's paLh nor aLLempL Lo drlbble
beLween Lwo opponenLs or beLween an opponenL and a boundary unless Lhe space ls sufflclenL Lo provlde a
reasonable chance for Lhe drlbbler Lo pass Lhrough wlLhouL conLacL (8lllk Paplln Sewald)

!ump sLop When you plck up your drlbble by [umplng you do Lhls when an opponenL has lnLerrupLed your paLh
and you don'L wanL Lo run lnLo Lhem
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Ashley 8aughman
8orrero
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thought the best way to really understand how to read your opponent would be to visit my old
high school`s basketball team, the Lady Wildcats. So I went to observe one oI their open gyms to
get the inside scoop.
BeIore the girls` basketball team started open gym I asked the assistant coach, Justin
Holleman, a Iew questions. When I asked him, 'How would you relate literacy to basketball
Irom a coach`s stand point? Much like you would read a piece oI literature, and then compose
it? He responded in a way that had never crossed my mind, he said,
'II I were to see a player make a mistake on the court, I would in response tell them how
to Iix that mistake. Seeing the player is me reading them, and me telling them how to
correct that mistake is me composing my team (Holleman).
AIter this response my mind opened to a whole new way oI communication on the court. I had
never thought oI how much the coach has to communicate with their players, or read their
players to compose the best team possible. AIter meeting with coach Holleman I met with one oI
the post players, Christine Madigan, to ask her a Iew questions about literature Irom her stand
point. One oI the questions I asked was, 'How do you read a deIense oI player when you are on
oIIense? And she replied, 'I see iI the player is Iaster than me. I look to see iI they are playing
good deIense on me, or just standing there (Madigan). I took her inIormation and I decided
when I was on the court I would use her advice thorough out the scrimmage, and see iI it helped
me any.
Once I strapped on my shoes and began scrimmaging, I thought beIore every oIIensive
play, am I quicker than my deIender? II I pump Iake will she Iall Ior it? Is she as athletic as I am,

Ashley 8aughman
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or more athletic than me? II I drive to the basket
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, will my post player move to the open spot?
Would it be smarter to pass the ball to the wing player, or drive to the basket? AIter I read my
opponent I had to compose my next move. Composing your next move is the second component
oI the mental side oI the game. I composed my next move by basically answering all the
questions I had asked myselI when reading my opponent. II I am quicker than my opponent,
then I will jab step
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, and then dribble towards the basket. II I believe she will Iall Ior a pump Iake
then I will do one, and then really shoot the ball. II my opponent is more athletic than me then I
will more than likely ask one oI my teammates to set a screen
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Ior me. Or I may try to deceive
the player, by doing Iollowing this procedure given by Mike Hopely in the 'Badminton Bible.
When attempting to deceive your opponent; your Ialse action must be easy to see. You need to
give them enough time to observe your Ialse action; they can only be misled by an action that
they observe (Hopely)! Basically, in basketball terms, a way you could deceive your opponent is
slowly Iake a pass to your team mate then quickly dribble past your opponent. II I think my post
player will move to the open spot aIter I drive to the basket, then I will drive to the basket, and
then pass it to my open post player. II my wing player is making a lot oI her shots I will probably
pass her the ball, iI not then I will probably drive. These are just Iew questions I would ask
myselI when playing oIIense, some I took Irom Christine, and some I realized on my own. Turns
out reading your opponent really makes a diIIerence every time up and down the court. Every

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urlvlng Lo Lhe baskeL urlbbllng sLralghL Lo Lhe baskeL Lhen shooLlng a shorL [ump shoL or layup

!ab SLep 1hrusL one of your feeL forward as lf you are abouL Lo drlbble sLep back and Lhen really move forward
lf Lhls sLep ls done correcLly your opponenL should lose Lhelr balance and you should be able Lo geL passed Lhem
easlly
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ScreenA screen ls legal acLlon by any player wlLh or wlLhouL Lhe ball whlch wlLhouL causlng conLacL delays or
prevenLs an opponenL from reachlng a deslred poslLlon (8lllk Paplln Sewald)
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Ashley 8aughman
8orrero
11/16/11

observation I made helped my team score a basket, and all basketball players must read their
opponents the way I did to become great at this game.
I also asked Christine a question about deIense, so when I got on the court I would know
how to read my opponent while on deIense. I asked her, 'How do you read an oIIense oI player
when you are on deIense? And she replied, 'I look to see iI the player can dribble, run, and
shoot. While on deIense I took what Christine said and put in into play. Every time I was on
deIense I would ask the questions Christine told me about, can the person I am deIending dribble
good, run Iast, and shoot good? Is her team mate going to set a screen on me? Is she going to
pass to her team mate or try to dribble? All oI these questions make a diIIerence in the way I am
going to play deIense. II she is can dribble really good I am going to play in a more open stance,
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iI she is Iast then I am going to tell my team mates to be ready to help me out. II the person I am
guarding can shoot really well, I am going to play deIense really close, to them to prevent them
Irom shooting. II I think she is going to have a team mate set a screen on me I will be more
aware oI my surroundings than normal. II I think my opponent is going to pass the ball to her
wing player I will yell at my team mates to tell them what I think is going to happen. In the end
reading my opponent, and then composing my next move really helped me in the scrimmage,
communication is was really held our team together.
In the game oI basketball I have learned communication is the key to success. Without
communication so many things could go wrong, and with communication, the basketball team

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Cpen SLance 1he way Lo play when defendlng someone who ls qulcker or more aLhleLlc Lhan you ?our body
rlghL or lefL leg ls behlnd Lhe oLher and you are sLandlng aL an angle
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Ashley 8aughman
8orrero
11/16/11

can excel. When I interviewed with Justin Holleman, beIore open gym I asked him, 'How do
you communicate with your girls during practice? And he replied,
'I communicate with my girls in many ways. I will yell at them when they make a stupid
play, I will tell them when to play a zone or man deIense, and I will tell them to run the
set oIIense, or just do whatever they want. I also communicate with the other coaches, I
will tell them iI I see a mistake they may not have seen, we will discuss who we think
would be better Ior certain positions, and talk about what plays we think we need to
practice the most (Holleman).
By communicating with everyone in the program they Iorm a good system, and keep everyone
on the same page. Good communication makes a good team. While observing the workouts I
noticed the coaches talking amongst themselves about who was playing their positions right, and
who was playing their positions wrong. I also noticed while I was playing I was constantly
communicating with my team mates whether it be about what deIense we were playing, or
telling my team mate my girl is getting ready to set a screen, so we need to switch opponents; or
we even yelled at each other in Irustration a Iew times. Without communication our team would
have Iallen apart, basketball is a team sport and everyone has to be on the same page to make
their team as strong as possible; and the easiest way to keep everyone on the same page is by
simply communicating with each other.
Though there is a lot that goes into the game oI basketball I believe knowing the mental
side oI the game will really help someone become a great basketball player. Without reading
your opponent, you could never know which move would beneIit your team the most. Without
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Ashley 8aughman
8orrero
11/16/11

communication, your team could easily Iall apart, resulting in a lost game. II you want to
experience the Ieeling oI being so excited aIter that last second shot and win, you can barely
breathe, then you now know what you need to do to reach that goal.




Citations
Bilik, Ed, Ty Haplin, Rachel Sewald. "2010 & 2011 NCAA MEN'S AND WOMEN'S
BASKETBALL RULES." N.P, 2010. Web. 31 Oct. 2011.
http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/BR11.pdI~.
Holleman, Justin D. Personal interview. 27 Oct. 2011.
Hopely, Mike. "Deception." Badminton Bible. n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.
http://www.badmintonbible.com/articles/singles-tactics/deception/~.
Laughead , George. "History oI Basketball." N.P, 5 Jan. 2005. Web. 31 Oct. 2011.
http://www.kansasheritage.org/people/naismith.html~.
Madigan,Chrisine.Personal interview.27 Oct.2011.
Mullin, Chris. The Young Basketball Player. New York, NY: DK Publishing, Inc., 1t995. Print
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Ashley 8aughman
8orrero
11/16/11









Annotated Bibliography
Bilik, Ed, Ty Haplin , and Rachel Sewald. "2010 & 2011 NCAA MEN'S AND WOMEN'S
BASKETBALL RULES." N.P, 2010. Web. 31 Oct. 2011.
http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/BR11.pdI~.
This is where I Iound all oI my inIormation about the basketball rules. This is the NCAA oIIicial
rules, I will only use a Iew oI these rules in my paper, because it`s too much inIormation Ior my
paper. I didn`t learn much more Irom this source than I already know, because I have played
basketball all oI my liIe. I just used this source Ior a Iew oI my deIinitions that I didn`t really
know how to word myselI.
Holleman, Justin D. Personal interview. 27 Oct. 2011.
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Ashley 8aughman
8orrero
11/16/11

Justin is the assistant coach Ior the west stokes basketball team he basically told me how he
related basketball and literacy. From his interview I learned how coaches compose their team,
depending on how the players do in scrimmages. I never knew beIore how much coaches have to
communicate with the team until he told me in his interview. I also never realized how much
coached yell at their players, and Iix what they were doing until he told me so.

Hopely, Mike. "Deception." Badminton Bible. n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.
http://www.badmintonbible.com/articles/singles-tactics/deception/~.
Though this article is on badminton, its inIormation can be used Ior basketball too. This website
talks about how to deceive your opponent. It talks about how iI you`re about to Iake someone the
Ialse move must be very slow, and then the real action must be quick. This article really will help
with my paper because I have to talk about reading body language and this article hits it right on
the spot.
Laughead , George. "History oI Basketball." N.P, 5 Jan. 2005. Web. 31 Oct. 2011.
http://www.kansasheritage.org/people/naismith.html~.
This article taught me about the history oI Basket Ball; beIore I read this article I knew nothing
about the history oI basketball. This may have been the source I used the most. I learned about
the original 13 rules that started basketball, and about the man who started it. I also learned the
only reason basketball ever started was because he wanted his students to play a game that dealt
not only with strength, but also with skill.
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Ashley 8aughman
8orrero
11/16/11

Madigan,Chrisine.Personal interview.27 Oct.2011.
I learned why post players move to certain areas during the basketball game. I have always
known why guards move to certain areas, but not so much the post players, because I have never
played there. She told me she has to look and see iI the player is just standing there or actually
playing deIense and I realized Irom a guards point oI view it is kind oI the same thing. She also
told me how she read players when she was on deIense and when I was playing deIense even
though I was guard I realized everything she did I had to do as well.

Mullin, Chris. The Young Basketball Player. New York, NY: DK Publishing, Inc., 1t995. Print.
I learned a lot Irom this book. But to sum it all up it`s about how you play certain parts oI the
game. For example it talks about how to dribble, pass. Shoot, rebound, play certain positions,
and deIense. The purpose oI this book is to teach people how to play basketball, so it has a little
bit oI every aspect oI basketball. The main thing I will use Irom this book is talking about the
body contact Ioul.





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Ashley 8aughman
8orrero
11/16/11