by Roger Condit, Montgomery

In 1891, James Naismith cut the bottom out of a peach basket and mounted it on the wall of a gymnasium in what is now Springfield College, Massachusetts. He placed the basket at a height that he judged would be challenging for an average size athlete to throw a ball up and through the basket, which would score point value for a game he had created.

This would be a game played inside; out of the harsh elements of a New England winter. He established team numbers and rules and was inspired to call the game (what else?) basketball.

Little did Naismith realize that 100 years later, slender super-size guys would make a mockery of his judgment of how high the basket should be. Now it's easier for tall players to jump up and slam the ball down and through the basket than it is to throw it in as was intended. In the vernacular this scoring is called a "slam-dunk." In fact there are players today who can drop the ball through the basket by simply standing on tippy-toes.

Today the game is dominated by galloping goliaths. Seeing the swish of the net made by a gracefully arched shot from the corner is a thrill. But the slam-dunk leaves me cold.

When I was a kid, guys of average size played basketball. At five-feet-ten, I occasionally found during the frenzy of a game that my nose was leveled in a taller player's armpit. I shudder to think where I might find it playing with the titans of today.

The rules of newly established games suffer growing pains. Playing experience results in rule changes to make it a better game. In the beginning, the ball was returned to center court every time a basket was scored. That was a drag and changing that rule made it faster and more appealing to watch. Why then hasn't the height of the basket been raised so the ball must be thrown up to it as "shorty" Naismith intended?

If the basket isn't raised, then establish a restricted area around the basket that cannot be crossed until the ball has been released. Put the sport back in the game for the shorter players by eliminating the slam-dunk.

Who knows what genetic changes will evolve in the next 100 years of raising basketball players? We may develop breeds of players with wing-like appendages on their feet. We may have stars with names like Herman Hermes or Dan Daedalus (we already have Nike shoes in the game). We would have to restrict an area around the basket and call it a "No Fly" zone.