Monday, December 17, 2012

Benefits and Risks of Basketball


Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world. Many people including Derrick Rose and myself love to play and watch the sport. It can benefit your physical and mental being in a variety of ways. But because it is a contact sport, there are also some risks. In this blog post I will be discussing the benefits and risks of playing basketball. After conducting research from two different credible sources, basketball can benefit you greatly but you defiantly are susceptible to injury.

There are many benefits to playing basketball both physically and mentally. Physically, basketball can be a great workout. According to my article source, Ten Benefits of Basketball, you can burn 630-750 calories by playing just one hour of basketball. It also states that it builds muscle and increases your level of endurance. There are also mental benefits as well. Basketball is defiantly a coordination builder. "Basketball requires your feet, legs, arms and eyes to all work together to win the game. Coordination is a skill that people often struggle with. By playing basketball we are able to practice our coordination skills and learn to improve them."(Guims). Also, by playing with other people you can develop teamwork and social skills.

With all the benefits in playing basketball, there are also the risks. Injury in playing is common since it is a contact sport. My article, Basketball Injuries Most common Risks and Types, states that there are more than 200,000 people age 15 and under that require hospital treatments due to injury from playing. Ankle and knee injuries are the most common. "According to a study by the National Athletic Trainers Association, two players on every high school basketball team in the country, regardless of gender, are likely to be injured during a season." (Momsteam).

Between my two articles there weren't too many similarities. One similaritiy I did find though was that they both articles agreed that basketball is a popular sport. They both also acknowledged that many young adults play the game, either outside or in a gymnasium. Those are the few similarities I found between my articles.

My two articles have many differences. A difference between them is that they are on totally different spectrums of playing the game. For example, my benefits article solely talks about benefits and my risks article only focuses on risks. My risks article also has a lot more statistics in it. My benefit article also has some statistics in it but not as much as my risks article.

Though there are risks of injury in playing basketball, I believe the benefits outweigh those risks. It's a great sport and a great way to stay in shape. I'm sure that Derrick Rose would agree with me as well.



Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmsmith000/4444261089/sizes/m/

Friday, November 16, 2012

Heartbreaker in the Alamodome


Derrick Rose was a superb player at Memphis his freshmen year. His outstanding play helped his team go to the NCAA national championship game in 2008. The team set a school record with 38 wins and 2 loses. Memphis was the number one ranked team in the nation and their opponent was Kansas, the number two seed. The jayhawks were no joke this year. With Mario Chalmers (currently the starting point guard for the Miami Heat) leading his team to 37 wins, this matchup was looking like on for the record books.

And it most certainly was. However, for Rose it ended in a heartbreaker. With 1:15 left in the game, Memphis was up 62-58. Kansas had only one full timeout left so they had no choice but to foul. And they did with ten seconds left on Derrick Rose. He missed the first and made the second. The score was 63-60 and with 2.1 seconds left Mario Chalmers puts in a three to send the game into overtime. Memphis missed four out of the five free throws that would've put the game out of reach. The grizzlies lost it in overtime 75-68.

"Although Chalmers will go down in history, the most memorable overall performance came from Rose, the Memphis freshman, who completely took over the game in the second half, scoring 14 of his team's 16 points..." (Associated Press. ESPN).

That game would be his last one in his college career and even though he lost that big game, he played incredible. The Chicago Bulls recognized his talent as a point guard leading Memphis that season with 189 assists. He entered the NBA draft and was drafted the number one pick.


                                       

Monday, November 12, 2012

Derrick Rose: The Rise






The road to success doesn't come easy. It especially didn't when it came to Derrick Rose. A native to Chicago's south side, a tough place to grow up, has overcome a lot of hardships to be where he is today. The Englewood section of Chicago that Derrick called home is a violent neighborhood. He was born October 4th, 1988 to a single mother and the youngest of his three brothers. His mother Brenda Rose pushed all four of her children to stay away from the drugs and gangs that flood Englewood. And while she steered Derrick away from trouble, his three older brothers steered him into basketball. His talent for the sport grew and his great basketball journey began.

Rose attended high school at Simeon Career Academy. It was there where he began making a name for himself throughout Chicago and eventually nationally. He led his school to back to back championships which had never been done before by a Chicago public school team. He became a top five recruit in the nation and was chosen as the best point guard in the country by many scouts. So seeing former Memphis grizzly coach John Calipari sitting court side next to Derrick was a usual scene. Rose committed to Memphis and led his team to the NCAA championship game his freshmen year. However, they lost to Kansas in overtime.

After his freshman year at Memphis he announced that he would enter the NBA draft. He was selected the number one pick by his home town team, the Chicago Bulls. I am inspired by Derrick rose because of how he came up from nothing to now being one of the best players in the NBA.

In this blog I will explain more in depth about his life growing up and his road to success and how he has inspired others. This blog will also include Derricks return from his recent injury. I will also explain some things that you might not know about Derrick. I hope you learn a lot from this blog about Derrick Rose. Enjoy!