Interview Transcript - John Gosset
Sachin: What do you think was the biggest obstacle in the way of creating the game for Dr. Naismith?
John: In 1891, there were limited objects available to structure a game, any game. As he posed questions to create a new game, the answers were few. For example when he tried to determine what would be the best ball to use in the new game, the only two games in this period that use an inflated ball or soccer and rugby. The other balls of the day were small and hard and therefore could be thrown with greater pace like a baseball or a golf ball. So the choice of ball was easy. When it was time to determine the goal he analysed the games of the day and determined that the rough play occurred in the defence of the goal. Now all of the games of the day had a goal or an end zone and its natural in the defence of the goal to jostle for position. If the game was to be played indoors and he determined that it needed to be free of rough play he needed to put the goal where it couldn’t be defended. Obviously moving goal above the playing field made it less likely to be defended but it posed a new problem in what to use for the goal. These are the things that were the most challenging.
S: What do you think the overall effect of inventing the game is today?
J: the effect of his invention in 2014 2015 has resulted in the worldwide acceptance and explosion of the game. This is seen an explosion of growth in sub- Sahara Africa, Asia, Central and South America and the Pacific Rim. This sees an influx of participants in the NBA of players from probably 20 different countries in the current season. And while America was the dominant nation in basketball for most of the first 100 years they have been challenged in the last 30 in the global game especially at the world championships for men and women. Because basketball has minimal costs participation in some of the poorest nations in the world has seen the majority of this growth. Starting with inner-city America and expanding to impoverished parts of the world, basketball has captured the imagination of players who can play alone shooting foul shots and taking trick shots, to playing one-on-one, playing two on two, half-court games full court games in parking lots driveways gymnasiums. In its simplest form it’s a child shooting hoops with a parent, beautiful.
S: How did the invention of a safe sport like basketball influence other more aggressive sports like football? (specifically safety)
J: incorporating facets of all the games of the day into the creation of basketball, taking pieces of several and creating this new sport has had a lasting imprint on other sports. First it was a student of the YMCA named William Morgan who, after being inspired by Dr. Naismith went on to invent a game called Mintonette that ultimately saw its name simplified to volleyball. The method of moving the basketball in the early days involved passing in all directions, this inspired the forward pass in American football from its previous influence stemming from rugby where the lateral was the only passing method. From a perspective of safety we have seen the introduction of padding installed but this was largely an afterthought as the game evolve to the dunking fast that it is today. So you see pads on goalposts in football and the shot clock’s introduction has seen time counts and football and in baseball implemented ever so subtly.
John Gosset
Board of Directors
Naismith Basketball Foundation
John: In 1891, there were limited objects available to structure a game, any game. As he posed questions to create a new game, the answers were few. For example when he tried to determine what would be the best ball to use in the new game, the only two games in this period that use an inflated ball or soccer and rugby. The other balls of the day were small and hard and therefore could be thrown with greater pace like a baseball or a golf ball. So the choice of ball was easy. When it was time to determine the goal he analysed the games of the day and determined that the rough play occurred in the defence of the goal. Now all of the games of the day had a goal or an end zone and its natural in the defence of the goal to jostle for position. If the game was to be played indoors and he determined that it needed to be free of rough play he needed to put the goal where it couldn’t be defended. Obviously moving goal above the playing field made it less likely to be defended but it posed a new problem in what to use for the goal. These are the things that were the most challenging.
S: What do you think the overall effect of inventing the game is today?
J: the effect of his invention in 2014 2015 has resulted in the worldwide acceptance and explosion of the game. This is seen an explosion of growth in sub- Sahara Africa, Asia, Central and South America and the Pacific Rim. This sees an influx of participants in the NBA of players from probably 20 different countries in the current season. And while America was the dominant nation in basketball for most of the first 100 years they have been challenged in the last 30 in the global game especially at the world championships for men and women. Because basketball has minimal costs participation in some of the poorest nations in the world has seen the majority of this growth. Starting with inner-city America and expanding to impoverished parts of the world, basketball has captured the imagination of players who can play alone shooting foul shots and taking trick shots, to playing one-on-one, playing two on two, half-court games full court games in parking lots driveways gymnasiums. In its simplest form it’s a child shooting hoops with a parent, beautiful.
S: How did the invention of a safe sport like basketball influence other more aggressive sports like football? (specifically safety)
J: incorporating facets of all the games of the day into the creation of basketball, taking pieces of several and creating this new sport has had a lasting imprint on other sports. First it was a student of the YMCA named William Morgan who, after being inspired by Dr. Naismith went on to invent a game called Mintonette that ultimately saw its name simplified to volleyball. The method of moving the basketball in the early days involved passing in all directions, this inspired the forward pass in American football from its previous influence stemming from rugby where the lateral was the only passing method. From a perspective of safety we have seen the introduction of padding installed but this was largely an afterthought as the game evolve to the dunking fast that it is today. So you see pads on goalposts in football and the shot clock’s introduction has seen time counts and football and in baseball implemented ever so subtly.
John Gosset
Board of Directors
Naismith Basketball Foundation