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Basketball · Level 9: Master · Sub-level 9.1

Origins

10 tests · 100 facts · updated 23 October 2026 · markdown

James Naismith, the YMCA school in Springfield, the first game, the 13 rules, from peach baskets to hoops, the early ball, backboards, the dribble, Senda Berenson and the women's game, and Naismith's later life.

Each test below is ten questions on Insporta. The list under a test is what the questions check: one fact per question, with the source it was written from. Read it before the test, or come back from a wrong answer.

Test 1James NaismithTake a test

  1. He wrote the first rules as a physical education teacher.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  2. He was born in Almonte, Ontario, and later moved to the United States.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  3. He taught at a YMCA training school.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  4. Cold New England winters kept classes inside.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  5. Gulick ran physical education at the school.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  6. A hard gym floor is no place for tackles.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  7. A high target needs an arcing, accurate shot, not force.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  8. 1861, 1891, 1898, 1936.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  9. Problem, safety, skill, rules.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  10. Mark B is 1891.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

Test 2The YMCA schoolTake a test

  1. The town is now home to the Hall of Fame.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  2. The association ran clubs and sports across the world.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  3. They would take the game to YMCAs everywhere.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  4. Graduates taught the game wherever they went.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  5. It honours players, coaches and teams.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  6. It was then the YMCA's International Training School.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  7. The school trained leaders and needed a game for the winter.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  8. From one school to the nation, then the world.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  9. The game grew outward from one class.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  10. It trained YMCA leaders.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

Test 3The first gameTake a test

  1. It was played just before the Christmas break.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  2. Naismith's class of eighteen split into two teams.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  3. Only one goal was scored.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  4. His shot is the first recorded basket.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  5. They were nailed to the gym's balcony.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  6. The balcony happened to be ten feet up, the height still used today.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  7. Nobody had practised shooting at a high basket before.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  8. A closed basket kept the ball inside.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  9. One goal, nine a side, eighteen in all.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  10. The peach basket had a closed bottom.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

Test 4The 13 rulesTake a test

  1. He typed them up and pinned them in the gym.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  2. The school paper, The Triangle, printed them in January 1892.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  3. Using the fist was not allowed.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  4. Players had to throw it from where they caught it.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  5. Fouls were punished by giving a goal away.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  6. Naismith wanted a game without rough play.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  7. The rules banned running, tackling and pushing.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  8. Written, posted, printed, shared.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  9. From 1891 to the late 20th century.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  10. Running with the ball was out from the start.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

Test 5From peach baskets to hoopsTake a test

  1. Iron rings with nets took over in the early years.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  2. Play no longer stopped for someone to fetch the ball.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  3. Closed nets had a cord or needed a stick to push the ball out.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  4. Ten feet was simply where the balcony was.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  5. Soft cord lets the ball drop through cleanly.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  6. Cord nets rot or tear in the weather.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  7. The ball would stay in the net each time.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  8. Each step made play flow better.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  9. From blocking fans to safe clear boards.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  10. The peach basket came first.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

Test 6The early ballTake a test

  1. A ball made for bouncing and shooting worked better.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  2. A rubber bladder sat inside, laced in.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  3. A bounce off the laces could go anywhere.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  4. A true bounce made dribbling a real skill.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  5. A bright brown or orange stands out on the floor.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  6. Fingers find the seams for control.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  7. Laced leather balls were normal then.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  8. Borrowed, laced, moulded.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  9. A better ball changed how the game was played.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  10. Naismith used a football (soccer ball).

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

Test 7BackboardsTake a test

  1. They came within a few years of the first game.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  2. Clear boards let fans behind the basket see through.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  3. Players learned to bounce the ball off the board into the basket.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  4. Space behind the basket made play safer.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  5. Players jumping under the basket can strike the edge.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  6. The top corner of the box is a common aiming point.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  7. That is exactly why backboards were first fitted.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  8. A fix for fans became part of the game.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  9. Boards moved to give players space.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  10. Balcony fans could reach the shots.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

Test 8The dribble arrivesTake a test

  1. His long, low dribbling shows how far the skill had come.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  2. Players bounced the ball to escape pressure, and it caught on.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  3. Laced balls made long dribbles unreliable.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  4. It ended the habit of restarting a dribble.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  5. A true bounce let players drive and score.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  6. Individual attacking became possible.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  7. The first game had no dribbling.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  8. Dribbling grew from an escape to an attack.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  9. The ball had to improve before the skill could.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  10. Passing was the only way.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

Test 9Senda Berenson and the women's gameTake a test

  1. She taught physical education at Smith College.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  2. Smith is a women's college in Massachusetts.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  3. Only two years after Naismith's first game.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  4. Rough play by women was frowned upon then.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  5. Many schools kept versions of it into the late 20th century.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  6. It joined at the Montreal Games.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  7. Smith College played two years after Springfield.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  8. Spread, interest, adapt, play.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  9. 1893, 1976, 1997.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  10. The court was split into three parts.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

Test 10Naismith's later lifeTake a test

  1. He arrived there in 1898.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  2. He started the university's basketball programme.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  3. Allen played for him and became a great coach.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  4. He saw his game become an Olympic event.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  5. He lived to see the game spread worldwide.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  6. The award carries the inventor's name.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

  7. Kansas bought the original typed rules in 2010.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  8. 1891, 1898, 1936.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  9. The teacher, his student, and the coach of recent years.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · applied

  10. The inventor was not the best coach of his own game.

    Source: General basketball reference, origins of basketball · recall

Sources

General basketball history references (Naismith Hall of Fame, FIBA, NBA, Olympic records); original questions authored, nothing reproduced. Numbered FIBA rules belong to the Rules category.

  • General basketball reference, origins of basketball100