Men's Basketball

Dr. James A. Naismith

James Naismith invented the game of basketball. He also spent the last 41 years of his life in Lawrence as a KU faculty member, and was the University's first basketball coach.

The father of basketball and Phog Allen's mentor was a humble man whose broad interests were usually rooted in the health and well-being of his players and students.

Here are a few glimpses into the life of James Naismith, and some things you probably haven't heard before....

Q & A: The definitive Naismith
Everything you wanted to know about Dr. James A. Naismith, but were so overwhelmed by Dick Vitale you forgot to ask

Despite contrary claims, Naismith earned title of Mr. Basketball
Baseball's origin is mired in controversy. Who really invented the game? Was it Abner Doubleday? Or was it Alexander Cartwright? Take your pick. Historians agree, though, about the inventor of basketball. No one disputes it was Dr. James A. Naismith.

Naismith walks KU again
For someone who's not a particularly avid basketball fan, Jim Naismith talks a lot about the sport. He has no choice, really. Being the namesake grandson of the man who invented basketball guarantees plenty of roundball talk.

Naismith never exploited game
Time Magazine once said Dr. James Naismith was "shrewd enough to invent the game of basketball, but not shrewd enough to exploit it."

A Kansas Portrait: James Naismith
From the Kansas State Historical Society

Naismith's original rules of "Basket Ball"
Dr. James Naismith is known world-wide as the inventor of basketball. He was born in 1861 in Ramsay township, near Almonte, Ontario, Canada. The concept of basketball was born from his school days in the area where he played a simple child's game known as duck-on-a-rock outside his one-room schoolhouse.

Naismith's coaching record and stats
Ironically enough, James Naismith, the Father of Basketball, is the only person ever to have ended his coaching career at the University of Kansas with a losing record.

Steve Jansen and guest Blair Kerkoff recount the history of Forrest Clare "Phog" Allen and his mentor, James Naismith, for the Sunflower Cable show As Time Goes By.
Streaming QuickTime, regular quality (2,072 k)

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Streaming QuickTime, high quality (4,561 k)
On the story of how Allen and Naismith met, and how to coach basketball. (43 sec.) The real story of how Allen and Naismith met. (1 min.)