The Color of Talent

Hello future college students!!!

What did I write about?

When I was told we had to choose a topic that would really interest me I knew I had to go with basketball because you know, #BallIsLife.

The research question I ended up focusing on is something many people around the world are probably wondering right now:

Why do we believe black people are better at basketball than other people?

When I was thinking about writing about basketball during the early stages of choosing my topic I just wanted to learn more about the game in general. What I soon found out was that there are so many things I could possibly write about. I got books on the history or the game, biographies, strategies, and so on. I knew that I had to pick a question so I could narrow my research even further. Instead of aimlessly sifting through information, I was able to pick out a few significant sections from each source that referred to anything concerning basketball and racial issues.

Eventually, after some time I was able to formulate my own theories on how this belief came to be. I also included ideas proposed by other authors and that's how my paper came to be. I was able to enjoy writing this paper because I love the game of basketball. I can't imagine how much more tedious it could have been if I didn't go with this topic.

Advice:

As I mentioned above, know what you want to write about and it will help you write out the paper in the long run. Everyone says this but when you're assigned to start writing, start it early. By start I don't mean actually writing the paper. I mean just do things little by little and step by step. One day think about what you want to write about and try to focus on a central research question. Again, I cannot emphasize enough, choose something you LOVE doing or something you are completely fascinated about so that you will want to do the research. I love basketball but I'm not a big fan of writing essays so I'm glad I chose wisely. Then, another day check out a book or two and if it fits your topic you're good to go. One step at a time.

Little-by-Little, Step-by-Step       YOU CAN DO IT
 

Sources I Found Interesting:

Fitzpatrick, Frank. And the Walls Came Tumbling Down. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1999. Print.

Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals. Dir. Edelman, Ezra. Perf. Johnson, Earvin, and Larry Bird. HBO Sports, 2010. Youtube.

Merlino, Doug. The Crossover: A Brief History of Basketball and Race From James Naismith to LeBron James. Amazon Digital Services Inc., 2011. Kindle Digital File.

Robertson, Oscar. The Big O: My Life, My Times, My Game. United States of America: Rodale Inc., 2003. Print.

Staffo, Donald F. "The Development of Professional Basketball in the United States, With an Emphasis on the History of the NBA to its 50^th Anniversary Season in 1996-97 " Physical Educator 55.1 (1998): 9. Academic Search Premier. Web.

Stone, Jeff, et al. "Stereotype Threat Effects on Black and White Athletic Performance." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 77.6 (1999): 1213-1227. Web.

Webb, Bernice. The Basketball Man James Naismith. United States of America: The University Press of Kansas, 1973. Print.