Jeff Greenfield cites in his essay "The Black and White Truth about Basketball" theories from the book Foul by David Wolf. In today's modern game of NBA basketball, over 2/3 of the players are black. Greenfield also cites that over the last two decades, no more than three white players have been among the ten starting players on the NBA All-Star team (Greenfield 209). David Wolf claims this dominance of blacks in the NBA is due to a natural inheritance. Wolf says basketball is a pastime of the urban poor since the fact most of them don't have finances to access equipment for hockey, baseball, football, or other fairly expensive sports. And basketball is something they can feel pride about (Greenfield 210-211). Most of the urban poor are the black. And black star Penny Hardaway is a prime example of this.

Imaging a heated gymnasium in a small Midwest town during the middle of winter. Eight white boys suited up for a pick-up game of basketball. They play a game without frills, with out flow and rhythm (Greenfield 212-213). This type of picture is associated with the white mans game of basketball. It seems a far-fetched from the pickup games played by the blacks in the inner city. The so-called "white" player plays the game precise mechanics. They don't have the great razzle-dazzle moves to the basket. They don't have height and mobility for rebound effectiveness. The white man runs. He runs from the opening jump to the final buzzer (Greenfield 213). This is the way Jeff Greenfield sees the "white" style of pro basketball. I agree with what Greenfield has to say. This is much different than that of a black player.

NBA supers stars of today such as Allen Iverson, Tracy MacGrady, and Vince Carter posses all of the before mentioned traits. Allen Iverson has great speed on the court. Tracy MacGrady has quickness that nobody can match. And if you're looking to find someone that can run fast, move nimble and quick, and jumps like Air Jordan, watch the Vince Carter. He's hailed as the next Michael Jordan. Iverson, MacGrady, and Carter are players that can be double teamed by the best defends in the NBA and they still can find ways to twist and contort their bodies around the defenders and throw or dunk the ball into the basket. Thus, I can agree with Greenfield when he claims a black player uses speed, quickness, acceleration, and leaping to his advantage. Black players seem to use speed, quickness, mobility, and leaping to their advantage. But do white players use these same abilities to their advantage?

Not everybody who read Greenfield's essay will agree with h

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Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)