Beckett, Chauncey. Personal interview. Feb 28th, 2021.
This interview with Chauncey Beckett, who is an NBA trainer from Virginia is important to my project because he talks about how social media has allowed kids to improve their game. Unlike twenty years ago, kids can now use social media and the internet to become better at basketball. Social media and the internet are making it possible for kids to watch and study professionals and mimic their games.
Draper, Kevin. “A New League's Shot at the N.C.A.A.: $100,000 Salaries for High
School Players.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 4 Mar. 2021, Accessed March 4. 2021.
This source was helpful because it shows how much basketball has changed over the past twenty years. In the late 90’s, people would never think that there could be a league where high schoolers could sign contract deals and profit off of their likeness. To be honest, basketball enthusiasts during the 90’s would be in shock at how big high school basketball is today.
Feldman, Jacob. “Overtime Sports Is after Young Fans through Change.” Sports
Illustrated, Sports Illustrated, 18 June 2019, Accessed March 4th. 2021.
This article is important because it talks about the biggest high school basketball media company in the world. The article talks about how Overtime appeals to young viewers and athletes by creating high quality content, but also by making their videos a certain length in order to captivate a young and restless audience.
Harris, Narrelle. “The Impact of Social and Digital Media on Sport.” Nest, 14 Oct. 2014.
Accessed 10 Sept. 2020.
This article talks about how social media is changing the way news is covered in comparison to twenty years ago, especially within the sports world. It talks about how news is no longer just seen on television sites such as CNN FOX, or ESPN, but teams and fan groups now have the power to create their own companies and groups in order to relay information and news to their followers through social media. The article also talks about how social media is making athletes become more responsible for the comments and things they say due to being covered by media groups at all times.
Kaufman, Mikey. Personal interview. March 3rd, 2021.
This interview with Mikey Kaufman, who is the business director at Overtime is extremely important because it helps illustrate how high school basketball players and the game itself as a whole have evolved over the past twenty years. High schoolers are becoming less patient, which is leading to a faster paced game. Mikey also helps illustrate how social media and the internet have made basketball better as a whole because it has helped the average person become a better player.
Lauletta, Tyler. “Joel Embiid Learned to Shoot by Searching YouTube for 'White People
Shooting 3 Pointers'.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 1 Sept. 2018, Accessed Feb
28th. 2021.
This article is important because it will help prove one of my points during my project. Joel Embiid talks about his process of learning how to become a good shooter in basketball. He says the first thing he does is look up how white people shoot. In basketball, the white people being good shooters is a common stereotype. The resono this is important though is because due to the internet, Embiid had the ability to look something like this up and gain knowledge from it.
Lorenz, Taylor. “The Instagram Stars of High-School Basketball.” The Atlantic,
Atlantic Media Company, 18 May 2018. Accessed 10 Sept. 2020.
This source is one that helps compare and contrast high school basketball in 2020 with the past. The article breaks down the shift that's occurring in high school sports due to social media, by interviewing the CEO of Overtime, Dan Porter. Porter states how basketball is going global and is no longer a local thing due to social media and streaming platforms. He then explains how it’s not really the best basketball players that are getting this hype, rather those most entertaining and influential.
Schwartz, Michael. “Social Media and the Business of Sports.” ESPN, ESPN Internet
Ventures, 6 Mar. 2011. Accessed 10 Sept. 2020.
Michael Schwarz’s article talks about the growing connection between social media and professional sports. He talks about how fans can become more interested and invested in their teams because of the constant information being fed to them through social media. In the article, he touches on how NBA players are becoming social media influencers by looking at certain players' total engagement and following on Facebook. Schwartz also talks about how the NBA benefits from using social media because of fan engagement on Facebook.
Uggetti, Paolo. “Light Work: The Rise of NBA Skills Trainers.” The Ringer, The Ringer, 18
Sept. 2018, Accessed Feb 28th. 2021.
This article by Paolo Uggetti is crucial for my project because it shows how NBA skill trainers have become a crucial part of training and teaching athletes. Trainers will post tutorials and other videos on their social media pages or youtube for hundreds of thousands to millions of people to see. From there, the people viewing these videos can mimic the moves done by the NBA trainers and become better basketball players.