Basketball (ball) halfcourt game of 3x3 combines characteristics of the size 6 and size 7 balls. Its circumference is that of a size 6 ball, but its weight is that of a size 7. In early December 1891, the chairman of the physical education department at the School for Christian Workers (now Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts, instructed physical education teacher James Naismith, to invent a new game to entertain the school's athletes in the winter season. Naismith assembled his class of 18 young men, appointed captains of two nine-player teams, and set in motion the first ever basketball game, played with
James Naismith Instead, he was more interested in his physical education career, receiving an honorary PE Masters degree in 1910, patrolled the Mexican border for four months in 1916, traveled to France, published two books ("A Modern College" in 1911 and "Essence of a Healthy Life" in 1918). He took American citizenship in 1925. In 1909, Naismith's duties at Kansas were redefined as a Professorship; he served as the "de facto" athletic director at Kansas for much of the early 20th century. In 1923, Dr. Naismith was a founder of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity at the University of Kansas. Naismith was