Today, the game is a fast-paced, high scoring game. However, in the 1930s it wasn't. Scores were typically in the 30s, and players shot a set-shot. That is, if they were to shoot, they would plant their feet together, hold the ball with both hands, and push the ball up from their fingertips. However, one player would change that forever.
Hank Luisetti learned the game playing on an asphalt slab a few blocks from his home in California. He'd play with high school kids who were bigger than he was. So, to shoot, he'd have to step back and shoot with one hand.
Hank, whose real name was Angelo, went on to play at Galileo High. There, while he still shot one-handed, he was better known for his incredible defensive skills and playmaking abilities. However, as a freshman at Stanford University, he led the team to an undefeated season, averaging 20 ppg.
As a sophmore, he led Stanford to the Pacific Coast Championship, and was selected as an All-American. The next year, Stanford went 25-2 behind All-American Luisetti's 17 ppg.
Luisetti and his one-handed shot jumped into the spotlight in 1936, when Stanford played powerhouse Long Island University at Madison Square Garden. LIU was coached by Clair Bee, and had won 43 in a row, making them a heavy favorite. However, at the half, Stanford was up 22-14, and LIU never caught up. Behind Luisetti's 15 points, Stanford pulled off a 45-31 victory. With his unique shot, and his behind-the-back dribble, Hank became a very popular topic.
However, not everyone was pleased with what they saw. Nat Holman, one of the Original Celtics (a barnstorming team) and coach of City College in New York said, "That's not basketball. If my boys ever shot one-handed, I'd quit coaching."
It was basketball though. Luisetti's one-handed shot and fancy dribbling was to lead the way to a new era of basketball.
Luisetti, who once scored 50 points in a game, graduated from Stanford in 1938 and went on to play in the AAU. During World War II, he played some ball in the Navy. However, in 1944, at the young age of 28, he was struck with a near fatal case of spinal meningitis, and told his days of playing competitive basketball were over.
Hank Luisetti changed the game. From his shot evolved the modern-day jump shot. He was a true pioneer of the game. But, as Arthur Daley, a columnist of the New York Times, said, "What the cold figures do not reveal is his blinding speed, his uncanny ability to control the ball on a dribble, his twisting shot making that sends the sphere whipping through the nets and his beautiful 'feeding' that sets up the plays for his mates."
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