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==Why Did Basketball Thrive?==
[[File:North Carolina Tar Heels Men's Basketball 1911.jpg|thumbnail|left|Figure 2. The North Carolina Tar Heels were an early basketball team with this team photo from 1911.]]
As basketball was founded by the YMCA, which is a Christian institution, the spread of the game coincided also with missionary and medical activities undertaken. Soon, the YMCA used basketball as part of its work abroad and within North America. This helped to popularize not only the YMCA but also the game itself. <ref> For more on the early spread of basketball, see: Naismith, J. (1996) Basketball: its origin and development. Bison Books ed. Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press.</ref>
