Lawrence has received a $15,000 grant to promote the city’s basketball roots.

The Lawrence Journal World reports that the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism awarded the money Friday to the Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau. The money will be used to develop a documentary on Lawrence’s basketball history and a logo that promotes the city as the “cradle of basketball.”

Although James Naismith didn’t invent the game of basketball here, Lawrence was his longtime home, and he was the University of Kansas’ first coach. Longtime Kansas coach Phog Allen often is cited as the father of basketball coaching and was the leader of the effort to get basketball added as an Olympic sport.
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Information from: Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World