University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Basketball in Oakland: a proud history

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Basketball in Oakland: a proud history

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BASKETBALL IN OAKLAND:

A PROUD HISTORY

by

Hunter Patterson

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF USC ANNENBERG SCHOOL FOR COMMUNICATION AND
JOURNALISM
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(SPECIALIZED JOURNALISM)

August 2020

Copyright 2020 Hunter Cole Patterson
ii

Table of Contents
Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………iii
Body Text…………………………………………………………………………………….1
Introduction
Hometown Heroes
Oakland Legends Inspire the Next Generation
COVID-19 Puts Dreams on Hold
What’s to Come?
Paris Austin on Oakland Influences
Zach Copeland on COVID-19 Ending Seasons
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………..2

iii

Abstract
Oakland, California is known by many for its rich history. Aside from the Black Panther
Party being born out of the city, many associate Oakland with the sports talent it produces. NBA
Hall of Famer and 11-time world champion Bill Russell, Super Bowl champion Marshawn
Lynch, and Portland Trailblazers’ All-NBA superstar, Damian Lillard, all hail from Oakland.
Russell, Lynch and Lillard are just a few Oakland natives to be considered huge role models for
the next generation coming out of the city. Paris Austin and Zach Copeland are two athletes from
that next generation that are trying to follow in the footsteps of these Oakland legends. Austin, a
recent UC Berkeley graduate and former point guard for the Bears, is working to accomplish his
goal of becoming a professional basketball player. Copeland has similar aspirations after
graduating from Illinois State University, where he was the Redbirds’ leading scorer. Both
Copeland and Austin had to overcome various obstacles to reach this point in their careers and
being from Oakland is something they feel prepared them to beat any odds stacked against them.
This story will highlight the journeys of Austin and Copeland, the challenges they’ve
faced along the way, how COVID-19 has impacted their futures and what the next steps are for
them both. I have created a multimedia website that consists of various interviews, infographics,
photos and even audio from the two professional basketball hopefuls.
1

Body Text
Link to website: https://hpatterson5104.wixsite.com/mysite-1

2

Bibliography
Barra, Allen. “How Curt Flood Changed Baseball and Killed His Career in the Process.” The
Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, July 12, 2011.
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/07/how-curt-flood-changed-
baseball-and-killed-his-career-in-the-process/241783/.
“Ben Simmons Stats, News, Bio.” ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Accessed June 13, 2020.
https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3907387/ben-simmons.
Berkeley High School. Accessed June 15, 2020. https://bhs.berkeleyschools.net/.
CCSF Home Page. Accessed June 13, 2020. https://www.ccsf.edu/.
“Damian Lillard Stats, News, Bio.” ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Accessed July 14, 2020.
https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/6606/damian-lillard.
“Dwayne Bacon Stats, News, Bio.” ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Accessed July 12, 2020.
https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3907821/dwayne-bacon.
“Frank Robinson Stats.” Baseball. Accessed July 13, 2020. https://www.baseball-
reference.com/players/r/robinfr02.shtml.
“Gary Payton Stats, News, Bio.” ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Accessed June 14, 2020.
https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/640/gary-payton.
“Harry Giles III Stats, News, Bio.” ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Accessed July 15, 2020.
https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4065649/harry-giles-iii.
“Ivan Rabb.” NBA G League, January 14, 2020. https://gleague.nba.com/player/ivan-rabb/.
“Jason Kidd Stats.” ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Accessed June 15, 2020.
https://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/429/jason-kidd.
“Joe Morgan.” Baseball Hall of Fame. Accessed June 13, 2020. https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-
famers/morgan-joe.
“Kendall Jackson - Men's Basketball.” Columbia University Athletics. Accessed June 15, 2020.
https://gocolumbialions.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/kendall-jackson/9593.
Kleinschmidt, Jessica. “Marshawn Lynch Hands Out Beast Mode Face Masks in Oakland.” NBC
Bay Area. NBC Bay Area, April 24, 2020.
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/marshawn-lynch-hands-out-beast-mode-face-
masks-in-oakland/2278746/.
3

Maiocco, Matt, Josh Schrock, and Jessica Kleinschmidt. “Tom Brady on Return to Bay Area: 'It
Doesn't Get Any Better than That'.” NBCS Bay Area, November 21, 2016.
https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/49ers/tom-brady-return-bay-area-it-doesnt-get-any-
better.
“McClymonds High School.” Accessed June 13, 2020. https://www.ousd.org/mcclymonds.
NBA.com. “Legends Profile: Bill Russell.” NBA.com. NBA.com, August 24, 2017.
https://www.nba.com/history/legends/profiles/bill-russell.
Nguyen, Victoria. “Look: Lillard Has Tattoo of Oakland Tree That Mirrors New Warriors
Jersey.” theScore.com, 2017. https://www.thescore.com/nba/news/1374490.
“Paul Silas Stats.” Basketball Reference. Accessed June 14, 2020. https://www.basketball-
reference.com/players/s/silaspa01.html.
“Rickey Henderson '76.” Oakland Tech Centennial, January 9, 2016.
https://oaklandtech.com/staff/centennial/2015/04/10/rickey-henderson-76/.
“Salesian College Preparatory.” Private High School East Bay, CA. Accessed June 13, 2020.
https://www.salesian.com/.
“Skyline High School.” Skyline High School / Home Page. Accessed June 14, 2020.
https://www.ousd.org/skyline.
“Welcome to Bishop O'Dowd Catholic College-Preparatory High School.” Bishop O'Dowd High
School. Accessed June 12, 2020. https://www.bishopodowd.org/.
Youngmisuk, Ohm. “Gary Payton: 'People Don't Know, [Jason Kidd] Was the First LeBron'.”
ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, September 3, 2018.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/24516057/new-hall-famer-jason-kidd-was-first-
lebron.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Oakland, California is known by many for its rich history. Aside from the Black Panther Party being born out of the city, many associate Oakland with the sports talent it produces. NBA Hall of Famer and 11-time world champion Bill Russell, Super Bowl champion Marshawn Lynch, and Portland Trailblazers’ All-NBA superstar, Damian Lillard, all hail from Oakland. Russell, Lynch and Lillard are just a few Oakland natives to be considered huge role models for the next generation coming out of the city. Paris Austin and Zach Copeland are two athletes from that next generation that are trying to follow in the footsteps of these Oakland legends. Austin, a recent UC Berkeley graduate and former point guard for the Bears, is working to accomplish his goal of becoming a professional basketball player. Copeland has similar aspirations after graduating from Illinois State University, where he was the Redbirds’ leading scorer. Both Copeland and Austin had to overcome various obstacles to reach this point in their careers and being from Oakland is something they feel prepared them to beat any odds stacked against them. ❧ This story will highlight the journeys of Austin and Copeland, the challenges they’ve faced along the way, how COVID-19 has impacted their futures and what the next steps are for them both. I have created a multimedia website that consists of various interviews, infographics, photos and even audio from the two professional basketball hopefuls.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Patterson, Hunter Cole (author)

Core Title Basketball in Oakland: a proud history

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Specialized Journalism

Publication Date 08/01/2020

Defense Date 07/29/2020

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Basketball,COVID-19,OAI-PMH Harvest,Oakland

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Pecot-Hebert, Lisa (committee chair), Abrahamson, Alan (committee member), Fellenzer, Jeff (committee member)

Creator Email hcpatter@usc.edu,hpatterson5104@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-354131

Unique identifier UC11663544

Identifier etd-PattersonH-8847.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-354131 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-PattersonH-8847.pdf

Dmrecord 354131

Document Type Thesis

Rights Patterson, Hunter Cole

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA