If you know Japanese manga or anime, you've heard of SLAM DUNK. The manga (comics) were serialised in Japan from 1990 to 1996 and focus on the story of the high school basketball team in Shohoku. The series, which was also adapted into an anime (animated) series, has been immensely popular, both in Japan and worldwide.

The author, Takehiko Inoue, was even awarded a special commendation by the Japan Basketball Association for helping to popularise basketball in Japan.

Due to my love for both art and basketball (and my secret devotion to manga/anime), I've long intended to write about SLAM DUNK here. Now my hand has been forced by this awesome effort made by students at the National Taiwan University of Arts, who put together a frame-by-frame remaking of the opening sequences of the SLAM DUNK anime series.

Check out the video:

(h/t: Kotaku and Jose Tanako)

The Team USA squad that will compete for the 12 roster positions at the London 2012 Olympic Games has been named.

There are no particular surprises, with Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge the two newcomers pushing for selection this time around.

USA Olympic basketball squad: LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland), Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks), Chauncey Billups (Los Angeles Clippers), Chris Bosh (Miami), Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers), Tyson Chandler (New York Knicks), Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City), Rudy Gay (Memphis), Eric Gordon (New Orleans), Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers), Dwight Howard (Orlando), Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia), LeBron James (Miami), Kevin Love (Minnesota), Lamar Odom (Dallas), Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers), Derrick Rose (Chicago), Dwyane Wade (Miami), Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City), Deron Williams (New Jersey).

One of the many things that I love about basketball is its global nature, providing a meeting point for numerous cultures. Outside of international tournaments, the most common gem thrown into the global melting pot is the American import in domestic leagues around the world.

You know the drill: there are a semi-set of professional basketball players in the USA who are not fortunate/skilled enough to find a place in the NBA, but are still of sufficient talent to offer them a paying basketball job, abroad.

Quite often, these players will seek a country out that offers as many of the comforts of home as possible: the English language, a calm political environment, other Americans who can attest to its conditions and a league of sufficient standard to get noticed for that elusive call-up to the NBA. Some players however, take a different route and follow an alternative, less paved path.

Kevin Sheppard is one such player.

Sheppard is an American who has taken up a contract to play professional basketball in Iran. The 6'0" point guard, from the United States Virgin Islands, initially entered the country as an import for Azad University Tehran BC. He then went on to sign with A.S. Shiraz, another Iranian team.

Obviously, this was a gutsy move for an American, moving to a country that so many of his countrymen fear as part of the "Axis of Evil" and view as a complete polar opposite to their own country. And this is where documentary makers Till Schauder and Sara Nodjoumi step into the story.

The husband-and-wife duo sought an American playing in the Iranian Basketball Super League, to film and tell the story of an import assimilating in Iran. The resulting documentary looks incredibly interesting as a study on cross-cultural mingling, combined with a basketball back-story.

As you will see in the trailer for it below, Sheppard comes across three Iranian women who give him an insight into their culture and the way in which women interact with and are impacted by Iranian society.

The team is looking for funding to get the film off the ground and have a kickstarter funding page, which is currently targeting $100k. There are approximately 19 hours to go on this goal, if you feel like contributing. There are various rewards on offer for those that donate at different levels.

There is an interesting article here on the back story to the film. It is due for an April 2012 release.

(Thanks to Chris de Jonge for pointing out this link to me)

Some things are just infuriating to watch. This video, featuring Connell High School (I don't know what their mascot name is, but I assume "Thugs" - no wait, it's "Eagles" apparently) against Highland High School (in Washington) is one of them.

The Connell players, particularly #34, as you'll see in this video, make a mockery of the sport of basketball. Many of these plays of reputed "defence" wouldn't even have a place on a football field, due to the danger they put the offensive players in.

What I find particularly amazing and galling, is that not one technical/flagrant/unsportsmanlike foul is called in this game, nor does a Highland coach run on the court and strangle the referees at any point in frustration. As you'll see, things get dangerous.

Thanks to Chris De Jonge on Facebook and Yahoo!'s Prep Rally blog. Go there for more details on the game.

Sergio Kerusch, a 6'5" German-American swingman, who plays for Aris Basketball Club in Greece, has provided what may be the dunk of the year. Forget the legality of the steps or the possible charge, just marvel at the way this man (formerly of Western Kentucky University) throws it down in the closing stages of the first half, during this December game against Olympiacos. 

I have to admit, I didn't really pick up a basketball until I was about 12 years-old. I often wish that I had started from birth, like this kid appears to have done. Cody Jordan is a ball-handling phenom, who at only 4 years of age has ball-handling skills disproportionate to his tiny frame.

Check out this video as he shows off his dribbling skills, including an ankle-breaker on some other poor, unsuspecting kid at about the 1:10 mark.

(Thanks to Matt Clapp of The Score)

Really, this high schooler seems to dunk absolutely every time he gets the ball.

This kid is only 12 years old, but already has people like Southland NZNBL coach Richard Dickel standing up and taking notice. 

Tim O'Neill sounds like quite the scorer:

The dynamic point guard emerged from the New Zealand under-13 basketball tournament in Napier last week with two 50-point, one 40-point and two 30-point games to his credit.

Read more at the Southland Times.

FIBA is trying to introduce a new concept to the basketball aristocracy -- one that has been confined to the streets for some time -- 3 on 3 basketball.

Yesterday the FIBA 3x3 Youth World Championships tipped off in Rimini, Italy. The tournament, running until September 11, is clearly designed to take a different tack to the established official basketball channels. For starters, the location for the tournament is being described on the official website as "the lively and hip city of Rimini renowned for its parties, hotels and most notably for the Dolce Vita lifestyle that is enjoyed near the Adriatic Sea."

In addition, the three day tournament will include the highly-attractive dunking, skills and shooting contests that appeal to so many youth and street players. 

40 countries will be represented, including 240 players -- 36 boys' teams and 24 girls' teams. This is the first tournament of its kind, being an official FIBA 3x3 tournament, diverting from the usual 5-on-5 regulation competition. 

What is more, FIBA is pushing to make this a part of the Olympic Games by 2016. That is a serious shift in focus from an official sports body that is usually known for sticking to tradition -- clearly a nod towards how much traction the 3-on-3 game has in hoops lore.

Another hugely positive and impactful outcome of this tournament is the presence of the likes of Sri Lanka, India, Singapore, Qatar, Romania and Guam -- none of which are renowned for their basketball prowess. Of course, the traditional basketball superpowers are in attendance too, including USA, Russia, Spain, Greece and Serbia. 

What is interesting so far, is that the usual rules of country dominance have not entirely applied. In the Boys' Pool 1, Estonia is undefeated on 8-0, ahead of the likes of Greece (5-3) and Puerto Rico (5-3). In Pool 2, Italy is 8-0 with a hugely dominant for-and-against, ahead of Serbia (7-1) and Spain (6-2). Pool 3 sees New Zealand at 7-1, ahead of Latvia 6-2, Canada 6-2, Turkey 6-2 and Germany 4-4. And finally Pool 4 sees Bulgaria at 7-1 ahead of both Russia and USA on 6-2 and lowly Croatia at 3-5. (On the other hand, the Girls' standings are relatively expected, with USA, Australia, Spain, Russia and Italy being joined by the surprising Japan.) 

I'm sure that there are a bunch of factors at play here, including the lack of focus on these championships, given the current Olympic qualifying tournaments and the very different 3-on-3 nature of the games, but nonetheless, it is refreshing to see new basketball countries emerging as possible future contenders. At the very least, it may spur interest in basketball in those countries, making this a very smart move by FIBA on a multitude of levels.

FIBA, keep up the progressive work.

This guest post comes from Chris Jackson of the always-entertaining, Get Banged On, keeping you abreast of the best dunks, jams and slams from across the basketball world. Today Chris turns to another area of interest: the Australian Boomers and their current preparation for the London 2012 Olympics. 

Australian basketball fans should be excited. The Boomers are stocked with guys playing at the highest level in the NBA and around Europe. They have the size and experience that should lend themselves well to a strong showing at the 2012 London Olympic Games. But a lack of one key component may be their downfall. 

The international game is more of a balanced game, unlike the isolation-friendly, one-out style of play made famous in the NBA. Ball movement and inside-out play feature heavily in the offenses of world powerhouses such as Spain and Argentina. More often than not, the ball will touch all five players' hands before a shot will go up. With such ball movement the defense is constantly moving and adjusting giving the offense the chance to pick and choose their spot to attack. Watch the Argentinian offense. Luis Scola is a skilled post player who draws a lot of defensive attention. When he receives the ball, the defense has to react, there are few post defenders in the world that can stop Scola one-on-one. If he draws one or maybe two defenders, he may kick it out to one of the perimeter players, who now has a defender rotating across out of position, and who then can penetrate and kick to a shooter like Carlos Delfino who goes ahead and knocks down the three pointer.

Now this is the problem. Who is the knockdown three point shooter for the Boomers?

Kirk Penney has been the dead-eye threat for the Tall Blacks. He seems to have unlimited range and can get his shot off in a hurry, opening the floor for the Tall Blacks. He demands attention. The Boomers don't have that threat.

The Boomers strength is their big guys. Matt Neilsen, AJ Ogilvy, Aleks Maric and Aron Baynes are all guys who have shown their class in the top European leagues and with Andrew Bogut and David Andersen hopefully coming back to the team for the Olympics, the Boomers are stacked up front. But without the three-point threat, defenses can clog the lane drop into a zone defense, and limit the effectiveness of the Australian inside presence. 

It might not be so evident in the series with New Zealand (although 8-25 from 3-point land in Game 1 is troubling), but moving on to tougher competition, the need for a shooter will be more apparent. 

Who do the Boomers have that can consistently knock down a three? 

Patty Mills is better as a penetrator, using his speed to split the defense and find the open man. Patty will hit a three, but he's a streaky shooter at best (4-13 in Game 1). Even through the NBA season, Patty couldn't show himself as a reliable shooter.

Joe Ingles is much of the same. He's more of a slasher, trying to get to the rim and using his athleticism to pull up and hit a mid-range jumper. Much like Mills, Ingles is a streaky shooter who can get hot and fill it up but doesn't consistently find the bottom of the net.

Brad Newley and Dave Barlow are versatile swingmen but again, neither of them have shown any consistency from beyond the arc and Adam Gibson and Damian Martin (while Damo has improved his stroke greatly) are more defensive guards and not the most reliable shooters.

Matthew Dellavedova could be the shooter they need (check out his stats at St. Mary's College) but, from what I've seen, may not have the confidence at this level (so far) to step in and take the shots. 

The Boomers have the tools to make a run at the Olympics and if the streaky shooters do get hot, it could make things very interesting. But I'd have a better feeling if all of pieces fit together. If the one hole in the puzzle was filled. The bigs are world class, the point guard play is strong and there are athletes on the wings. The three-point threat is the missing piece. 

Long gone are the days of the Aussie three-point gunners like Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, John Rillie and Brett Maher. Who will step up and fill the void?