A pioneer in green

You would have needed a well-sharpened knife to cut through this tension. The smoky air in the basketball arena in Lexington, Ky., was thick with anticipation. All eyes focused on the collision of cultures, the will-he-or-won't-he moment of truth.

Celtics president and co-owner Walter Brown (left) welcomes Don Barksdale at the Fargo Building in Boston in November 1953 after Barksdale was acquired from the Baltimore Bullets. AP Photo

Everyone looked at a single bottle of water.

The United States men's basketball team was playing an intrasquad exhibition, getting ready for the Olympics in London. No, this was not LeBron and Kobe and KD. This was the 1948 team, a crew of little-known amateurs that retrospectively could be dubbed the "I Have a Dream Team." After all, the roster featured the first African-American basketball player to represent the U.S.: Don Barksdale.

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