DAPHNE, Ala. — The United States Sports Academy will dedicate to its growing Sport Sculpture Park a sculpture of a basketball player created by Fairhope found-object artist Bruce Larsen at 5 p.m. Tuesday on the campus grounds. The public is invited and admission is free; refreshments will be provided.

The dedication will serve as a kick-off to the academy’s international naming contest; voters may select from a list of 15 current and former NBA players whom they feel the sculpture best represents.

The list includes: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, LeBron James, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Michael Jordan, George Mikan, Yao Ming, Dirk Nowitzki, Hakeem Olajuwon, Oscar Robertson, David Robinson, Bill Russell and Jerry West.

Several factors were involved in determining the list, including global impact on the game, championships won and records held, Dave Lubach, the academy’s communications director, said.

“It’s very hard to compare players from different eras,” he said. “It’s a very subjective process. A player like Yao Ming may not have the greatest numbers in the history of the game, but his impact on the NBA as the first superstar from China is immense.

“George Mikan changed the way the game was played during the 1950s and is one of the most influential players basketball has ever seen.

“You could ask 15 people what their best quality is in a player and probably get 15 different answers,” Lubach said. “It’s why we added a write-in candidate. There are plenty of great ones who aren’t on the list, a fact I’m sure the people who write in other players will make clear.”

Former Chicago Bulls superstar and recent NBA Hall of Fame inductee Michael Jordan is the voting contest’s early favorite, Lubach said.

The dedication will serve as a kick-off to the academy’s international naming contest; voters may select from a list of 15 current and former NBA players whom they feel a basketball sculpture best represents.

 To cast your selection for naming, visit the online poll on the academy’s Web site: www.ussa.edu/ballots/basketball-player.

“He hasn’t played since 2003 and is still one of the NBA’s most popular figures,” Lubach said. “I think Bill Russell also merits serious consideration. The (Boston) Celtics center won 11 titles in 13 years and was unparalleled defensively. If championships are how you judge greatness, then Russell definitely has to be considered a favorite as well.”

Found-object art

Creating found-object art — taking old items and turning trash into treasure — involves a sense of adventure, Larsen said.

“When I find something that I know is a key piece, I can run with it,” he said. “There’s really not enough adventure in the world anymore. Most people are armchair warriors; that’s boring to me.”

Larsen found the inspiration for his sculpture in Ernie Barnes’ “High Aspirations.” The painting depicts a young man with a giant outstretched arm reaching to dunk a basketball into a peach basket in front of a rundown country house.

“It started when I heard Ernie Barnes died; I had really wanted to meet him,” Larsen said, adding that the sculpture is an homage to Barnes’ painting style. Barnes was named the academy’s first Sport Artist of the Year in 1984.

Larsen’s “Basketball Player” is one of several planned additions to the sculpture park, including: honoring seven-time Tour de France winning cyclist Lance Armstrong and 14-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps.

ASAMA

Located on the academy’s campus, the American Sport Art Museum and Archives — or, ASAMA — preserves sports art, history and literature. The museum’s collection contains paintings, posters, prints, sculptures and photographs.

Its featured work, Cristobal Gabarron’s mural “A Tribute to the Human Spirit,” adorns the front of the academy’s building.

Arman’s “Lucky,” John Robinson’s “Pathfinder” and Larsen’s “Arnold the Weightlifter,” “Borzov the Sprinter” and “Nastia the Gymnast” sculptures are displayed at the campus.