Free throw line up rule change

The initial reaction -- upon hearing about a new rule in prep basketball next season -- was pretty positive. The area coaches seem to enjoy the prospect that, during free-throw attempts, the two marked lane spaces closest to the end line now will be vacated.

"Like it," said Rockford boys coach Steve Majerle.

Noted Wyoming Park boys coach Thom VanderKlay, "Wow. Interesting."The National Federation of State High School Associations Basketball Rules Committee recently adopted this new rule -- along with two others -- at its April 13-15 national meeting. The reason behind this rule change was to reduce rough play in free-throw situations, they said.

Beginning next season, just like in college and professional basketball, all players will move up one lane space during a free-throw attempt. A new mark will be applied to the lane line near the free-throw line to designate the last 3-foot marked lane space.

"According to data from the experiment (in Georgia), the number of fouls during free-throw rebounding action was reduced," said Mary Struckhoff, NFHS assistant director and staff liaison to the Basketball Rules Committee. "At the same time, defensive rebounding percentages fell within an acceptable range. This data was the most compelling the committee had seen to date."

Ken George, the boys coach at Forest Hills Central, thinks the rule change makes sense.

"I'm not sure it will eliminate physical play, but at times it seems that the offense has an advantage on medium to longer rebounds because the defender is too far under the basket," he said.

Zeeland East's coach, Mickey Cochran, is reserving judgment.

"I know that college basketball went to this new free-throw alignment," Cochran said. "I thought by taking one offensive player off the lane it reduced the rough play, but I guess not. It seems to me that offensive players will have more room to spin and attack the baseline lane in an attempt to rebound missed free throws. I'm sure we'll use it this summer and will be able to give you a better answer later."

VanderKlay thinks the rule change will help his team.

"Big and strong teams may not like this," he said. "The rule may be a benefit to shorter and quicker teams. It will give more room underneath to prevent the offensive rebound from the bigger, stronger players. It will also allow the quicker player a better shot at the offensive board because it will allow more room to maneuver. For us, as small as we always are, it will probably be an advantage."

Majerle agrees that it's good.

"Since the rule changed when a player can enter the lane while waiting for the ball to hit the rim, a missed free throw seemed like a 50-50 chance for the offense to get the rebound," he said. "Maybe I'm horrible at teaching boxing out, but I don't think the offense deserves those type of odds when they miss a free throw. The pros and college have changed and I think we are the last one to change."

One rule used in other sports that was not adopted by the committee would have benefited the Forest Hills Northern boys basketball team last March in its Class B semifinal contest.

Then, an official ruled that the Huskies' final shot at tying the game in regulation was a two-point field goal, and they lost the game. Replays clearly showed that it was a 3-pointer and that the game should have gone into overtime. But replays are not allowed in state tournaments, so the tapes could not be used.

They won't be able to use them in the future, either. The NFHS committee voted against
the use of instant replay to review specific situations during state tournaments.

"The committee discussed the issue extensively, but there was very little support for implementing video review at the high school level," Struckhoff said. "Some felt the use of video to review officials' decisions is against the philosophy of high school sports. Others said that video review doesn't always provide a conclusive decision, and the equipment would not be consistently available in facilities throughout the country. The committee also felt it would be difficult for officials to officiate without replay throughout the season and then be expected to use it at a state championship."

The other rule change for the 2008-09 school year will affect coaches. If one of their players wears an illegal jersey, illegal pants/skirt and/or an illegal number, a technical foul will be charged directly to the head coach. Previously, one technical foul was assessed to each improperly uniformed player per team.

The committee also clarified one other rule, stating that "any item that goes around the entire head (elastic strips/bands, pre-wrap, headbands, etc.) shall meet the rule requirements regarding color, maximum size, logo restrictions and team uniformity." The committee also added black and beige to the list of legal colors. The change was made to make the rule more consistent in application and enforcement.

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