The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1960-05-20
SPORTS of TIMES
Experimenting
In Cage Rules
BY LOU FABRO
Times Sports Editor

Basketball popped into the news last week when
the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OhSAAl
reported about several experimental high school
games which were played under modified rules last
The report caught our eye because VIZ feel there
is a need to alter some rules to improve the quality or
the sport which continues to grow in popularity. We
discussed this very topic in a column appearing IN
the March IL issue of The Catholic Times
ACCORDING TO THE oHsAA, seven games wers
PLAYED using a rule requiring the team with the pan
TO Shoot within "a seconds after gaining possession.
Failure to do so meant loss of the ball. This is the same
rule used in professional basketball.
Among the teams using this rule in one game was
Cincinnati st. Xavier.
Seven other games we're played using the "offen-
sive foul rule" This means that when a team on the Of
tense commits a foul, the defensive team does not get
any foul shots but instead gains possession OF the ball.
This rule was used in the Big Ten last year.
a SURVE OF COACHES OPINIONS concerning
the experiments indicated that the coaches generally
were in favor of the two rules.
One coach, discussing the 24-second rule, said
approximately three fourths of all the shots taken IN
the game were taken within 10 seconds. The 24-second
rule definitely helps during the last three or four
minutes. The clocks then keep game action gong"
And that's exactly what the rule is designed to
do. It keeps the game moving.
UNDER CURRENT RULES, a team can pass and
dribble the ball as long as it wants before taking a shot.
Basically, this is all right because it allows playmaking
and teamwork.
The fault is that it allows a team to stall-a tactic
uSeQ 10 XIII the ClOCk Ill UIuCI u plOlCIL q VII
occasion, underdog teams stall the entire game to stage
an upset. AS a result, some games last year had scores
like 81, 1913, etc. This certainly isn't basketball.
Sailing also breeds another unWanted and un-
slightly manuever: deliberate fouing. Teams IN the
lead oftentimes stall out a large portion or the entire
last quarter. Since the only way a losing team can win
is to obtain possession of the ball and score points, it
has two options. 1t can cause the stalling team to COM
nit turnover or it can foul the Sailing team In hopes
of gaining the ball through the foul shot play.
AS WE MENTIONED BEFORE, deliberate foul
ing wasn't meant to be part of the game. Foul shot
rules were designed to deter rule violations and not
as a means of gaining possession of the ball.
Moreover, deliberate fouling certainly doesn't
foster craftsmanship. If anything, it causes hard feel
ings and u~nsightly flareups.
Sailing isn't fair to a losing team. A losing team
doesn't have a ghost of a chance; in fact, it may as
we'll forfeit the last few minutes of the game and
forget about waiting for the clock to run out.
a TIME LIMIT RULE-and it doesn't necessarily
have to be "a seconds-would eliminate some unwant-
ed tactics and make basketball a better game.
The offensive foul rule it looked on with favor
because it helps speed the game by five or six minutes.
1t eliminates the long walks from one end of the floor
to the other SO that defensive teams can take their
foul shots.
If anything, these rule changes certainly deserve
further study If not adoption.