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Organized Chaos By JERRAD LINDENMUTH Deciphering the game of high school basketball Football season is nearly over and as fall changes to winter, so changes the definition of a field goal. While still occasionally worth three points, now a goal is more likely to get you only two. You still can’t hold the player in front of you, but now you can’t shove someone around or knock them on their back either. Coaches will no longer explode over the ball touching the ground, but giving the ball to the other team is still the button to push to cause a coach’s hair to fall out. Yes it’s basketball time for boys and girls all across the state. While the styles of play may differ between the sexes, the rules and regulations of the game are practically identical. The biggest difference comes in the basketball itself. While a boy’s ball has a circumference of 29.5 inches and weighs 22 ounces, the girl’s ball has a circumference between 28.5 and 29 inches and weighs between 18 and 20 ounces. A much faster-paced game than anything played in the fall, basketball can often look like a free-for-all to the untrained eye. But a closer look will reveal structure and a purpose to all things. The two primary types of defense you’ll see are ‘man-to-man’ defense and ‘zone’ defense. In man-to-man, each defensive player is assigned an offensive player to guard, while in a zone defense a defensive player is assigned a particular area of the court to guard, along with any offensive player who enters it. Teams can also ratchet up the intensity of defense by playing in a press, playing close to their man from the time the ball is put in play until the offense crosses the half-court line. Pressing increases the chances of forcing a turnover, so if a defending team is trailing by a few points late in the game, they will likely press more to try and quickly erase the deficit. If the offense can beat the press, the defense will be mismatched and more likely to give up points. Because of its demand and intensity, playing a press defense can take a physical toll, so defenders must be in top shape to keep up the quality of the press. And, as in football, the coaches on the floor understand the game on a level that most in the stands don’t. “I wish people in the stands wouldn’t just yell ‘shoot it’ all the time,” Taylor coach Justin Boswell said. “The game is not just a bunch of people running around; it’s organized chaos. There are set plays just like in football.” But, just like football, there are certain things teams can and can’t do. Penalties, or fouls, are called on players, benches or coaches when rules are broken. There are a number of different fouls referees can call on players. Once a player accumulates five calls against them in one game, that player is disqualified from further participation in the game. So, if a player picks up two fouls early in a game, that player will likely be sitting on the bench for a while. Shooting fouls, which occur when a defensive player fouls a player who is taking a shot, and non-shooting fouls can result in a call. A shooting foul results in either one free throw for the offensive player if the shot is made, or two free throws if the shot doesn‘t go in. A non-shooting foul only results in free throws if the defensive team is in the bonus. Despite the positive-sounding term, you do not want your team to be in the bonus. Once a team reaches five fouls in one half it is in “bonus” and every foul after that gives the fouled player one free throw, regardless of whether the foul was shooting or non-shooting. Once the total number of team fouls reaches 10 for a half, the other team receives two free throws for every foul afterward, otherwise known as the “double bonus”.
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