[BillyMac]

NFHS Rules Survey

Were the following rule changes satisfactory?

1. Enlarging the coaching box from 14 feet to 28 feet. The coaching box shall be outlined outside the court on which the scorer’s and timer’s table and team benches are located. The area shall be bounded by a line drawn 28 feet from the end line toward the division line.

2. Changing the way an official signals a foul against a player. The official shall verbally inform the offender, then with finger(s) of two hands indicate to the scorer the number of the offender and the number of the free throws.

3. Restricting the identifying names that may be placed on the jersey to include, if used, lettering with school name, school’s nickname, school logo name, player’s name and/or abbreviation of the official school name placed horizontally on the jersey. Also, the panel in the shoulder area of the jersey on the back may be used for placing an identifying name as well.

4. Stopping play and giving an official warning to the head coach (and recording the warning in the official scorebook) for misconduct by the coach or other bench personnel, unless the offense is judged to be major, in which case a technical foul is assessed. A warning is not required prior to calling a technical foul.

Have you observed any of the following this year?

1. Increasing number of players wearing protective headgear.

2. Home teams wearing uniforms other than white for special recognitions.

3. Teams using balls that do not have the required NFHS Authenticating Mark.

4. Inconsistency among officials in allowing knee pads (and other pads) that do not meet the color requirements within the rule.

5. Concerns expressed by participants in volleyball and girls basketball about the differences in restrictions on hair-control devices, headbands and jersey waist-band rolling.

6. Increasing number of player-control fouls being called.

7. In states using the 28-foot coaching box, an increasing number of coaches using the coaching box inappropriately.

8. Decreasing number of technical fouls being called as a result of using the “bench warning.”

9. Increasing number of players wearing knee pads and claiming they are knee braces.

10. Increasing number of participants who are wearing warm-up clothing covering illegal uniforms and/or apparel that causes a delay in starting the game and/or contentious interaction between officials and coaches.

11. Increasing number of schools using scoreboards to time the time-outs that are granted, causing game personnel to not know how much time is remaining in a quarter.

About the rules for 2018-19 – Would you favor?

1. Awarding no free throws for common fouls prior to the sixth team foul each quarter.

2. Awarding a technical foul for slapping the backboard even though there is a try attempt.

3. Changing quarters to halves and any rules surrounding the speed up of play.

4. Using the 3-foot-wide arc under the basket to help clarify block/charge.

5. Changing home uniforms to a dark color and away uniforms to white.

6. Adding a rule to allow a coach to request a time-out near the end of the game to allow for bench personnel to enter the game – and only for that purpose.

7. Allowing the use of a 35-second shot clock by state association adoption.

8. Adopting a 35-second shot clock for boys and girls games nationwide, effective in a defined future season.

9. Adopting a 30-second shot clock for boys and girls games nationwide, effective in a defined future season.

10. Delineating further in the rules between knee/ankle sleeves and knee/ankle braces with allowances that knee/ankle sleeves may be any color used in the team uniform.

11. Removing color restrictions on arm sleeves, knee sleeves, lower leg sleeves, compressions shorts, tights and permitted wristbands and headwear, provided each is a single, solid color.

12. Expanding use of the “tipped-ball” signal used in officiating potential backcourt violations to assist with regular out-of-bounds calls?

13. Having one signal to cover player-control and team-control situations, using the fist straight out as the team-control signal is currently.

14. Clarifying that stitching on the functioning seam of a sleeve may be a different color than the sleeve.

15. Beginning with the sixth team foul each quarter, the opponent shoots two free throws for all subsequent fouls.

16. Resetting the fouls to zero each quarter if the rule eliminating the 1-and-1 is adopted.

17. Permitting headbands with knots in the back and tails.

18. Changing the width of the headband from 2 inches to 3 inches?

19. Permitting coaches to only call a time-out during a dead ball, including after a made basket.

20. Permitting leg sleeves/tights/leggings to be black, white, beige or the color of the shorts/pants. All team members DO NOT have to be wearing the same color, but each individual must have the same color.

21. Eliminating the jump ball at the beginning of the game. The visiting team would get first possession and the arrow would be set after legal inbounds.

22. Allowing coaches to shorten a time-out to 30 seconds. If only full time-outs are available, allowing coaches to request only 30 seconds rather than 60 seconds.

23. Charging a direct technical foul to the head coach if players enter the game with illegal equipment (sleeves, tights, headbands, wristbands, undershirts, wearing uniform incorrectly, etc.).

24. Adding a provision to Rule 4, Section 40, Article 2 to stipulate that in order for a screen to be legal, the screener must have in-bounds status.

25. Including pregame dunking as one of the behaviors that would constitute a warning to the head coach (during pregame warmups, participants are considered to be bench personnel).

26. Prohibiting schools from using the scoreboard clock to time the time-outs that are granted so all game personnel will be able to see how much time is left in a period.

27. Resuming the backcourt 10-second count after the defensive team causes the ball to go out-of-bounds in the backcourt of the offensive team (resets to 10 seconds on fouls, time-outs, defensive violations).

28. Limiting apparel choices to solid black or solid white.

29. Requiring team members who are warming up to remove warm-up gear that will not be worn during the game at least three minutes prior to the start of each game so officials have the opportunity to identify and to rectify illegal apparel violations.

30. Starting overtime by using the alternating-possession arrow and eliminating the jump ball. Overtime is an “extension of the fourth quarter” in all areas, e.g., direction of play, fouls on each player.

Feedback to NFHS Basketball Rules Committee – Do you believe?

1 In the past five years, there have been too many rules changes approved by the committee not dealing specifically with risk minimization.

2. In the past five years, there have been too many rules changes approved by the committee that mirror the college game.

3. The committee should spend more time reviewing the state of the game from a national perspective.

4. The committee should spend more time educating coaches and game officials on existing rules rather than creating new rules.