[ilyazhito]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

7.1.2 SITUATION A: The ball strikes the side edge or top edge of the backboard or passes over the top of the backboard and the ball: (a) came from a throw-in from behind the plane of the backboard; or (b) from a pass or try from the front or back of the plane of the backboard. The ball does not touch any supporting brace. RULING: If a fan-shaped backboard is being used in (a) and in (b), the ball remains live. If a rectangular backboard is used in (a), the ball remains live after touching the side edge, but it is a violation if it passes directly over the backboard. In (b), the ball remains live if it touches a side edge or the top edge if it rebounds and comes down in front of the backboard. The ball becomes dead if it passes over the top of a rectangular backboard regardless of the action which causes it to pass over or whether it comes from the front or back of the plane.

Wilt Chamberlain (Kansas 1956-1958, NBA 1959-1973), the seven foot, one inch, 275 pound All-American Kansas Jayhawks center’s impact on the game of basketball was reflected in the fact that he was directly responsible for several rule changes … Chamberlain is credited with a rule change regarding inbounding the ball by front court inbounders standing behind the endline underneath their basket. His teammates would routinely inbound the ball by lobbing the ball over the backboard where Chamberlain would catch the lob pass and dunk the ball into the basket for an easy score. In 1956, the NCAA, followed by the NFHS in 1957, ruled that the ball is out of bounds when it passes over a rectangular backboard (in either direction).

This is interesting. In that regard, it is curious why a ball passing over a fan-shaped backboard is not out of bounds under NFHS rules.