The new rule changes have been posted on the NFHS home page (www.nfhs.org). Besides the two 20 second time-outs being changed to 30 second timeouts, the other big change, in my opinion, deals with slapping the backboard. "Clarification of illegal contact on the backboard was written into Rule 10-3-6 by stating that a player shall not place a hand on the backboard or ring to gain an advantage. A player also may not intentionally slap or strike the backboard or cause the ring to vibrate while a try or tap is in flight, is touching the backboard, is in the basket or in the cylinder above the basket." Sounds to me like the old adage, "if it is a legitimiate attempt to block a shot" may no longer apply. The way I read this is that if the board is slapped intentionally, (there they go asking us to judge intent again) regardless if it is an attempt to block or not, they want a technical foul called. I guess one way to judge is if a player's palm hits the board and it shakes in any way, they want us to call the "T". What do you guys think?
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