Quote:
Originally Posted by BillyMac
From NFHS:
FREE-THROW LANE SPACES CHANGED: During a free throw, all players will move up one lane space, leaving the two marked lane spaces closest to the end line vacant. A new mark (2 inches by 8 inches) must be applied to the lane line near the free-throw line to designate the last 3-foot marked lane space. This rules change may reduce rough play during free-throw situations while maintaining defensive rebounding percentages within an acceptable range.
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Acceptable Range is: B. Lane Positioning. There has been much debate on what – if anything – to do with lane positioning on free throws. Some want rules that would move players up on the low block or even eliminate the first-lane space. The belief is that the players underneath the basket are at a rebounding disadvantage. Data collected from a variety of sources does not support that belief.
Multiple studies show players in the first marked lane space garner approximately 75-80 percent of all free-throw rebounds. That is a range the rules committee finds acceptable and is consistent with historical norms. The team closest to the basket is supposed to get most of the rebounds, not be guaranteed a rebound. The rules in that case are also not designed to give each team an equal chance at securing a rebound.
Man, it sure seems like more than 20 - 25 percent of the time in games that I see.....