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Basketball Points of Emphasis - 2015-16


1. POST PLAY

New information has been added to the Rule Book that addresses cleaning up post play.

It is legal for offensive and defensive players to touch when both are maintaining a legally established position. Illegal contact on a post player is any tactic using hands or arms or just generally demonstrates rough physical movements that allows a player on offense or defense to control the movement of an opposing player.

It is a foul and should be ruled as such when:

a. An opponent is displaced from a legally established or obtained position;
b. An arm-bar is extended and displaces an opponent;
c. A locked and/or extended elbow displaces an opponent;
d. A leg or knee is used in the rear of an opponent to hold or displace;
e. Holding, hooking, slapping, pinning or pushing the leg or body of an opponent;
f. An offensive post player “backs-down” and displaces the defender once that defender has established a legal guarding position.

2. REBOUNDING

One of the leading causes of injury in high school basketball continues to be the result of illegal contact that takes place during rebounding. Any activity to illegally gain rebounding position on an opponent must be properly enforced and penalized. Some examples of illegal rebounding activity are:

a. Displacing, charging or pushing an opponent;
b. Extending the arms or elbows to impede the movement of an opponent;
c. Using the hips or knees to hinder or impede an opponent;
d. Violation of the principle of verticality;
e. Contact between players in free-throw lane spaces prior to the ball being released by the free thrower.

Rebounders include each player involved in the act, whether an offensive or defensive player. It is a coach’s responsibility to teach players the proper rule based technics of legal rebounding.



3. FREE THROW SHOOTER

Rule 9-1-3g was revised in 2014-15 to allow a player occupying a marked lane space to enter the lane on the release of the ball by the free thrower. As a result of this change, protection of the free thrower needs to be emphasized. On release of the ball by the free thrower, the defender boxing out shall not cross the free-throw line extended into the semicircle until the ball contacts the ring or backboard. A player, other than the free thrower, who does not occupy a marked lane space, may not have either foot beyond the vertical plane of the free-throw line extended and the three-point line which is farther from the basket until the ball touches the ring or backboard or until the free throw ends.



4. NFHS SIGNALS AND MECHANICS

The NFHS Basketball Officials Manual was revised for 2015-16. Officials are reminded that, when officiating a high school basketball game, the proper NFHS signals and NFHS mechanics are to be used.