Who's Trent Tucker ...

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by griblets

the subject seems to be missing in this sentence.

Thanks griblets. Fixed it. A good reason to have someone else proofread one's work. I must have read that paragraph dozens of times and didn't notice that I had inadvertently deleted something.

On January 21, 2001 Iverson took the court with a tube bandage stretched over his right arm.

[Raymond]

Are you asking who is Trent Tucker? Didn't he play for the University of Minnesota and then primarily with the New York Knicks? Isn't he the guy who is the cause of the catch-and-shoot rule with .3 or .4 on the clock?

Oh, I just read your entire post. Guess I was right.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Raymond

Are you asking who is Trent Tucker? Didn't he play for the University of Minnesota and then primarily with the New York Knicks? Isn't he the guy who is the cause of the catch-and-shoot rule with .3 on the clock?

Correct. Contact Mark Padgett to collect your prize. You have three choices. A twenty volume set of the Encyclopedia International, a case of Turtle Wax, or a year's supply of Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco Treat.

(With permission from Weird Al Yankovic)

[HokiePaul]

Interesting to read about the history of some of the rules.

From a constructive criticism standpoint, the Mikan/Russell section about widening the lane was confusing since you noted Mikan as the source of the NBA change which eventually trickled down to NFHS, but then mention it again with Russell. I'd leave crediting Russell with widening the lane in NCAA out to avoid confusion since Mikan was the first.

And Darryl Dawkins didn't really play in the NBA for 25 years did he?

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by HokiePaul

I'd leave crediting Russell with widening the lane in NCAA out to avoid confusion since Mikan was the first. And Darryl Dawkins didn't really play in the NBA for 25 years did he?

Thanks.

I'll take a look at the Mikan/Russell wording, and check my numbers on Chocolate Thunder.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by HokiePaul

And Darryl Dawkins didn't really play in the NBA for 25 years did he?

After leaving the Detroit Pistons in 1989, Dawkins continued to play professional basketball for eleven more years, for Auxilium Torino, Olimpia Philips Milano, Libertas Forlì, Harlem Globetrotters, Sioux Falls Skyforce, and Winnipeg Cyclone.

I made the correction. Very sharp observation. Thanks HokiePaul.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by HokiePaul

... the Mikan/Russell section about widening the lane was confusing since you noted Mikan as the source of the NBA change which eventually trickled down to NFHS, but then mention it again with Russell. I'd leave crediting Russell with widening the lane in NCAA out to avoid confusion since Mikan was the first.

Two separate rule changes, so two separate paragraphs.

An article about basketball players whose dominance resulted in rule changes can't be written without mentioning the NBA "Mikan Rule" (widening the NBA free throw lane from six feet to twelve feet), and it was Russell's dominance in the 1955 NCAA tournament that resulted in the NCAA, in 1956, widening the college lane from six feet to twelve feet.

Plus, Bill Russell (along with Carl Yastrzemski) is one of my two all-time favorite sports figures, so I have to play up his role in changing the rules.

I'll try moving the NFHS rule change to Russell's paragraph. Does that help?

Mikan’s dominating play in the NBA also led to a rule change. Due to the narrowness of the free throw lane, imposing centers, such as Mikan, dominated the lane, scoring at will. The NBA, at the onset of the 1951–52 season, widened the free throw lane from six feet to twelve feet, a change known as the “Mikan Rule”, forcing Mikan to start farther from the basket, to give other players a chance.

Bill Russell (San Francisco 1953-1956, NBA 1956-1969), the six foot, ten inch All-American center for the San Francisco Dons, was one of the most dominant basketball players of his time. Russell was so dominant in the 1955 NCAA tournament that rule changes were enacted in college basketball to prevent a tall player, such as Russell, from gaining an advantage. In 1956, the NCAA widened the lane from six feet to twelve feet to make it more difficult for tall players to dominate the lane, scoring at will. The NFHS changed to a twelve foot lane in 1957.

[BillyMac]

The article seemed to end too abruptly, so I added a concluding paragraph.

Since James Naismith invented the game of basketball and codified its rules in the late nineteenth century players have gotten taller, bigger, stronger, and faster, completely changing the way the game is played on both offense and defense. Rules have evolved over the years to provide equal opportunities between the offense and the defense, and between small players and tall players. That being said, as the game of basketball moves into the future rules must continue to evolve in response to changing player skills, and changing team tactics. In the words of Winston Churchilll, “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often".