New Rules Annonced

[A Pennsylvania Coach]

From the press release:

"Statistical information shows that offensive rebounding has increased in free-throw situations since the switch back to the ball hitting the rim as point of release, rather than the release of the ball by the free-throw shooter."

I've been saying this for years! One year when I was an assistant (the first or second year of the rule change) we usually had the tallest players on the court and had bad free throw shooters, and it never hurt us. The stats made a case for missing the second on purpose, we'd get the rebound so often.

The change is good, but they chose the wrong spaces to leave open. Those spaces in the front, when limited to when the ball hits the rim, are nearly useless. Missed free throws don't kick off to the side at a 90-degree angle. Often they kick at a 45-degree angle right to the shooter's teammate.