I'm sure you know this, but pro women play from ~6,400 to 6,700 yards which are either white or blue tees.

It wasn't that many years ago in Iowa and it was within the past 15 years that Iowa girls started the game with a coin toss instead of a jump ball *embarrassed*

-Josh

Hopefully Mark T. DeNucci, Sr. Won't Read This Post ...
 

Sign me up. I'll bring the coin. How about a 1973 Eisenhower dollar?

I use a 1976 (1776-1976) dollar as my flipping coin in football. Bought it for $5 in a Maui coin store 7 years ago.

In response to the difficulty question....


I play in and know of at least 2 gyms locally that use adjustable height backboards. They seem to be very common around here in elementary and middle school gyms. There is a manual hook thing wich gets inserted into a loop thing on the backboard and then the hook thing gets twisted and the entire hoop either rises or falls. It is like a giant screw and the backboard goes up or down. It is very simple. You turn the mechanism until it will not turn and then it is at the max and it is 10'. Very simple and it must not be cost prohibitive because the towns I am talking about are very cheap with their gyms fixtures. This method is by hand it takes just a few minutes to raise or lower the hoop/backboard.

Iowa did away with 6-on-6 girls basketball in the smaller schools after the 1993-1994 season (the last season was my freshman year of high school, which is why I remember that). The larger schools had been playing 5-on-5 for quite a while before that.

Pretty sure the coin toss went away at the same time, but I'm not 100% certain on that.

Anyway, I'm not sure that lowering the rim would help any; in fact, immediately after the change it would probably hurt the level of play. Think about it: You have players who have developed the muscle memory and timing and coordination to shoot/rebound/position on a 10' rim, and now suddenly they're having to adjust to a 9' or 9'3" rim?

Two points.

1. The cost to replace existing baskets would, by itself,be prohibitive for many schools for whom basketball does not generate positive revenue.

2. The elementary schools are not, most likely, using baskets that would be sturdy enough to even handle the abuse given to the rims at most big high schools.

Increasing the size of the rim (technical and cost considerations not withstanding) would seem to address Gino's stated problems and not mess up the muscle memory.

I'd have to double check, but I think you're one year off on the last season of 6-6 (the IGHAU website lists all their champions of the past). I know for a fact that the coin toss long outlived the 6-6 game.

To me, it sounds like he wants to see women dunking the ball ... not necessarily more or higher scoring. In either case, I don't think it would improve the quality of play.

It does when watching Natalie Gulbis

Let's clear up a few things:
1) Is the financial issue a big "roadblock" - Yes.
2) Lowering the basket height would ABSOLUTELY increase FG %.
3) Lower baskets actually reduce a teams' reliance on tall players....RAISING the basket would place a premium on player height.
4) It would take all of 2 weeks for players to adjust - they would be able to shoot more accurately and from a longer distance rather quickly.
5) Mock women's basketball all you want; their game is significantly closer to the ideal of Dr. James Naismith - fundamentals and skill.

Sure, but if people are bored to death watching it?

Naismith invented the game as a physical education activity, too, not necessarily something people would want to watch by the millions.

I will just throw this out there....

Several years ago, I was officiating in a few different Boys and Girls Clubs in my area. One club decided to use 9 foot rims for their youngest league, I think it was 8 and 9 year olds. Those games usually ended up with scores in the 40's for each team, depending on the players skill levels. At the other clubs where they kept the 10 foot rims for the same age group, it was rare to see a team score much above 20 points for a game, same length of game time.

Maybe some parallels????

"Hey Abbott!" ...
 

I'll flip you for it. Heads, I win. Tails, you lose.