One-and-one free throw situation eliminated in high school basketball
Tue, 06/20/2023 - 5:18pm
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By:
Philip M. Bowman, sports@thedanielislandnews.com
You know the situation if you have watched your share of high school basketball games over the years.
With the crowd howling and a few ticks remaining on the scoreboard clock, a player, under immense pressure because the game is on the line, steps to the foul line to shoot the front end of a one-and-one free throw situation that will determine the outcome of the contest.
That scenario has played out thousands of times over the decades, providing many memorable finishes.
That scenario is also a thing of the past.
Beginning with the 2023-24 season, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) basketball rules committee has eliminated one-and-one free throw situations at the high school level. The organization approved the change at its annual meeting in Indianapolis.
Under the old rule, teams earned a one-and-one free throw opportunity when the opponent committed seven fouls in a half. A team was awarded two free throws when their opponent picked up its 10th foul in a half.
Now, teams will enter the bonus when its opponent commits five fouls in a quarter. Then, teams will shoot two free throws. The fouls will reset at the end of each quarter.
Lindsey Atkinson, the federation’s director of sports and liaison to the Basketball Rules Committee, said the new rule can reduce the chance of injuries on rebounds.
She also said the pace of play should be smoother because team foul totals will not roll over into the second and fourth quarters.
“The rules committee studied data that showed higher injury rates on rebounding situations and saw this as an opportunity to reduce opportunities for rough play during rebounds,” Atkinson said during a press conference at the time the rule change was announced.
“Additionally, resetting the fouls after each quarter will improve game flow and allow teams to adjust their play by not carrying foul totals to quarters two and four.”
It’s a rule change that hasn’t grabbed basketball coaches’ attention just yet, and that includes Philip Simmons High School boys’ basketball coach Garrett Campbell, who spent the day before Father’s Day driving the team bus so his team could compete in a camp in Rock Hill.
“I haven’t had the time to wrap my head around it,” Campbell said. “I haven’t put a lot of thought into it. But it seems like it will take a lot of pressure off the kids. They have two chances, so it can be a little more relaxed situation.”
Campbell said the new rule will benefit teams that are winning late in the game. They can take extra time off the clock. They can kill the clock. It will force the team losing to foul.
Paul Runey, who serves as Bishop England High School’s athletic director and is the girls’ basketball coach, knew there were safety concerns on an impending rebound if the first free throw was missed.
“It is intended to reduce rough play under the basket,” Runey said. “It will also change strategy late in the game. In the past, if you were on defense, your strategy would be to foul the weakest free throw shooter on the other team. If you now use a similar strategy, they will get two shots.”