TWELVE-FOOT BASKET FOR COLLEGE AND INDEPENDENT TEAMS

Of late years there has been a protest on the part of the basketball public
against those "mezzanine peeping goons" of the cage sport who actually come to
the level of the basket rim when they reach for tipein shots, or actually dunk
the ball into the hoop instead of shooting it upward, as originally intended by
Dre James Naismith, the originator of the gamee No other sport puts such an oute
landish premium on height as baskotballe

The only reason that tho hoight of the basket today is 10 feet from the
gym floor is because the indoor running track at Springficld, Masse, College was
10 feet from the floor, and Dre Naismith attached his tmsket to this running
tracke

Twelve-foot baskets would be only for college players who have reached
their growth and maturity, and not for high school playcrs, It is just as casy
to accommodate the muscles of the cyes, wrists, hands and digits to distance in
height as it is to accommodate thom to distance on a horizontal planee

It is proposed that a ficld goal count 3 points and a frec throw from the
20@foot line (now 15 foet) comt one point, This would equalize the scoring
ratio. It has long been a contention of Dr. Naismith that a field goal should
count more than twice as much as a free throw. An argument might be advanced
that if the ficld goal is increased in value there would be a tendency to foul
an opponent to keep the field goal from being made, The answer to that is that
4 personal fouls will disqualify a player from the gamee And again, there will
not be the desire to work the ball in under the goal for laye-ups on 4 12<foot
basket because the most disadvantageous spot under the new scheme is directly
‘under the basket. It is much easicr to bank a shot 8 and 10 fect out from the
basket near the 12@foot goal than it is to work it under the goal. Research has
shown that nearly 90% of all the fouls are made in close proximity to the baskcte
This is on account of the desire of the playors to work the ball in close to tho
basket for a layeup shote

Many adherents to the elimination of the center jump rule contended that
the no jump rule at center would drive the exceptionally tall player from the
gamee This certainly has not been truc, nor should any rule be made that would
be discriminatory, The higher basket would require all players to shoot for
goals, whereby now only the "second story pecping Toms" can bat the ball away
before it reaches the cylinder of the basket, thereby preventing the goaole Never
in the history of the game have there been so many excoptionally tall men umder
very low baskets, canparatively speakinge Men 6110" tall are getting to be quite
commonplace. The presence of so many long fellows has reduced basketball to a
freakish demonstration and has put an almost wmbearable handicap on the finer
athletes of a normal 6-foot height. Certainly no discrimination is asked against
an exceptionally tall player. Rather wmifornmity is asked so that discrimination
against the little fellow will be removede

Practically all the rules that now exist against the single or double post
play, against touching the ball while it is on the rim or above the cylinder of
the basket, the 3=second rule, the leyard defensive rule, the player being
awarded two free throws when fouled under or near the basiet -= all of these
rules will be unneeessary after a higher basket is put into effocte