a ae

7. All jump ball situations should be held at the nearest
restraining circle in the interest of uniformity and ease of administration.

8. A future progressive Committee will elevate the basket and
thus nullify the present advantages enjoyed by the tall player.

9. The present goal tending rule is discriminatory in that it
hinders the tall man on defense but offers no similar hindrance to him on offense.

10. Most of the research by coaches has been a search for sky-
scraper players for use under horse-and-buggy ten-foot baskets.

~— ww eee ieee eee

You can rest assured that these points will be presented to the
Committee exactly as outlined or as corrected by you. I anticipate that I
will be called upon to uphold your beliefs or to state specifically my
reasons for objections. :

It appears most fair to you, then, that I cover briefly my own
personal reactions to your suggestions so that if my logic is poor you will
have the opportunity to straighten me out, or at least you will know my
reasons for supporting or rejecting your proposals. Each issue raised in .
your article is referred to in my discussion according to the numbers
assigned to the items in the outline above.

1. I will agree with your stand that the rules cause confusion.
I must add, though, that I have never heard of any set of regulations which
have not caused confusion. The question, then, as I see it concerns the degree
of confusion caused by the present rules. On this point I believe that less
confusion in regard to the meaning of the rules exists today than ever before.
That is an opinion I cannot prove to your satisfaction anymore than you can
convince me that confusion has been growing.

2 (a) With you I was present and participated in the discussions
leading to the modification of the center jump. You state that its adherents
promised elimination of the tall man from the game. I don't recall any such
promise, but remember that it was thought the modification would "reduce the
importance" of the tall player. If we think the present crop of giants already
have too much advantage just imagine returning to them the certainty of tip
recovery on the center jump after every score. The rule has lived up to its
promise of reduction of value of the tall men.

2 (b) Fire wagon basketball with its speed that your term "dazzling
and reckless" appears to me to be a matter of coaching more than rules. The
McPherson Oilers employed the fire wagon play in the old days as did numerous
other teams. The slow, deliberate, precise attack is still possible if a
coach wants to teach it as Bruce Drake did for his second game with Iba's team
this past season. Without radically altering the game I don't see how the
‘rules can be changed to dictate to coaches what methods are to be used. Cer-
tainly I don't see how applying your proposal will have much effect.

2 (c) Such scientific research studies as I have seen do not bear
out your assertion that basketball develops heart trouble in a previously
sound heart. Time Magazine reported an opinion which has no basis in fact.