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For thirteen years I was a member of the joint rules comnittee of
the National Coaches Association of the United States and Canada. I
served as chairman of the Research Committee for a great number of years
of both the basketball rules body of the United States and Canada, and
also as chairmanffor the Coaches Association. I have never recommended
a change in the rules unless much research has been done for it.

I have for years advocated a 12 foot basket for colleges to do away
with the overcrowding and excessive fouléng in the congested area, and also
to make a 7 foot man shoct for the basket the same as a 5 ft. 2 in. man.
This rule will eventually come, as swre as death and texes, because now
they have a discriminatory rule there. They permit the offensive man to
dunk the ball in and even though he touches the rim in dunking it, the goal
counts. If the ball is resting on the rim of the basket or near it, the
offensive man may tap it in and the goal counts, while discrimination exists
against the defensive man if he touches the ball on the rim, the goal counts,
or if he interferes with the ball above the cylinder of the basket, the goal
counts, or if the defensive man taps the ball in its downward descent in
his shot toward the basket, a goal is awarddd.

The 12 foot basket would do away with all of this and it would reduce
more than fifty per cent of the fouls in the congested area due to the
higher arc of dispersement on rebounds under the 12 foot basket. The guards
would be forced to move further away from the basket to get the rebound,
allowing the smaller men to cut in under and retrieve the ball, whereas now
the big fellow uses his hip and crowds and forces the opponents out of his
area.

The shooter sii the sieloeiil of his eyes to height the same
as he does to distance, and it would not be long until the shooter could
hit a 12 foot basket nearly as easily as he could hit a 10 foot basket;
but it would do away with the drive-in and lay-ups, and this is the very
play that causes so many of the fouls and gives the referee too much author-
ity in awarding the extra shot at the basket when a person is in the act of
shooting. This play situation permits an offensive player to “draw” fouls.
There would be no two-foul pot shooting because the fouls as attempted
lay-ins would be eliminated.

The fact that you have been a basketball player makes it plain to me
that it will not be necessary to elaborate upon this, as I am sure you can
visualize the situation. For more than fifteen years we have had two 12 foot