TWELVE=FOOT BASKET FOR COLLEGE AND INDEPENDENT TEAMS

Of late years there has been a protest on the part of the basketball public
against these "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 gamoe No other sport puts such an oute
landish premium on height as basketball.

The only reason that the height of the basket today is 10 feet from the
gym floor is because the indoor rmming track at Springficld, Mass., College was
10 feet from the floor, and Dre Naismith attached his tasket to this running
tracke :

Twelveefoot baskets would be only for college players who have reached
their growth and maturity, and not for high school players. It is just as casy
to accommodate the muscles of the oyes, wrists, hands and digits to distance in
height as it is to accommodate them to distance on a horizontal plance

It is proposed that a ficld goal count 3 points and a free throw from the
20efoot line (now 15 feet) comt one point. This would equalize the scoring
ratio. It has long been a contention of Dr. Naismith that a fiold goal should
count more than twice as much as a free throws An argument might be advanced
that if the fiold goal is increased in value there would be a tendency to foul
an opponent to keep the field goal from boing madee 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 wmder the goal for layeups on a 12<foot
basket because the most disadvantageous spot umder the new scheme is directly
under the basket. It is much easier 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 tho fouls are made in close proximity to the baskete
This is on account of the desire of the players to work the ball in close to the
basket for a lay=up shote

Many adherents to the elimination of the center jump rule contended that
the no jump rule at center would drive the excoptionally tall player from the
games This certainly has not boon truco, nor should any rulo be made that would
be discriminatorye The higher basket would require all players to shoot for
goals, whereby now only the "second story peeping Toms" can bat the ball away
before it reaches the cylinder of the basket, thereby preventing the goale Nover
in the history of the game have there been so many excoptionally tall men under
very low baskets, canparatively speakinge Men 610" tall are getting to be quite
commonplace, The presonce of so many long fellows has reduced basketball to a
freakish demonstration and has put an almost wnbearable handicap on the finer
athletes of a normal 6-foot height. Certainly no discrimination is asked against
an exceptionally tall player. Rather uniformity 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 basket «= all of these
rules will be umneeessary after a higher basket is put into effocte