6
sible to control.

7. So much stress has been placed on aggressiveness in crashing
for the ball at the tip by all teams, regardless of which center is
controlling the ball, that unless one center is clearly able to out-
jump the other (a condition which does not often happen), so that he
can place the ball to the far lanes as easily as to the close ones,
neither team is able to execute scoring plays from the tip-off. Asa
consequence the play about the center becomes nothing more than a wild
scramble for the possession of the ball, The thrill from the beauti-
ful execution of spectacular scoring plays from the center jump has
been practically lost.

8. It puts the officials more in the background and relieves
them of the responsibility of administering a most difficult part of
the game.

9, While this reason was not originally advanced by the four
conference coaches, subsequent observations and the general feeling a-
mong the players themselves has been to the effect that it removes the
advantages gained by a player by reason of his inherent height and
tends to make the competition much evener,

10. It will speed up the tempo of the game considerably and will
permit a considerably longer actual playing time.

Accordingly, after conferences and experimentation during spring
practice of 1934, these four coaches met in October and drafted a set
of rules which modified the center jump regulations and governed the
play which replaced the center jump. In brief the regulations invol-
ved the following points,

1. The ball shall be tossed up at center at the start of each
half and each extra period; after a free throw following one or more
technical fouls, where technical fouls only have been called; after
the last free throw following a double foul; and after all cases of
violations along the free throw lanes in which the rules now specify a
center jump.

2 The use of the center jump shall be discontinued following a
field goal; successful free throw if it is the last one awarded, ex-
cept as noted in (1) above,

3. In place of the center jump in the cases under (2) above the
ball shall be put in play from out-of-—bounds at the end of the court
by the team last scored upon. The regular out—of=—bounds rules shall
govern the play-—in from the end line under the above conditions.

If this experiment had been carried out solely by the southern
division of the Pacific Coast Conference, it probably would not have
developed such a widespread enthusiasm for the change and subsequently
such a convincing mass of evidence in favor of such a change. When
the rules governing the play in the Southern Division Pacific Coast
Conference were finally drawn up, they were printed as a matter of
general information, and publicity copies of these rules were gener-
ously distributed throughout the country. As a result of this simple
announcement of policy and without any attempt whatever to convert
other leagues or conferences to try out these rules, there was a most
surprising spontaneous and widespread growth of sentiment for the mod-
ification of the center jump. As a result the Far Western Conference,
the Southern Conference, the Northern California Junior College Con-
ference, the Central Coast Counties Athletie League (a highschool lea-
gue), ail the major club teams on the coast, the Y.M.C.A. teams in all
classes, and all the college teams playing independent of a conference
adopted these rules without hesitation.. In addition several high-
school leagues made the rules optional, subject to the agreement of
coaches before each game, The Stanford University basketball team