HITS AT CAGE SCORING eee PITT COACH ADVOCATES THREE POINTS FOR A FIELD GOAL. The Change Would Eliminate _ Games Being Decided on Free Throws Awarded by Offi- cials, H. C, Carlson Says. (By the Associated Press.) ’PrrrsBpuRGH, March 31.—A revision in basket ball scoring—counting three points for a field goal instead of two has been advocated by Coach H. C. Carlson of the University of Pitts- 1 ae ie ae: gee pe pro-| posed at the meeting of the joint tbasket ball rules commitee in New ork April 6, 7 and 8, pointing out that it would curtail the number of games decided by foul shots, which in turn are governed by the decisions of those officiating. “The 1932 rule book shéws that 55}: per cent. of games last year were de- cided. by foul throws,” Dr. Carlson said, “Fouls, of course, depend on the judgment of officials. Games often ,| depend 70 per cent on the opinion of those who interpret the rules. The -point field goal and the 1-point ul would eliminate a good portion gpf that unfavorable ratio.” s= Dr. Carlson foresees a battle royal on sket ball rule changes at the New ork meeting. The recent withdrawal wt the National Collegiate Athletic As-| , sociation: from the rules committee is|~ ge climax of a long-brewing disturb- nce in the national structure of ‘bas- | , et ball rule-making, he said, adding: | . | “There are several rule changes Carlson said his experiment this fyear with the center-jump elimination shas met with favor among some}: oaches and has drawn criticism from } —_—_—— Fights Last Night. (By the Associated Press.) vannah, Ga. ee Annarino, Cincin- . knocked out John Kennedy, Charleston 2); Ralph “‘Smokey”’ Ma age ar * Gincinnati, iB si John Singly, on Benning, Ga. Wan te oe ee | ‘SPORT NOT ENOUGH NOW’ TANGIBLE VALUE OF ATHLETIC SKILL HAS PASSED, LINDLEY SAYS. —— Ten Years Ago a Star Would Have Been Offered Work on His Rec- ord, but Not Now, Chan- cellor Asserts. (By The Star’s Own Service.) WicuiTa, Kas., March 31.—The passing of tangible value for athletic prowess was the basis of a talk today by Dr. E. H. Lindley, chancellor of the University of Kansas, before the third general session of the annual con- vention here of the Midwest Physical Education Association. “Red Grange’s fame was writ on water,’ Dr, Lindley said, “and Jim Thorpe’s name was washed away when the tide came in.” Eddie Tolan, Olympic champion in the. sprints, hung up his racing shoes just the other day, he pointed out. He is a young man, beginning his adult life, and he has discovered the terrific, speed he possesses cannot avail him a living. His experience is not unique, he said, it is the rule of sports. “Ten years ago,” Dr. Lindley ex- plained, “many men would have of- ‘fered a man work on his athletic record, Today these same men de- mand scholastic grades.” _ The K. U. chancellor explained he was not belittling athletic prowess. The good things of civilization, he}. said, had grown out of men posses- sing energy greater in its power of|. | application than that of the ordinary man. | “We have reason, in this part of |' | America, to be proud of our young men and their strength. It was the corn-belt young men who proved to be the. most skillful, and possessing ithe greatest energy at the Olympic games in Los Angeles last summer.” st & Park at West End, Ingleside at” Marietta, Forrest Hills at Chattahoochee. BASKET HEADS URGE OPEN GAME (Continued From ist Sport Page.) practice, but were impressed with: “C)) The abolition of the 10-sec- ond rule and an enforced man-to- man defense, and *=-(2) Allowing only four men on defense against the five offensive men, which would revive the old “sleeper” play as the best means of speeding up the game. Con- demnation of the variations of the five-man defense and the zone de- fense that have come into wide use and have.clogged the one-time speed of the sport was unmistak- ably strong. The coaches want, ‘tit. seems, a fast-moving, fast- breaking game as indeed do most basketball fans. Specific recommendations to the joint rules committee were to: (1). Increase the time out. peri- -|od from one to two minutes. (2) Urge officials strictly to en- force present rules governing the huddle. (3) That the official be required to hand the ball to the man out- side. (4) That: a. ‘smaller ball be- tween 2944 and 30% inches in cir- : | cumference be adopted instead of -| the 30-31-inch ball now in use. (5) All front courts must be a minimum of 40 feet long. The coaches referred questions of painting the ball black, of ele- vating baskets to 12 feet and other wroposals to. the research commit- tee for further study. Coaches reported increased at- tendance in the Bast and Middle | West and slightly decreased at- tendance in the South, the latter condition being attributed to in- ferior teams, . Treasurer, A, E, Mretzporr 97 Elmsdorf Ave., Rochester, N. Y. Secretary, Gtorce T. HEpspron 105 Nassau Street, New York City Chairman, L. W. St. JoHn Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio Vice-Chairman, Ftoyp A. RowrE Board of Education, Cleveland, Ohio NATIONAL BASKETBALL COMMITTEE * of the UNITED STATES AND CANADA ANNUAL QUESTIONNAIRE This questionnaire is sent annually to representative basketball men of the country in order that their views may be presented at the annual meeting of the National Committee. The Committee will be grateful if you will check these answers and RETURN THE QUESTIONNAIRE PROMPTLY to The Committee Member whose name appears above will send all replies received up to March 25 to H. V. Porter, 11 South LaSalle St., Chicago, Illinois. 7. Would you favor allowing play to proceed at the 1. (a) Has the new note on held ball resulted in a better game? Yes 895 | No__113. (b) Should a held ball be declared whenever a player in control is touching the floor with any part of his body other than hands or feet? Ye. San. No§09 (c) when a team is attempting to consume time by holding the ball near the division line should a held ball be declared whenever a closely guarded player holds the ball for three seconds? Yes 428 . No . Player in possession near the sideline sometimes in- tentionally hits the opponent on the leg with the ball so that it caroms out-of-bounds. There are other similar situations. Should these be regarded as legitimate plays and allowed without penalty? Yes_512 No . Check the court size which you reg s best: (a) For high school plaepBRsx75 84 50x94 (b) For college play x75 yh Li% . (a) Has the removal of the “due allowance” clause in the traveling rule caused any difficulty? Yes_96 . No (b) It is claimed that few players in starting a dribble drop the ball before the pivot foot leaves the floor. Do you favor rigid enforcement of this rule? Yes 251 N o 875 . Would you favor taking time out after each basket? ve: 284 N o_ 557 . The new rule for starting second and fourth quar- ters reduces the number of center jumps. Would you favor further gradual reduction? Ye No This questionnaire checked by 27 end of a quarter until the play which is in progress when the signal sounds is completed? Yes_@9 . No_#a@- . There is some sentiment in favor of moving the backboards 6 feet inside the end lines. Assuming that over a period of years such a change might be made, in your opinion (a) Would it relieve the crowding in front of the basket ? Ye@l9 . No_§30. (b) Would it result in fewer out-of-bounds balls? YeS94 —. No_206- (c) would it result in more play in the center floor zone and in more tries from there? YeSS%—. No_ SB (d) Would the increased possibilities for offensive strategy be desirable? Ye$3Q—_._ No._ BBB. . Would you favor a plan whereby a free throw for a personal foul would be made from the spot where the foul is committed (with proper adjustments for unusually long or short distances) ? Co: — No__ 689. List other suggestions on reverse side. QUESTIONNAIRE COMMITTEE, J. H. Crocker, E. J. Hickox, A. A. SCHABINGER, F. A. Scumint, Oswa.p Tower, H. V. Porter, Chairman Chairman, L. W. St. Joun Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio CHAIRMEN OF SuUB-COMMITTEES Executive Committee L. W. St. John Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio. Committee on Research and Visual Investigation Forrest C. Allen University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas. Special Publication Committee A. E. Metzdorf 97 Elmdorf Avenue Rochester, N. Y. Committee for Permanent Organization H. H. Salmon, Jr. 67 Wall Street New York City, N. Y. Officials Committee John Brown, Jr. 347 Madison Avenue New York City, N. Y. Questionnaire Committee H. V. Porter 11 So. LaSalle Street Chicago, III. Rules Co-Ordination Committee H.. H. Salmon, Jr. 67 Wall Street New York City, N. Y. Complete list of Committee Members F. C. Allen Geo. T. Hepbron . E. Meanwell Roast Pson > maaan Schmidt Swaffield Tebell swald Tower On Vice-Chairman, FLoyp A. ROWE Board of Education, Cleveland, Ohio OFFICERS Secretary, Gro. T. HEPBRON 105 Nassau St., NewYork City,N.Y. Editor, OSWALD TOWER Andover, Mass. Treasurer, A. E. METZDORF 97 Elmdorf Ave., Rochester, N. Y. NATIONAL BASKETBALL COMMITTEE OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA Honorary Members James A. Naismith Ralph Morgan Page tw - I am heartily in agreement with your belief that the minimum size of a basketball should be reduced to 29% inches. TI have noticed that almost invariably the best ball handlers are boys who have abnormally long Fingers. Tf we decrease the size of the ball slightly we will have a greater number of vlayers who can per- form artisticallv with a basketball. I believe the weight should be left the same as it is at present. With the size of 3° inches or ahove it is a difficult matter for manufacturers to produce a hall lighter than 22 ounces without skiving the leather so thin. that it does not have great wearing quality. If the size is Slightly reduced and the weight left the same it will simpli- fy the manufacturer's probiem and + believe there is no advantage to be gained in making the ball any lighter. The only other suggestion I have relative to the rules is tmt sanething should be dme relative to the crowd- ing around the center circle. We were bothered con- siderably by this at our state final tourna ent. It will not be possible for me to attend the coaches! association meeting at Atlanta. But I am planning on going to New York a day early and will be there Friday, 4&pril 13th. Yours truly, - M Ceeler H. Ve PORTER HYP /4 FS Cc Chairman, L. W. St. Joun Vice-Chairman, Wu. McK. BarBer Secretary, Gzorcr T. Hepsron Treasurer, A. E. Merzporr Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 24 Broad Street, New York City 105 Nassau Street, New York City 97 Elmdorf Ave., Rochester, N. Y. JOINT BASKETBALL COMMITTEE Oswatp Tower, Editor ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS Match 27, 1934, Dr, F. €. Allen, c/o Mri Roy Mundorff, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Georgia. Dear Phog; This is in reply to your letter of March 24, My investigations this year have been largely in the nature of general observation, rather than experimenta- tion with proposed changes. I have some data on the ten- second rule which (pre interesting and favorable. Major Griffith has givew me permission to reproduce Craig Ruby's pictures of various legal and illegal plays if we wish to use them in the Guide. I will take copies of these to New York for study by your committee, There has never been & season when there has been so little demand for changes in the Rules and such general satisfactionwith the game . Of course there is scattered criticism of this or that phase, but no widespread complaint Or general request that some particular change be made, I am sorry that I cannot be in Atlanta this week. Saint is urging that the center jump be abolished and I hope the coaches will discuss this carefully. I have opposed this change in the past but am ready to be convinced or converted if I can be shown that there is any widespread and weil- founded opinion in favor of it. Until I rec#ived Saint's letter I had considered this almost a dead issue, although it has cropped out frequently. I shall be interested in learning what the Caaches Association thinksabout it now. One situation still bothers me end my correspondence indicates that we ought to do something to improve it. I refer to the situation in which calling a foul works to the disad- vantage of the offended team. We have discussed this often but have never reached a solution because any plan of declining penalities seems impractivable, It does seems feasible, how- ever, to provide for withholding the whistle when the player with the ball is fouled in his front court, the official merely signalling the foul by raising his arm and pointing to the offending player, the whistle to be blown thereafter as soon as the ball is dead or the ball goes into possession of the defence. I have in mind several possible objections to this idea, but it may be worthy of consideration. I have not received the agenda for our annual meeting and therefore am not sure when I shall go to New York.You may be sure, however, that I shall be there early enough to have a cohference with you before the big meeting. I shall stay at the McAlpin. Trusting that you will have a fine trip and looking forward with pleasure to seeing you again, I am, Faithfully yours, Bide’ cans ge ie ee dies. patie Eira Screens eile G@OrFX Mareh 21 19 34 f pm Mr. Roy Mundorff, President, National Ass'n. of Basket Ball Coaches, | Georgia Teeh., _ aes - Atlanta, Ga. . | : 7 | Dear President Roy: es | I am wondering if 1t would be — possible to arrange a pair of goals 12 ft. in height at the Atlanta Athletic Club or wherever you plan to work your test games, for the purpose of trying out the 12 ft. baskets so that the coaches might see a game in action under those conditions. ESV ee idaenats : . If it would be possible to have a sliding scale for this game, say an adjustable basket, that we could try a game at 11 ft. and one at 12 ft., it would give the eoaches a definite idea as to what the ‘possibilities might hold by incorporating for the future a consideration of a possible change in the height of the basket. I claim that it will decrease the number of fouls by at least 30%. On all ley-up shots and cuts for the basket, the higher basket will do away with these. It will diminish or practically exterminate the pivot post play. Big, husky, powerful guards will not be able to block opponents ous away from the basket under this proposition. Dr. Naismith has 0.K,'d the sugges- tion of ret sing the baskets and I believe that the quest for t LL players, especially centers, that the elevation of the basket will equalize the height more progerssvente:y between the extra tall man and the medium individual and it will elso serve to clear up the congestion under the basket. I am alsok just throwing out 4 sug- gestion as to a possible increase in the width of the court to a maximum of 56 ft. instead of 50 ft. as a blow against the so-called zone defense or mass defense throwing itself around the basket. This will make fewer out of bound balls. And, by moving the baek~boards 4 to 6 ft. inside the end line with the raised basket, this will further tend to decrease the number of out of bound plays. Under these conditions it might be necessary to increase the field goal to three points, leaving the free throw at one point and the four personal foul rule as it is. #2 Mr, Mundorff Mareh 21, 19354 If we don't raise the basket or do an about the side or end-line, I am in favor of prohibiting the p vot post man from shooting at a basket when he receives the ball with his back to the basket in the free throw lane. Allow him to hmdile the ball in this area with the three second re- striction as now. Purther, I would be in favor of taking no time out for substitutions in the last minute of each half as is the case in the football rules. I have seen this thi abused this year and I believe before the abuse gets too flagrent, we should crop this play situation closely at the start. Also, I believe it is well to con- sider the minimun size of a basket ball. Most coaches want it smaller and by discussing that at the present time, we could agree — t would not be hazardous to the manufacturers of Be a vavitnas, I think it would be well to take up the booing situation and see if we can't as coaches ¢o- operate with the newspaper men and the athletie authorities in downing some of the more rabid manifestations of disapproval. For several years, we have had two 12 ft. baskets installed at the ends of our practice court and I use these in emphasizing the necessity of the arch. Then, after c~ back to our regulation 10 ft. basket, our boys roll them in ere readily. | You will please understend, Roy that I am not fight. for any of these proposals to take arrest this year. The game is splendid as it is, but why not use some of these items for trial and research and see if an improvement eannot be made in the game? I am planning to be with you all three days and I know that you are going to have a fine turnout. I am sstesciatial that Mrs. Allen will drive down with me. With every good wish, I am Sincerely yours, Director. FCA: IW x The State College of Washington PULLMAN, WASHINGTON e S DEPARTMENT OF OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND ATHLETICS In Replying to This Letter Please Address March 30 9 1934 Department of Physical Education and Athletics Srate College of Washington Pullman, Washington Mr. Forrest C. Allen Director of Physical Education and Athletics University of Kanses Lawrence, Kansas Dear Mr. Allen: I received your letter together with a copy of the letter you had sent to the President of the Basketball Coaches concerning some suggestions on changes. I was gled to get this information and feel there is considerable merit in a number of the things you had to suggest. I will be gléed to have en opportunity to talk these things over April 14 and 15. There wes one suggestions that was made by our basketbell coech, Mr. Friel, which I think hes some merit in that it would eliminate some of the crowding under the basket and would, no doubt, eliminate the zone defense. His suggestion is to compel one forward and one guard to remain in the back court. This also would open the way for a quick break game. As a matter of fact, it would seem to me it would open the game up and would do awey with a lot of the confusion and fouling under the besket. With kindest regards, I am Very sincerely yours, OF WASHINGTON . Fre Bohler, Directér of Physical Educetion and Athletics. Jfb3d February lst i vg. Mr. H»V. Porter, Asst. Mgr. Til, High Seh,. A sAay 11 South Lasalle St.,. Chicago, Ill. | / - Dear Mr. Porter: ; a / Thank you very much for sending me a topy of the January-February issue of the Tilinois High School Athlete. I was tremendously interested in your “Effects of the. New Rules on Baskét Ball” on pages 69 and 70 and I think you have hit _ pretty well on the head, opinion would be that we should still hold to the ruling on the illegal starting of the dribble, because if we permit them to attempt more of a change than they are, it will put such a great burden on the guard that very soon. oe there will. be a cry raised against the use of the dribble and | : there will be an effort to disbar thé dribble from play. For that reason I am in favor of protecting the dribble as much as possible by endeavoring to hold the dribbler down and not give him much of an advantage over the defensive man, \ _ T imagine Fred Young of Bloomington, | Illinois gets your magazine, but I have written him today calling attention to some of your timely comment and asking him to get hold of one. I wonder if you would be kind enough to send him cons if he tis not already receiving it. By the way, I have written C.5, McBride of the Kansan City Star also, calling attention to your summariza- tions and I told him I was going to ask you to mail him a copy. Would you kindly write to Mr. McBride, calling attention to the vA article on pages 69 and 70. I think this article is very much worth while and I also thank you for calling my attention to it, also, for your thoughtfulness in mailing me a copy. { * ‘#2 Wr, H.V. Porter February 1, 1934 I am hoping that things let up a little here, so that I can get into some of this very necessary research work that needs especial attention, With every good wish, I am A Sincerely yours, Director, FCA: IW OFFICERS Chairman, L. W. St. Joun Vice-Chairman, FLoyp A. RowE Secretary, Gro. T. HEPBRON Treasurer, A. E. MeTzporF Editor, OSWALD'TOWER Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio Board of Education, Cleveland, Ohio 105 Nassau St., NewYork City,N.Y. 97 Elmdorf Ave., Rochester, N. Y. Andover, Mass. NATIONAL BASKETBALL COMMITTEE OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA CHAIRMEN OF SUB-COMMITTEES | Honorary Members Executive Committee we ea L. W. St. John Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio. Janu ry 2 4t R, 1934 Committee on Research and Visual Investigation Forrest C. Allen University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas. Special Publication Committee A. E. Metzdorf 97 Elmdorf Avenue F CG A Rochester, N. Y. te sye Ps ity 1.°R. sae Committee for Permanent Lawrence 3 Kansas Organization H. H. Salmon, Jr. See Font Cl, N. _— — oo? Under separate cover I am sending a copy of the "347 Madison Avenue January-February issue of the Illinois High School eee ee Athlete. The reason I am sending this is that I Questionnaire Committee thought you might be interested in the comments on ye Us Caallg ‘erat basketball rules on pages 69 and 70. These are er not necessarily unusually good articles but they Rules Co-Ordination Committee at least represent some thoughts in which I believe My welt Stel” any rules committee member will be interested. oe re No acknowledgement is necessary and if you do not Complete list of Pind time to go over them no harm will have been Committee Members done anywav. .F. Bohler Yours truly, . H. Crocker | ; <. “Meanwell . Paul Menton . Metzdorf 3 + 7, Porter E V Romney oyd A. Rowe W. St. John H. . Salmon is Ve PORTER ity ° 2 3 ow Le | ° z e oy a Pz ° ot q oO 3 o 3 3 n> . le tj Au EL A. Schmidt Swaffield K. Tebell swald Tower HvP/ j ae On ° — °* * ATHLETIC EQUIPMENT SPORT CLOTHING 105 Nassau Street NEW YORK, - N. Y. Extract from Minutes of the EXECUTIVE COMITTSE MEETING of the JOINT BASKETBALL COMMITTER held at the Hotel McAlpin, New York City, June 23rd, 1933. Copy of this extract also sent to the press associations of United States and Canada. Minutes of the Executive Commitsee will be sent shortly. After a six hour session at the McAlpin today the Executive Gowmittee of the Joint Basketball Rules Committee’ voted to adhere to the changes made in the basketball rules at the Annual Meeting last Avril. This means that the much- discussed ten—-second rule anid the curb on the so-called | "nivot block play" will be retained as originally adopted, and tl.at they will become pat of the Basketball code for the season 1932-33. All criwicisins and suggestions received since last April were discussed thoroughly, including the points raised by the Eastern Grouo of coaches and officials as a result of their demonstration game and conferences, Of the five recommendations nade by the latter group, four’ were already covered in subs:ance by the rules adopted last April. The recommendation tnat tie ten-second rule:be dis~ regarded in the last three minutc3 of the game was not approved, but in connection with ‘ace guarding it was voted to accept the suggestion thas this rule read, "Face guarding takes place when a player - - - - obviously interferes with the progress of an opponent. The reaction of the country as a wnole to the changes has been favorazle, The ten-second rule in par- ticular has been well received and is expected to speed up play materially. This rule was or: sinaily sponsored by the National Association of Basketball Yoaches and came to the Committee as a unanimous recommendetion of that body. It is expected that the basketball public will recognize in these changes an attempt to correct certain undesirable tendencies in the game, and will accept them in that spirit, At the end of the next season the Committee will welcome further suggestions. March 26th in? 5 4 Mr. John , Bunn, Basket Ball Cosech, Stanford University, Calif. Dear Johnny: I was hepPy indeed to hear from Louis Moore by remote control, Yes, remember him very well, Please give his son my kindest regards, I was always very fond of June Bug, as we called him. Tell young Moore when he writes his fether to tell him that Phog said hello to June Bug. , I am sorry that I did not get to see him, when I was in Les Angeles, during the Olympic Games, Please find enclosed one of Dr. Nai- smith's preety eharts. If you need any more, please command me. I am terribly dissapointed in learn- ing that you will not be at Atlanta. I had counted on seeing you and having a visit with you. Mrs. Allien and Eleanor are going to drive to Atlanta with me and I was hoping you might bring Bonnie, “I will be interested to hear: your - report on bes Research Committee, I am wondering just how of our Research group‘will be there, Anyhow, I will be in there ae and having some fun, : I'am sure the Pacific Scant is: making a mistake in not paying the expenses of their men,although I ~ never have. gotten anything from the University of Kansas, . But, I think this year I am going to see what I can do, TI am going and then, if they want to reimburse me for poart of my expenses to Atlanta, I will not be too modest to take it. I, too, am sorry that I cannot talk to you regarding the 12 ft. basket. It is the tall man that ans #2 Mr, John w, Bunn March 26, i954 they are fussing about under the offensive and defensive baskets. Iam sending a copy of ea letter I have written Roy Mundorff, President of the Nat'ivAssoelation of Basket Ball Coaches, I wish you would study it and offer your criticism. | | - -f wowld say that we should not raise the basket any more than it would be possible under the rules according to the height of the ceiling. You will remember for _. - years we played on & much narrower court than the rvles called .. for, I can appreciate the difficulty that ae diserepancy in the height of the besket would cause in a league, but I didn't know that the Pacific Coast Conference was troubled in having low ceilings, Im our conference we could’ go to 12 ft, without any difficulty, a . , But, you can see that I am not try- ing to force a rule through. I am merely calling something to the attention of the public that in my opinion they sre over- looking. They are fussing about the tall center at the jump, It is the big, tall boy under the offensive and defensive bas- - kets that licks you. The basket is too low, Move it up 2 ft. and all of the lay-in shots, the post pivot play shot, the .. tip-in shots, the bat~ins, and all of that stuff is eliminated. bx HR As far as the expense of installing a basket 2 ft. higher over the others, I think it is minimal, It would reduce the number of goals, but it would also reduce greatly the number of fouls. Play would be continuous and sustained; thy moving the basket in, fewer. out of bound plays would result and with this added advantage of fewer@ut of bound pitts your scoring would pick up. You would still work the ali i n but not in as close as under the old regime. And, what murder these guards get away with ~ hipping the forwards out | under the basket in the present set-up, John, it is not the difficulty of the skills or the finger coordination that would make these shots difficult. It is really a matter of the accomodation of the . muscle of the eye to the height and this adjusts very rapidly. Lots of these passes would be worked in under and behind the bas- ae ei if you moved the basket in the court 6 ft. I would certain- oy Aye aa ke to have a good long chat with you on this subject. #3 Wr. Jonn W. Bunn March 26, 1954 | I can appreciate how much difficulty youvare having on your exact findings on the relative value of fatigue,or rather recovery from fatigue, after exercise, I am sorry that you are not coming into Lawrence, because I have enjoyed your visits very much, I believe your conference will make a mistake if they do away. with the tip-off, because the tip-off has only a percentage of jump balls during the game, If they do away with the center jump, why not do away with ail jump balls? | I had Elbel and Frosty working on a project but I fear it is not authentic enough to give a re- port on. So, I will wait until my date is more assured, a Again regretting that I will be un- able to see you and wishing you the best of success, I am Sincerely yours, Chairman, Committee on Research and Visual Investigation FGA:TW STANFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF HYGIENE AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION Division of Physical Education (Including Athletics) Men Students’ Health Service Division of Informational Hygiene University Health Service STANFORD UNIVERSITY, CALIFORNIA March 19, 1934 Dr. Forrest ©. Allen, Director Division of Physical Education and Intercollegiate Athletics University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas Dear Doctor Allens I have just learned that it will be impossible for me to attend the Coaches! meeting at Atlanta. Sentiment seems to be crystallizing against the voting of funds for meetings of this kind. Personally, I feel that this is very much to the detriment of our school and the Pacific Coast, but I have not yet been able to get this idea across. I note from the newspapers that you are again advocating the twelve foot basket. I am sorry, but I do not share your point of view. There are just any number of courts that would find it impossible to install these baskets. The expense to many others would make it prohibitive, and I feel very definitely that it would retard the action of the game because it would reduce scoring, encourage long shooting altogether, make set-up shots as doubtful as long shots, and therefore discowage all maneuvers that would aid in working the ball in close to the basket. It seems to me that these facts overbalance all the disadvantages that the present arrangement causes. With respect to the report of the research work for the year, as chairman I have written to all of the members of the Research Committee, asking them for reports of any investigations that they may have carried out during the past season. As yet I have had no replies from them. Our own work out here consists of four projects. The most important to me is fatigue, or rather the recovery from fatigue after exercise. I am hoping sometime to get comparisons between the strenuousness of basketball and other sports. This is a long, tedious job, and while t have been working periodically at it, I still do not have anything that I can report at the present time. I shall be here all this summer and expect to do a great deal of work then. The results of this work will constitute my thesis for my Master's Degree at Kansas, so I am hoping to finish it up within the near future. The second point that has been drawing my attention during the prst two years is a method of rating players. It has always appealed to me that one of the most difficult problems that a coach must face is that of chogsing the players for his team. I have been attempting to get some tangible basis by which one may be governed in the selection of his team. You may recall that Bill Chandler has done some work along this line. I have been using a little different method of attack. I am enclosing for your information the chart which I have used for the past two years. Dr. F. C. Allen——#2 March 19, 1934 At the present time, 1 am not ready to draw any definite conclusions from the data I have accumulated. I need to have a winning team in order to get any valuable comparisons. Probably by the end of next year, I shall be able to judge the value of this chart a little better. The third point is concerning the value of the present rules. It is our feeling out here that the attention that has been put upon the bad effects of calling too many held balls has produced the desired results. You may be interested to know that in our games here, the number of held balls last year ranged from twenty to thirty per game, whereas the number this year ranged between ten and fifteen per game. This is a very noticeable and remarkable reduction, and my own feeling is that the difference is due very largely to the attention that has been called to held balls by the rules committee. I have felt that there has been this same general improvement in our officiating this year all along the line. We have been making earnest attempts for greater uniformity, and also to team men together who work most harmoniously. As a result, a great deal of improvement has been shown. In this regard, however, we have made only a beginning, and a whole lot is yet to be accomplished. The fourth point is concerning rule changes for next year. The particular one that I wish to call to your attention is concerning the center jump. Our conference here is, with the exception of my negative vote, unanimously in favor of eliminating the center jump. My teams have never controlled the tip-off since I have been here on the Coast. Nevertheless, I am very enthusiastic about the center jump. However, as a result of this rather concerted opinion, our conference will in all probability do without the jump next year. So far as 1 know, this will be the first time that a major organization has attempted an experiment of this kind with the rules. For this reason, it should prove very interesting, and the results should be most useful as a guide to our Rules Committee. I shall include these items in my report to the Coaches’ Association, but you have this advanced information. May I have the results of any work that you have done this latt year so that the report will be truly representative of our whole committee. Thank you a lot for your interesting letter. With best wishes, I am Very cordially yours, >\ Mr, L.W. St.John, Chairman, : Nat'l Basket Ball Comm. of . the U.S. and Canada, | Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, Dear Saints | | | phank you for your good letter of the Z2list inst. , : I am sending you a copy of the let- ter that I wrote to Roy mMundorff, President of the National Association of Basket Ball Coaches and varsity basket ball coach at Georgia Tech. ; I still contend, Saint, that the cen- ter jump is not the main difficulty. It is the tall, husky boy under a 10 ft, basket that is causing. the trouble. If you will raise that basket 2 ft., the center jump won't be the a@ifficulty, I will wager. You see, Saint, we will still have the jump for held ball just the same and in many games the jump for held balls exceeds the number of tip-off plays at center. You know in our questionnaire this year there is no mention of doing away with the center tip. I believe that many of the people would consider it an inferior bit of legislation, to strike at one of the old institutions of Play without a definite and early discussion of such change. r Sihede, that would not pAb Stud eLIn ewe ebaree, “Sich large #2 Mr. L.W, St.John March 26, 1934 a change as that always makes a busy evening for the officials. I always think of the tip-off at center, the same as the kick- .off in football, I know the Pacific Coast Conference is not sold on the center jump, but they will still have the big boy Sy in there for the bebounds and the follow-ups on both the defen- y sive and offensive baskets. As far as we are concerned in our section this year, the game continued to improve in interest both from the spectator and player standpoint. You know, Saint, I think the greatest difficulty we are having with officiating is the inability of our audience to be decent to our officials, “Immediately, when a game starts, a certain percentage of the audience declare themselves audibly for one team against the . other and their clevage to their friends is emphasized by their loud guffaws in the form of booing against an official who may be doing a pretty good job of it. At the first slight fault or error of an official, a part of. the crowd turns loose with an awful boo. Then, if an official does something displeasing to the other part of the crowd, they voice their disgust in the | game vocal fashion, It seems as if the crowd is competing in booing, while the players are competing for field goals and free throws, : As far as I am concerned, I would like to see the Coaches! Committee amfi the Rules Committee ask that where practicable, 12 ft. baskets be installed with 3 points for a field goal and 1 point for a free throw. You will be surprised just what will happen. Then, I would like to see the baskets moved in 6 ft. from the end line, if they raise the. baskets, and where possible, where you have plenty of room, widen the court 3 ft. on either side, And, if they want to draw that circle around the larger circle, 0.K. But why, should I continue to write you this letter, when I am sending you a copy of the letter I wrote Roy Mundorff. I feel that after our meeting at Atlarite with the coaches and hearing their ere I will —— es) Mr, LW, St.John oo is March 26, 1934 ae. : ee énjoy my sessions, sitting in with the meditative and efficient Rules Comm ttee, I am of the opinion that our annual questionnaires are out @ little too late for us to get the greatest benefit from an annual study of these rules, I have listed and codified all of the answers that have come in this year. And, from my study of this group, I know how next to impossible it would be for any Questionnaire Committee to agree on such an important thing in so little time left before the 4 rules are acted upon, JZ received about 125 of the questionnaires and immediately sent thém out. To date I have received 46 odd in return. . I have listea after the coach's name ¢G for neki eee; U for university and H.8. for high sctiool. I am sending you a copy of this chart, which I have compiled, so you can look it over. It is interesting, If you took a total of the questionnaires in the United States, it looks as if it is an almost impossible situation to arrive at a satisfactory | es to favor the entire country. Don't you think that we should ad- here to our policy that unless we get an overwhelming opinion in favor or dis-favor of the rule thet we should recommend wogith the groups that — should try projects out before we agree a change, | For instance, John Bunn wrote me thet he thought that the Pacific Coast Gonference might do away with the center tip. Unless there is an over-whelming vote in favor of the center tip, why not leave the rule as it is, even though e conference or a section does away with it, and see how they get along with it before we change the rule. Perhaps, sentiment in thet way will crystallize one way or another and the fellows who did away with the center-tip may be just as much dissatisfied with the game under the change and they may want to #4 Mr. L.W,. St.John March 26, 1934 go. back to the old rule. , I still maintain that unless you do away with #11 jump balls, you have treated the matter only palliatively, if you eliminate the center tip and still have the jump balls amd other situations. 3 I plan to go. to New York a day or so early and trust that we can have some frank and friendly diseussions, With every good wish, I am Sincerely yours, \ Director. FCA:IW Z Ene, 2. Chairman, L. W. St. Joun CHAIRMEN OF SUB-COMMITTEES Executive Committee L. W. St. John Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio. Committee on Research and Visual Investigation Forrest C. Allen University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas. Special Publication Committee A. E. Metzdorf 97 Elmdorf Avenue Rochester, N. Y. Committee for Permanent Organization H. H. Salmon, Jr. ue Wall Street ew York City, N. Y. Officials Committee John Brown, Jr. 347 Madison Avenue New York City, N. Y. Questionnaire Committee H. V. Porter tr So. LaSalle Street Chicago, Ill. Rules Co-Ordination Committee H. H,. Salmon, Jr: 67 Wall Street New York City, N. Y. Complete list of Committee Members F. C. Allen Wm. McK. Barber W. I. Black J. F. Bohler John Brown, Jr. J. H. Crocker Geo. T. Hepbron W. E. Meanwell A. Paul Menton A. E. Metzdorf H. V. Porter E. L. Romney Floyd A. Rowe L. W. St. John H. H. Salmon F, A. Schmidt H. A. Swaffield G. K. Tebell Oswald Tower OFFICERS Vice-Chairman, FLoyp A. Rowe Secretary, Gro. T. HEPBRON Treasurer, A, E, MetzporF Editor,OSwALD'TOWER Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio Board of Education, Cleveland, Ohio 105 Nassau St., NewYork City,N.Y. 97 Elmdorf Ave., Rochester, N. Y. Andover, Mass. NATIONAL BASKETBALL COMMITTEE OF THE | UNITED STATES AND CANADA Honorary Members -James A. Naismith Ralph Morgan March 21, 1934 Dr. Forrest. C. Allen, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. My dear "Phog": Last week-end I sat through a mumber of the sessions of the finals in our State High School Basketball Tournament. personal observations there supplement the conclusions I have been coming to for some time. First, so far as an actual rule change goes, I believe that I am ready to go along with some change tending to eliminate pretty largely the center jump. A great deal of crowding around the center circle, massing Of players in the center of the floor at the time of the jump, a considerable number of | fouls called on the jumpers, at times irregular and uncertain tossing of the ball, no _ particular interesting or scientific set plays from the center bateoff, all conspired to lead me to the conclusion that those people who are actively campaigning against the center jump and the domination of possession of the bal by the extremely tall center, have a good deal of merit. Perhaps the tossing of the ball in the center at the start of the game and at the beginning of the second half might be retained, and at other times give the ball out of bounds to the team who has been scored on. The more I study this situation, the more ready I am to go along with some proposal of this sort. That is the only change I can see as logical in the rules for the coming year. The other big thing that is needed is a better and more common sense Dre Forrest C. Allen #2 March 21, 1934 administration of the game by officials, which exercises judgment in the calling of fouls. The calling of a lot of trivial, ineonsequential fouls that do not affect play needs to be done away with, tmt there is no way you can legislate on this mtter. Propaganda and a campaign for better and mare common sense officiating will be about the best and only way to get results in this perticulgr matter. i do not wish to influence too greatly y your thinking nor your judgment in the matter of what is aa for the game of basketball. I do wish you to know, however, = along which I em thinking at the present Ses Cordially yours, Le W. St. John, LWS:MF Chairmen.