TWELVE=FOOT BASKET FOR COLLEGE AND INDEPENDENT TEAMS

Of late years there has been a protest on the part of the basketball public
against those "mezzanine peeping goons" of the cage sport who actually come to
the level of the basket rim when they reach for tip-in shots, or actually dunk
the ball into the hoop instead of shooting it upward, as originally intended by
Dr. James Naismith, the originator of the gamee No other sport puts such an out~
landish premium on height as baskotballe

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

Twelve=foot baskets would be only for college players who have reached
their growth and maturity, and not for high school playorse 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 thon to distance on & horizontal planee

It is proposed that a field goal cout 3 points and a free throw from the
20=foot line (now 15 feet) cout one point. This would equalize the scoring
ratios It has long been a contention of Dre Naismith that a ficld goal should
count more than twice as much as & free throw. An argument might be advanced
that if the ficld goal is increased in value there would be a tendency to foul
an opponent to keep the ficld 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 under the goal for lay-ups on a 12-foot
basket because the most disadvantageous spot under the new scheme is directly
under the basket. It is much easicr to bank a shot 8 and 10 fect out from the
besket near the 12—foot goal than it is to work it under the goal. Research has
shown that nearly 90% of 211 the fouls are made jn close proximity to the baskote
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 conter jump rule contonded that
the no jump rule at center would drive the exceptionally tall player from the
gamee This certainly has not been truc, nor should any rule be made that would
be discriminatory. The higher basket would roquire all players to shoot for
goals, whereby now only the "second story pocping Toms" can bat the ball away
before it reaches the cylinder of the basket, thereby preventing the goale Never
in the history of the game have there been so many excoptionally tall men under
very low baskets, canparatively speaking. Mon 6110" tall are getting to be quite
commonplace. The presence of so many long fellows has reduced basketball to a
freakish demonstration ond has put an almost wnbearable handicap on the finer
athletes of a normal 6efoot height. Certainly no discrimination is asked against
en exceptionally tall player. Rather uniformity is asked so that discrimination
against the little fellow will be romovede

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 rulo, the playor being
awarded two free throws when fouled under or near the basizet == all of these
rules will be wmeecssary after a higher basket is put into effocte