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 gamee No other sport puts such an oute
landish premium on height as basketballe

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

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

It is proposed that a field goal cout 3 points and a free throw from the
20efoot line (now 15 feet) count one point. This would equalize the scoring
ratio, It has long been a contention of Dr. Naismith that a ficold goal should
count more than twice as much as a free throwe An argument might be advanced
thet if the field goal is increased in value there would be a tendency to foul
an opponent to keep the ficld goal from boing midee The answer to that is that
4 personal fouls will disqualify a player from the gamce And again, there will
not be the desire to work the ball in wder the goal for layeups on a 12<foot
basket because the most disadvantageous spot umder the new scheme is directly
“mder the basket, It is much easicr to bank a shot 8 and 10 fect out from the
pasket near the 128foot goal than it is to work it under the goale Research has
shown that nearly 90% of all the fouls are made in close proximity to the baskcte
This is on account of the desire of the playors to work the ball in close to the
basket for a lay-up shote

Many adherents to the elimination of the center jump rule contonded that
the no jump rule at center would drive the exceptionally tall player from the
games This certainly has not been true, nor should any rule be made that would
be discriminatorye Tho highor basket would roquiro all playors to shoot for
goals, whereby now only the "socond story peeping Toms" can bat the ball away
before it reaches the cylinder of the basket, thereby preventing the goaole Never
in the history of the game have there been so many oxcoptionally tall men under
very low baskets, canparatively speakinge Men 6t10" tall are getting to be quite
commonplaces The presence of so many long fcllows has reduced basketball to a
freakish demonstration and has put an almost wnbearnble 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 singlo 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