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    How to Fix Basketball Games
    How to Fix Basketball Games
    How to Fix Basketball Games
    Ebook79 pages1 hour

    How to Fix Basketball Games

    By Arnold Popkin

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    About this ebook

    This book presents several good reasons why some basketball rules should be changed to make the game much fairer and more enjoyable. Many people are so used to the present rules that they think that they are hardened in stone and just part of the game. This is easily proven to be wrong by reading all of the changes in basketball rules over the past 100 years. An appendix lists the major changes for the reader’s edification.
    The two major rules discussed are intentional fouls near the end of many games and the fouling out rule. Intentional fouling in the last minute of many games is usually disliked greatly by most basketball fans, but accepted grudgingly as part of the game. The team that commits intentional fouls may gain by doing so, and has little to lose. On the other hand, the team that is intentionally fouled has little to gain and possibly may lose by being fouled. This situation is definitely not right or logical. It should always be the other way around. If anyone is to benefit, it should be the team that is fouled. Under the present rules, the team that is ahead has no time to run their offense and take time off the clock. Their offense is often limited to only one second. The entire flow (or lack of flow) is controlled by the team that has committed a foul on purpose. Also, repeated time outs and time to shoot all the fouls may make the last minute of play take 20 minutes of real time. An original suggestion for changing the rule is offered. This rule change is much fairer than the present rules. An important point is that a team that has fairly built a lead in the first 39 minutes of the game should not be possibly penalized by unfair rules concerning intentional fouls in the last minute.
    A special situation concerning intentional fouls occurs with under 15 seconds left in the game, and the leading team is ahead by one point and about to throw the ball in. They are usually fouled intentionally right away. They must take 1 or 2 fouls shots, and the team that fouled them now gets the ball back with a chance to tie or win the game. This is extremely unfair. They should not have the right to get the ball back by fouling on purpose.
    The fouling out rule is also very unfair at times. Often a star player is charged with his second personal foul after only a few minutes of play, and ends up sitting on the bench for up to 15 minutes. Yet TV replays may show that a foul called by the referee was wrong. This is a great injustice. Similarly, a minor foul or incorrect call on a third or fourth foul may make the player sit on the bench for many minutes. Basketball seems to be the only major sport in which minor infractions can lead to expulsion from the game. Several options are offered that will improve the rules concerning fouling out of the game.
    Changing the rules about when time outs can be called will reward good defensive play. Specific situations and changes are explained.
    The shot clock in men’s college basketball has been 35 seconds since 1993. Some people think this should be reduced to 24 seconds, as is the rule in the NBA and international basketball, or to 30 seconds, as in women’s college basketball. A discussion follows with reasons for and against changing the shot clock. Another idea is to change the 10 second rule for bringing the ball across the center line to only 8 seconds. This would make the game more exciting.
    The final chapter discusses how to improve the use of instant replay in college basketball. Several suggestions are made to make the game fairer and the referees’ calls more accurate.
    The overall principle emphasized in the book is fairness. Changing a few rules will make the game much fairer.
    .

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArnold Popkin
    Release dateFeb 19, 2014
    ISBN9781311626363
    How to Fix Basketball Games
    Author

    Arnold Popkin

    Arnold Popkin grew up in Trenton, N.J. He attended the University of Pennsylvania for 8 years – undergraduate and medical school. He then completed an internship and residency in ophthalmology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He subsequently practiced 14 years in central New Jersey and 33 years in Charlottesville, Virginia, specializing in the fitting of contact lenses. He is also a very accomplished pianist, having started lessons at age 3. He managed to combine a rich musical life with his medical practice. He has recorded eight CDs of classical piano pieces which are available at cdbaby.com. He gave over 20 solo recitals at the University of Virginia, and has given concerts in several other states. He has performed often with many accomplished violinists, cellists, flutists, and singers, and has also begun composing for the past 5 years. He lives in Charlottesville with his wife Phyllis, an author and motivational speaker. They love pets, and presently share their home with Romeo, a 20-month old Shih Tzu (their sixth Shih Tzu) and Gypsy, their wonderful 15-year old lap cat.

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      Book preview

      How to Fix Basketball Games - Arnold Popkin

      How to Fix Basketball Games

      New Rules to Make a Great Game Even Better

      by

      Arnold Popkin

      Copyright 2014 by Arnold Popkin

      Smashwords Edition

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever including Internet usage, without written permission of the author.

      Table of Contents

      Introduction

      Intentional Fouls Should Not Benefit the Team That Fouls

      Change the Fouling Out of the Game Rule

      Further Discussion on Fouls

      Changes in Time Outs

      Changing the Shot Clock to 24 or 30 Seconds

      Better Use of Instant Replay

      Which Side Are You On?

      Appendix – History of NCAA Basketball Rule Changes

      About the Author

      How to Contact Arnold Popkin

      Introduction

      This book explains several rule changes that I think will improve the great game of basketball and also make it more enjoyable for fans. The major areas to be discussed are intentional fouls in the last minute of play, fouling out after committing 5 fouls, when time outs can be called, changing the shot clock, and more use of replay. The book will be about college basketball only. However, the suggested changes could easily be applied to the NBA with only minor modifications. Although most rules are similar for women’s basketball, I will be discussing only men’s basketball, and therefore use masculine pronouns only.

      Some people believe that the rules are sacrosanct or hardened in stone like the Ten Commandments. But there have been very many changes over the years, some of great significance, such as the shot clock, the 3-point shot, and the alternate possession arrow instead of jump balls. (Please see the Appendix for a very interesting listing of the major NCAA rule changes.)

      I first became interested in basketball as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. I went to almost all of the Penn home games, and often watched other Philadelphia Big Five teams play in doubleheaders at the Penn Palestra. After moving to Princeton, N.J., for my ophthalmology practice, I became less interested in basketball because the local team, Princeton, had been Penn’s biggest opponent. Then I moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1980 and got interested in University of Virginia (UVA) basketball and the ACC. This was the Ralph Sampson era, and the UVA team was very highly ranked nationally.

      A few years later, I became a UVA season-ticket holder, and since then I have missed very few home games. After watching hundreds of games, I realized that there were 2 things I felt were very wrong about the rules. The first situation occurred near the end of many games. The last minute was very annoying, to say the least, with intentional fouls, no flow to the play, many time outs, etc. I felt strongly that teams should not benefit by causing a foul. In my opinion the last minute was not really basketball, and some new rules would be very helpful. The other annoying situation was when a player picked up 2 early fouls and ended up on the bench for most of the first half. Similarly a player who picked up a third or fourth foul early in the second half would miss several minutes.

      The following chapters will describe my feelings about what happens in many games.

      Intentional Fouls Should Not Benefit The Team That Fouls

      Two Different Games – Basketball and Travesty

      In many college games it seems like I am watching two entirely different games:

      Game 1 – BASKETBALL - usually lasts for about the first 39 minutes of playing time. Both teams play their best offense and defense to try to build a lead. One team may lead by several points with about 1 minute left in the game.

      Game 2 – TRAVESTY – often begins with about 1 minute left in the game. The trailing team fouls on purpose at every opportunity. This stops the clock and limits the leading team’s possession to only 1 second or a few seconds. They hope the leading team will miss some foul shots and give them the opportunity to get the ball more often and hopefully hit several shots. This last minute of playing time may end up taking up to 20 minutes of real time. This is due to the frequent stoppage of play to shoot foul shots and the frequent time outs that are usually called, often by both teams in order to plan their strategy.

      Example of Travesty

      On 1/23/14 I happened to tune in near the end of the Arizona-Colorado game. Undefeated and #1 Arizona was ahead by about 15 points. Colorado began the intentional fouling with about 70 seconds left in the game. It turned out that Arizona did miss the front end of some 1-and-1 fouls, but the result was no significant change in the score. I was thrilled when the announcer, Dave Pasch, said that the last 2 minutes were probably the longest 2 minutes he could ever recall in a game. I have seen many such games!

      My Feelings about Game 2

      I feel that game 2 is not really basketball, but it is a travesty. There is no flow to the action. The team that is ahead never gets the chance to run their offense or take time off the clock. Their time of possession is controlled by the trailing team, which to me is incredibly wrong and unfair. This will be discussed in detail in a later section.

      My major complaint is with the intentional fouls. They benefit the team making the foul by stopping the clock and limiting the time of possession of the leading team, and also by the fact that they will get the ball back, hopefully after the leading time does not score more than one point on their foul shooting.

      I think the team committing a foul should never benefit! This is the main point of this book. There are almost no situations in other sports in which fouling is beneficial. In football, the team that is fouled often has a choice of whether to take

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