Basketball Today (1976)

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] who would have thought back in the 1890s when it all began that this game could ever catch on it wasn't so much that people weren't thrilled that seeing a soccer ball thrown at a peach basket perched on a pole the trouble was something more basic as critics pointed out here is a crucial flaw in this game i refer to the difficulty not of getting the ball into the basket but getting it back out again it's time consuming and tedious for spectators and players alike not to mention hazardous for the officials as a result i predict that this so-called peach basketball will never attract a following among action-loving sportsmen but just as the game seemed hopelessly headed for oblivion salvation came in the form of a brilliantly imaginative idea for a new rule of peach basketball it envisioned cutting a hole in the bottom of the basket this would permit the ball to pass through instead of remaining trapped there thus stopping play the rule was tested and put into effect the rest is history the pace of the game picked up the name was shortened to just basketball and it went on to heights of popularity the world over all because of that one historic rule that still survives today the ball shall not stay in the basket well now to be honest it did take some other rules too to make basketball the fast exciting super skilled sports attraction it is today and in all seriousness these rules despite constant study and updating to improve and clarify them are not always too well understood by all fans and players and sometimes not too consistently administered by all officials hence this film another in the official sports film series dedicated to better understanding and enforcement of the rules of basketball today the job of rules enforcement begins for officials even before the game itself they hold a conference to go over any recent rule changes and to discuss coverage of special game situations that may arise over here and we're looking at probably going down in here complete agreement on officiating mechanics signals and position is essential if they are to work as a team constantly maintaining position to observe the actions of all players throughout the course of the game to see and penalize every rule violation and foul obviously not all contact that occurs in basketball is illegal when it occurs during an attempt to reach a loose ball as here it's considered incidental whenever opponents are in equally favorable position to make normal offensive and defensive movements contact is likely to be incidental the basic principle in determining whether contact is legal or illegal is this contact that results in no advantage or disadvantage to either team is not a foul but this doesn't mean excessive contact is allowed [Music] the kind of action or style of play aimed at overpowering opponents physically is not permitted within the spirit of the rules and some actions are not legal even if no contact is made excessive swinging of the arms and elbows is a violation [Music] if contact occurs from the swinging of arms or elbows it's a personal foul [Music] contacting an opponent with hands or arms need not be violent or strenuous to be a foul in fact the only time a player may legally contact an opponent with his hands is when the opponent's hand is touched while it's on the ball so even slight contact like this is illegal if it's made to gain an advantage [Music] using the hands to influence or try to control an opponent's movement [Music] pushing off from an opponent even this lightly or feeling to locate an opponent or anticipate his movements all are fouls when illegal contact occurs it's sometimes obvious which player is responsible but more often responsibility for a foul is not so apparent this is why officials must maintain position to observe not only the contact itself but the action leading up to it in judging responsibility for illegal contact these basic principles apply in guarding situations a player takes a legal guarding position by facing his opponent and having both feet on the floor [Music] having done this he need not continue facing the opponent a player in legal guarding position may be as close to an opponent as he wishes short of making contact if a player jumps to establish legal guarding position in the path of a dribbler both his feet must be on the floor before contact occurs he does so here [Music] it's charging by the dribbler [Music] but this time the guard fails to have both feet on the floor before the contact it's a defensive foul once legal guarding position is established a player may move to maintain his position in the opponent's path in doing so if he steps rather than jumps into his opponent's path both his feet need not be on the floor at the time of contact the foul here is by the offensive player basketball is a game of drive of speed of moves so when you slow down when you can't keep up because of foot problems this is where you end up on the bench one good way to keep off the bench and on the court is to use decinex daily anti-fungal dassinix is america's number one athlete's foot fighter use decimex aerosol during the day and decinex ointment at night to protect your feet use desonex daily and you may never have to sit out a game because of athlete's foot [Applause] another basic principle of guarding never under any circumstances may a player move into the path of an opponent who's in the air this is always an intentional foul if it's also rule flagrant the offending player is disqualified [Music] if contact is made with a guard's arm leg hip or shoulder that's extended into an opponent's path the guard is guilty of the foul [Music] again in this case the guard is not in legal position he commits the foul legal position means a natural stance the feet a normal distance apart the arms may be held vertically above the shoulders if contact occurs because a guard is not in legal position the foul is by the guard when a guard is maintaining legal position contact occurring with his trunk or torso as an opponent tries to go past him is a foul by the opponent however if the opponent's head and shoulders are past the guard and the guard is moving when contact occurs the guard is guilty of fouling [Music] there are two exceptions to the principle that a guard may take legal position as close to an opponent as he likes short of contact the first applies in switching situations when defensive players change opponents when a guard switches into the path of a moving opponent who does not have the ball he must allow the opponent time and room enough to avoid contact otherwise as here he's responsible for the contact blocking by the guard this restriction does not apply when an opponent has the ball a player with the ball is expected to be able to stop or change direction to avoid contact no matter how closely he's guarded a minimum distance requirement also applies when a guard takes a position in the path of a moving opponent who's looking back to receive a pass if his position is so close to the opponent that contact can't be avoided even if he's seen then contact is a foul by the guard depending on the opponent's speed a distance of up to two full strides by the opponent must be allowed [Music] now the foul is by the opponent the offensive equivalent of guarding is screening it's a legal maneuver to prevent delay or limit a defensive player's movements the principles are similar to those of guarding except for restrictions on the distance a screener must maintain from an opponent in setting a screen a player must be stationary in normal floor position the screener may be as close to a stationary opponent as he wishes short of contact if he's within the visual range of the opponent but if it's a blind screen with the screener behind or outside the opponent's visual range then a minimum distance is required the screener must be far enough away to allow the opponent one normal step toward him before contact if this distance is not maintained and contact occurs the foul is by the screener [Music] in screening a moving opponent the screener must take his position far enough from his opponent so that illegal contact can be avoided depending on the opponent's speed this legal distance may be as much as two full strides it need never be more than that if contact occurs when the screener has failed to allow legal distance the screener is blocking [Music] contact made with a screener in legal position is incidental unless the screen player makes no effort to avoid or minimize the contact this is excessive contact a foul by the screen player on this play the pivot man receives the ball then sets a legal screen the contact here is incidental but this time the normally incidental contact becomes a foul when it forces the screener to travel so in this case the guard is called for charging you've just seen how important feet are to this game they take a beating out there that's why we use socks of high bulk order these socks are cushioned sold to soften those come down jolts like you just saw cushion sold to flat up game sweat a good game sock must fit right he's off and stay soft remember your feet are essential to your game that's why i recommend that you take no chances wear cushioned soul socks of high bulk oil all right go on [Applause] in covering action in congested areas the position of the officials is critical to observe action under the basket the lead official should position himself so that he can as some officials say see through the play in rebounding situations officials must see that each player's right to maintain legal position is protected whether he's standing crouching or jumping any contact by an opponent that impedes a player in legal position or moves him from it is a foul in jumping forward rather than vertically this player leaves his legal position when he contacts an opponent who is in legal position the jumper commits a foul here's an example of the importance of position by an official on this play if the lead official is here his view of the action is blocked this is all he can see on this same play if the official has this position he can see through the play from here he can spot illegal contact by the shooter another example on a fast break this official finds himself in the worst possible spot to cover this action in this situation where the official can't lead the play he should take a position like this from here he can see through the play it's clear there's no foul the trail official is responsible for following the flight of the ball on field goal tries he therefore must maintain good position to detect any basket interference or goal tending during a try the trail official must be holding his position he should never be moving away as some inexperienced officials do in anticipation of a fast break goal tending can occur only on field goal tries it's the touching of the ball by any player while it's in its downward flight while it's entirely above the level of the ring and while it has the possibility of going in the basket goal tending causes the ball to become dead immediately if it's by the defense two points are awarded to the offense offensive goal tending is a violation and prevents any score this is not goaltending [Music] the ball is touched while it's in its upward flight this ends the try and here the ball while in its upward flight is legally pinned against the backboard it's not goaltending unlike goal tending basket interference may occur during free throws as well as during field goal tries if the offense commits basket interference no points can be scored if there's basket interference by the defense points are awarded the opponent two on a field goal try one on a free throw it's basket interference if the ball or any part of the basket is touched while the ball is on or in the basket these are all violations basket interference [Music] it's also basket interference if the ball is touched while any part of it is touching the imaginary cylinder above the basket [Music] the act of dunking is a form of basket interference and is penalized by a technical foul it's defined as driving forcing or pushing the ball through the basket or trying to do so this technical foul is called whenever it occurs even if it's during pregame warm-ups the penalty for a foul depends on the type of foul let's consider the different categories all fouls are either personal or technical while the ball is alive a technical foul is one not involving contact with an opponent while the ball is dead a technical foul is an act of unsportsmanlike conduct with or without contact the penalty for a technical foul is one free throw the captain of the offended team designates the free throw shooter [Music] a personal foul is one involving contact between two opponents while the ball is alive the only exception is when there's illegal contact while a throw-in is in progress even though the ball is dead in this case it's a personal foul after a personal file against a player in the act of shooting the ball remains alive until the shot is made or missed the penalty is two free throws if the try is missed one if the try is successful any personal foul is a common foul unless it's against a player in the act of shooting or is intentional or flagrant or is part of a multiple or double foul a common foul by a player while he or a teammate is in control of the ball is a player control foul free throws are never awarded for player control fouls the ball is always awarded to the other team out of bounds at the spot nearest the violation and no free throws are awarded for any other common fouls until the bonus rule is in effect any foul technical or personal that's committed with free meditation or by design is ruled an intentional foul the penalty is without exception two free throws the severity of the action is not a factor in determining if a foul is intentional it's whether the act was committed purposely as here in an attempt to prevent what appears to be a sure score the goal counts and two free throws are awarded any foul personal or technical is flagrant if it involves unsportsmanlike action of a violent or savage nature the penalty is always two free throws and disqualification of the player committing the foul [Music] a personal foul is rule flagrant only if the contact is of such severity that physical injury could result [Music] opponents commit personal fouls against each other at approximately the same time it's a double foul each player is charged with a foul but no free throws are awarded the penalties cancel one another play is resumed with a jump ball at the center circle between any two opponents get your foot inside the circle another responsibility of officials is to enforce time limitations to prevent delays of the game and help assure continuous balanced action [Music] on a throw in from the time the ball is placed at the disposal of the thrower in he's allowed five seconds to complete the throw in by having the ball touched by another player on the court failure to do this is a violation [Music] another time limit situation when a team gains possession of the ball in its back court it has 10 seconds to advance it into front court [Music] this 10 second count does not begin until team control is established in backcourt [Music] if a player on the team in control is the first to touch the ball that he or a teammate has cause to go from front to back court it's a violation [Music] but here number 23 first gets possession while in the air after taking off from front court then he lands in backcourt this is legal and the 10 second count starts but in the same situation when number 23 gets possession in the air after jumping from front court he passes to backcourt touching of the ball there by a teammate now is a violation in this case the ball is returned to backcourt illegally but until control is established there is no front or back court here the ball is tapped from what will become front court only when control is established no violation [Music] still another time limit situation no player of the team in control may be in this part of the free throw lane for more than three seconds while the ball is in his front court the count stops when the player has both feet on the floor outside the lane [Music] but this is a violation however if a player starts a drive to try for gold before the three second limit is reached the restriction is lifted provided he actually shoots [Music] during a loose ball the three second count continues because team control of the ball has not changed so this is a violation by the pivot player during a loose ball after a try the three-second restriction is not in effect until team control is re-established officials must also enforce the five-second limitation on a player's control of the ball and his front court if he's closely guarded by an opponent within six feet of him he must either pass or shoot within five seconds otherwise a held ball is ruled and the time limit is applied when there's a lack of sufficient action in the game if the ball is in the mid-court area without aggressive action by either team for 10 seconds officials will warn the team responsible for forcing action the team that has been warned now has five seconds to start providing action in the case of the defense this means going into mid court to make an honest effort to get the ball responsible for forcing action whichever team if the score is tied the defense is responsible here the offense is behind and draws the warning all right let's go play ball the offense now has five seconds to advance the ball into the forecourt or draw a technical foul only one warning is given to a team during a period after a team has been warned if it is the team responsible for forcing action it must do so within five seconds without being told or be penalized one thing's for sure this game today is a far cry from its peach basket beginnings when it was not much more than an every man for himself exercise in uncontrolled ineptitude today it combines all the elements speed science team coordination and total athletic skill to produce what's becoming the world's top sports attraction the difference between basketball today and yesterday is largely a matter of rules that assure more evenly balanced action and a vastly more exciting style of play the rules make the game and the better those rules are understood and applied by everyone involved fans included the greater the worldwide following will be for basketball today [Applause] you