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EVER WANTED TO START PLAYING
BASKETBALL BUT DIDN'T KNOW THE FIRST THING ABOUT IT??
Well you've come to the
right place!!
E-mail me with anything
you want to know (whether you are new to the game or want to clear something
up) I'll find out the answer and post it up here.
[email protected]
An Introduction to the greatest
game on Earth.
Basketball is a game that can
be played at all levels, by anyone. It is great physical exercise and most
importantly it is excellent fun!
Basketball is played either
indoors in a stadium, or on an outdoor court. (or in millions of backyard
baskets!) To play a proper game you need 5 players
(although you can play 1 on 1, 2 on 2, 7 on 7 etc)
The tallest player is the centre,
the 2 shortest, fastest players are the guards, the other 2 are the forwards.
These positions are used in a defensive setup called 'zone'.
Things the Ref will call
you up for
FOULS
You
are allowed 5 fouls per game (except the NBA has 6). A PERSONAL foul
is called when a player touches a player on the opposite team. You can
get Personal Fouls in the following ways:-
1.
Normal Personal Foul - this occurs when you invade the opponents 'cylinder',
and touch them. For example, if you opponent is dribbling down court and
you make a swipe for the ball, but miss... and hit them.. the referree
will call a foul on you.
2.
Personal Foul Causing Free Shots- This is the same as any foul, except
you touch the player when they are 'in the act of shooting'. This could
mean while in the process of doing a lay-up , either
from the first step, or to the second the ball is let go. It can also occur
in set shots, where the player is still and you knock them.
The
player who has been fouled will then receive 2 free shots.
3.
Technical Foul - These fouls are fouls you should aim to never ever receive
- (and it is possible- trust me). They can be called on players, benches,
coaches, or whole teams. A Tech Foul is where someone behaves in an unacceptable
way.. such as swearing at opponents, arguing with the referree, swearing
at the ref, swearing and fighting with opposite benches, arguing with the
scorers.. etc. As you can see people who get these sort of fouls obviously
get too wrapped up in the game to realise the most important part of basketball
IT IS A GAME! IT WAS INVENTED
TO BE FUN TO PLAY AND WATCH, AND NOT TO BE RUINED BY PEOPLE WHO CAN'T HANDLE
THIS.
The
results of being 'awarded' a technical foul, are:-
the
other team gets 2 free shots, without a line up.
the
other team gets possession of the ball from half court.
If
there is more than 3 tech fouls called on a team, or player during the
one game that player will be suspended from the stadium, and immediately
thrown out. (not something to grow up and tell your kids about.) Players
who receive disqualifying fouls, or even are just troublemakers will most
probably have to trial before a judiciary... also not a nice thing to do.
4.
Intentional or Unsportsmanlike Foul - These fouls also prove that you are
not a nice basketballer. They are called when you act badly on the court...
such as deliberately fouling, or injuring a player, throwing the ball at
the referree in an unacceptable manner (this can also be a tech foul) or
just being a jerk. If you get one of these fouls you probably don't suit
the game of basketball.. as this is a NON-contact sport.
If
a PERSONAL foul is called the ref will blow the whistle and stick
his/her arm straight up in the air, making a fist with that hand. The other
arm will be pointing at the offending playing. He/She will then go to the
score bench and tell the scorers the number of the player and what kind
of foul it was.
If
a TECHNICAL foul is called the referee will blow the whistle and make a
T shape with his hands.
If
a SHOOTING foul is called the referee will make the same shape with his
arms, but then hold up either 1, 2 or 3 fingers depending on the number
of free shots there is to take.
If
a INTENTIONAL foul is called the ref will hold one wrist, and then be holding
the arms out.
TRAVEL
The
travel rule is probably the most common 'mistake' made in basketball beginners.
Before you can begin to move with the ball, you must be already dribbling.
This means that the ball has to be moving before you can... remember, the
ball is your priority, as thats what will score the points for you... a
person going through the ring, doesn't count... but the ball does!
The ref
will blow the whistle and move his/her fists around each other and the
other team will get the ball from the sideline.
DOUBLE
DRIBBLE
DOUBLE
DRIBBLE
Double
dribble is called when the player either dribbles with two hands at once,
or dribbles, stops, then dribbles again. The referee will move both
open hands up and down, and the other team will get the ball from the sideline.
cross-court
cross
court is called when the ball travels from the front court back to the
back court. this is a sensible rule as the ball should always be moving
forwards anyway. the only time it gets really annoying is if you catch
the ball and look down and one of your feet is in the front court and the
other is in back!!!
Out of
Court
This
rule is pretty self explainatory.. don't go out of court with the ball
or the other team will get the ball from that spot.
things
you need to learn how to do before you begin playing!
Coaching
Tips, these would be helpful as
they put the things into a different perspective
Dribbling
Dribbling
is not a hard thing to do.. and after awhile it becomes so easy that you
can do it with your eyes closed or even laying down.
These
are points to remember when dribbling:-
1.
ALWAYS keep your head up.. there is absolutely no use in dribbling if you
are going to keep your head down. The opponents will see you are not comfortable
with dribbling and will come and take the ball easily because you won't
see them cos your head is down.
2.
NEVER slap the ball.. If you do this it won't come back to you properly
and will go everywhere.. Use your fingertips and gently push the ball down
and out slightly infront of you.
REMEMBER..
you don't need to dribble the ball every step you take, just keep it at
a regular pace.
DEFENCES
There
are two main types of defence. They are 'man-to-man', and 'zone'.
Both of these defences involve the whole team and before you begin to play,
the whole team needs to know what defence the whole team will be playing.
Man
to man puts the most full court pressure possible
on an opposing team. To play a full game of man to man defence everyone
in the team needs to be fully alert and very fit. What happens here
is in the start up jump ball, everyone marks up with someone on the other
team about their height, size, and ability level. This is the player that
you will stick to like glue until you are subbed off, or your player is.
If your player is subbed then you must take their substitution. If you
are subbed make sure you tell the team mate coming on for you which number
you had.
ZONE
defence is totally different to man to man. You
need to know your position on the court.. either guard, centre or forward.
When the opposition is coming down court towards their basket, your whole
team must already be set up in the zone defence. This means that the two
guards will be at the top of the key, watching the ball handlers, the centre
will be in the middle of the key keeping an eye out for cuts and talking
to the team, and the two forwards will be at the back of the key watching
for backdoor cuts and players down low.
The
whole idea of zone defence is to block the opposing team out of their key,
and make them shoot from outside. This means that if one person in
the zone moves in a direction, then the whole team has to move around to
cover that position, leaving no holes.
For
example:- if there is a player down low on the left hand side with the
ball, looking pretty confident to make a shot, then the forward on the
left side should move up close and get in this players face. However,
if only the left guard moved, then there would be this massive hole in
the zone that another player could cut through. So to prevent this the
whole team has to move slightly to the left and cover for the player.
Most
professional games are played in zone, but also have man to man during
needy times... eg. when team one has the ball from team 2's baseline, and
there is 2 seconds left on the clock, team 2 should be defending each and
everyone of team 2 so they can make a steal and get an easy basket.
Shooting
Free Shots
Please remember this page is under construction
and mail me ideas!! Thanks!!
FIBA International
Official Rules
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