With high school basketball just around the corner, let’s look into one rule change that is slated to take effect this upcoming season. Starting this year there will be no more one-for-one free throws. This rule change comes from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).
Teams will now not enter the bonus until five team fouls have been committed in a quarter. After the five fouls, teams will now shoot two free throws on all fouls. The only time teams will shoot one free throw after a common foul is after being fouled on a made basket for a three-point play opportunity.
The fouls will also now reset each quarter instead of resetting each half. The scoreboard will also only show a max of five fouls.
This change comes in hopes of reducing injuries.
“The rules committee studied data that showed higher injury rates on rebounding situations and saw this as an opportunity to reduce opportunities for rough play during rebounds,” said Lindsey Atkinson, NFHS Director of Sports and liaison to the Basketball Rules Committee. “Additionally, resetting the fouls each quarter will improve game flow and allow teams to adjust their play by not carrying foul totals to quarters two and four.”
This change will first see the court in Wyoming next month as tournament play will start to get underway in the first weeks of December.