With winter sports approved by the MIAA Board of Directors and set to begin in the coming weeks, area basketball teams have been chomping at the bit to get back out on the court and begin the new season. For many, the fact that the season is actually happening is enough to celebrate.
“I’m just excited that the kids are getting an opportunity to get out and play,” said St. Mary’s boys basketball coach Dave Brown. “A lot of our guys missed football this fall and some of them missed their spring sport last year, so for them to be able to get out there as a team to practice and hopefully play some games is a great thing. I’m really pleased that the MIAA and everyone involved found a way to get us out there.”
“At the end of the day, it’s all about the kids,” said Saugus boys basketball coach Mark Bertrand. “Everyone is doing their best to get out there and conduct a season as safely as possible, and it’s exciting that we’ll be able to provide that for the student-athletes.”
The Board of Directors approved a series of safety modifications for basketball, much like what was done with all the sports in the fall season. While many of the modifications have to do with wearing masks and social distancing, several will have a direct impact on how the game looks. Tip-offs will be eliminated at the start of games, with teams instead doing a coin toss to see who begins with the ball. Similarly, there will be no out-of-bounds plays from the baseline to ease congestion on the floor and all inbounding plays will be done from the sideline.
But even with these adjustments, coaches don’t see the game getting changed too radically.
“They’re all pretty minor changes in terms of how it would make us change our strategy, but we’ll definitely continue to do research and see what works best for us,” said Brown. “I’m sure we’ll have plenty of sideline plays drawn up and ready to go for the season.”
“We have some really good sideline plays, but we also have some really good baseline plays too so it will be an adjustment,” said Bertrand. “But like all of the modifications, I think our guys will adapt quickly. We’ve got some fast learners on our team and guys will do what needs to be done.”
As for the other in-game protocols that have been put in place for basketball, they are as follows:
— One player reports to the scorer’s table when a team intends to substitute. Multiple substitutions can be made. When the horn sounds, players must enter through the scorer’s table and utilize hand sanitizer.
— Players must use hand sanitizer when entering or exiting the court at any time (i.e. before game, during substitutions, between quarters, after game)
— To minimize the amount of time that opponents are face to face, officials will emphasize NFHS Rule 9-10-1-a, “A player shall not, while closely guarded: A. In his/her frontcourt, hold the ball for five seconds or dribble the ball for five seconds. B. In his/her frontcourt, control the ball for five seconds in an area enclosed by screening teammate.”
— Point of emphasis is to enforce the rule that defenders will not physically impede the progress of offensive players (off the ball; see reference NFHS Rules 4-24, 4-26, 4-37 and 10-7).
— To limit congestion and contact, free throw lanes will be limited to four players.
— On two/three shot fouls, free throw lanes will remain empty and players can only enter lanes prior to the final attempt.
— For one-and-one and single free throw attempts, all four players may position themselves on the first attempt.
— To eliminate congestion and contact under the basket during dead ball situations, offensive plays in the frontcourt will be inbounded at the foul line extended (not under the basket/end line).
— In order to avoid unnecessary contact while managing time at the end of the game, a team representative will notify the official if they are planning to foul a player receiving the inbounds pass; once the defensive team lightly tags the receiving offensive player the official will stop the play and administer a foul.
— Point of emphasis – officials will quickly stop play/whistle during a loose ball/tie up between players in order to limit close contact.
— On all throw-in/inbound plays, the defender will maintain a distance of six feet from the player inbounding the ball.