Basketball Rule Changes 2015-2017

[WarTiger 3,901]

I won't waste everyone's time by listing administrative changes. Most don't care about the rules on logos/names/equipment. Instead let's focus on game rules.

Restricted Area Arc. (Rule 1-8). The size of the Restricted Area Arc has been

increased to four feet from three feet effective in the 2015-16 season for

Division I and in the 2016-17 season for Division II and Division III.

Backboards - Position. (Rule 1-13.4). It is recommended, where possible, to

provide a 3-foot-wide lane on both sides of the basket stanchion to allow more

room for players falling or running our of bounds to regain their balance.

Substitutions – Monitor Review. (Rule 3-6.1.i). Substitutions are not

permitted when there is an instant replay review in the last two minutes of

the second period or of any extra period until the results of the review have

been reported to both head coaches.

Guarding- Secondary Defender. (Rule 4-17.4 and .6). A secondary defender

who has established legal guarding position is not permitted to move sideways

to maintain legal guarding position on an airborne shooter/passer.

Guarding- Maintaining Position. (Rule 4-17.6.e). A defender may be

moving forward when contact occurs with an airborne shooter if the defender

was moving in a direction that he clearly would not have made contact with

the shooter and the shooter moved sideways to cause the contact.

Verticality- Offense. (Rule 4-38). This rule change clarifies that an offensive

player also has verticality rights and must be given enough space by the

defender to make a normal basketball move.

Timeouts Granted- Coach. (Rule 5-14.1). Coaches are not permitted to

request a timeout when the ball is live.

Timeouts- Team. (Rule 5-14.10.a). In games where the electronic media

agreement calls for at least three timeouts in each half, only three 30 second

timeouts per team are permitted for a game and only two may be carried over

into the second half.

Timeouts- Media. (Rule 5-14.10.e). When a timeout is granted and creates

a dead ball with 30 seconds or less before the media marks for timeouts or

creates the first dead ball after one of the media marks for timeouts, that

timeout will become the electronic-media timeout for that specified media

mark time.

Timeouts Not Granted – Monitor Review. (Rule 5-15.1.f ). Timeouts are not

to be granted when there is an instant replay review in the last two minutes

of the game until the results of the review have been reported to both head

coaches.

Violation - 10-Second Back Court. (Rule 9-10). The 10-second count shall

reset on all stoppages of the game clock except when the defense causes the

ball to be out of bounds, the offense retains possession after a held ball, or

there is a technical foul assessed to the offensive team.

Shot Clock-Time. (Rule 9-11.3). The team in control must attempt a try for

field goal within 30 seconds after the shot clock period begins.

Closely Guarded- Dribbling. (Rule 9-14.2). Closely guarded violations no

longer can occur when a player is dribbling the ball.

Administrative Technical Fouls - Division Line/Center Circle. (Rule

10-2.1). An administrative technical foul will no longer be assessed when the

home team does not have a properly marked division line and center circle

on its playing court.

Administrative Technical Fouls- Penalty. (Rule 10-2). The penalty for all

administrative technical fouls is reduced to one free throw.

Class A Unsporting Technical Fouls- Faking Being Fouled. (Rule 10-3.1.d).

A player shall be assessed a Class A technical foul for faking being fouled by an

opponent but only when discovered and confirmed by instant replay during a

review for a flagrant foul thought to have been committed by the opponent.

Class B Technical Fouls- Pre-Game Dunking. (Rule 10-4.1.e). The

prohibition against dunking while the ball is dead is deleted.

Class B Technical Fouls- Penalty. (Rule 10-4). The penalty for all Class B

technical fouls is reduced to one free throw.

Class B Technical Fouls- Delays. (Rule 10-4.2.g). A Class B technical foul

shall be assessed to the head coach when, after one warning, the coach fails

to replace a disqualified player within 15 seconds or to replace an injured

player within 20 seconds or to resume play immediately following the second

warning horn at the end of a timeout.

Games With Replay/Television Equipment. (Rules 11-1.3). When an

official uses instant replay to determine whether or not a shot clock violation

has occurred, if the shot-clock horn is not audible, the official should use the

reading of zeroes on the shot clock to determine if a violation occurred.

Instant Replay- Shot Clock Violations. (Rule 11-2.1.. Instant replay

reviews are permissible during the entire game on successful tries only to

determine if a shot clock violation occurred for failing to release the ball on a

try prior to the sounding of the shot clock horn.

Instant Replay- Flagrant Fouls. (Rule 11-2.1.d). After a call has been made,

an official may use instant replay to determine if a flagrant 1 or 2 personal

foul, a flagrant 2 contact technical foul or a contact dead ball technical foul

occurred.

Instant Replay- Last Two Minutes. (Rule 11-2.1.e). During all instant replay

reviews in the last two minutes of the second period and the last two minutes

of each extra period, substitutions or timeouts shall not be permitted until the

results of the review have been reported to both coaches.

[AU64 10,122]

Some interesting technical issues....more charges or blocks ?...rule 4.17 .....does this make it more difficult on the refs? or easier ? We see offensive players change directions to "draw fouls" all the time....so this will no longer be allowed?

Coach can't call timeout when ball is live. That seems big to me....don't coaches do this pretty frequently when an offensive player is in trouble?

Otherwise, will we notice many of these during a game ? what do you think?

[WarTiger 3,901]

Some interesting technical issues....more charges or blocks ?...rule 4.17 .....does this make it more difficult on the refs? or easier ? We see offensive players change directions to "draw fouls" all the time....so this will no longer be allowed?

This remains to be seen over the course of the season. How this is actually officiated vs the rule in place will be interesting.

Coach can't call timeout when ball is live. That seems big to me....don't coaches do this pretty frequently when an offensive player is in trouble?

Yeah, I'm not sure of the purpose of that change. It doesn't seem like it would be a problem in any way for a coach to call timeout in live ball situations.

Otherwise, will we notice many of these during a game ? what do you think?

Likely no. Particularly the technicals on the administrative side. I guarantee you the announcers won't know what is going on. They've made these so convoluted now, and I wish they would go back to the old way.

The no closely guarded count while dribbling is a big one to me. I'm not sure why they made that change either. I really don't like that change at all.

[FoundationEagle 637]

The way I read the timeout change is that a coach cannot request a timeout for when the play is over. ie.: I want a timeout a soon as they make this basket or the next time the ball goes out of bounds. I didn't read it as not being able to call a timeout during live play.

[t_wingo 1]

The way I read the timeout change is that a coach cannot request a timeout for when the play is over. ie.: I want a timeout a soon as they make this basket or the next time the ball goes out of bounds. I didn't read it as not being able to call a timeout during live play.

No, it's so a coach can't call timeout while the ball is in play. It's to prevent coaches from calling a timeout when a player is trapped, etc.

Besides it bailing a team out of a bad play, often times refs blow that call and the ref next to the coach grants timeout when no team has clear possession of the ball. Good rule change IMO.