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By Michael Boytim
mboytim@altoonamirror.com
HOLLIDAYSBURG -- As summer basketball leagues across the area begin to wrap up and focus shifts to the 2023-2024 high school season, some coaches weighed in on the upcoming rule changes after the Blair Regional YMCA boys basketball semifinals.
The PIAA adopted the National Federation of High Schools' rule change that all common fouls after a team has reached the bonus will mean two free throw attempts, regardless of the result of the first attempt at its July 12 meeting.
Teams will reach the bonus once they commit five fouls in a quarter, and team fouls will be reset after each quarter. The new rule will begin this season.
"I love the new rules," Johnstown coach Ryan Durham said. "I can speak from experience that sometimes the games are called differently, and you may end up with five, six or seven fouls in the first quarter and then you're dealing with a bonus situation for a whole half. Now, it resets after every quarter. I love it. The two-shot foul puts more emphasis on once you get into the bonus not fouling. You don't want to send a team to the line for guaranteed two shots. I think it benefits our style of play and our aggression."
One rule that isn't changing however is that there will still be no shot clock in Pennsylvania, which would seem to pair well with this rule change.
"Personally, unless I'm missing something, the two rules are contradicting themselves," Tyrone coach Luke Rhoades said. "I think it's something we really need to look at. With no shot clock and then you go to that rule, it's really going to slow games down. I'll be anxious to see how things work out. Give it a year and see what happens. I don't have a strong opinion on it, but it just doesn't seem to make sense to me right now."
Teams leading by 10 points or more going into the final quarter would seem to be at a huge advantage now that once a team reaches the bonus, it is guaranteed two foul shots. Though it can be argued that the team with the lead has earned that advantage.
"I like it in that it gives the winning team an advantage toward the end of the game," Bishop Guilfoyle coach Ryan Lestochi said. "I wish there was a shot clock with it so that it didn't set up scenario where people hold the ball and wait to get a two-shot foul. I hope that doesn't happen, but I think the winning team should have the advantage, and I like that piece of it."
The free-throw rule was changed in part due to player safety according to an article released by the NFHS.
"I don't think (the new rules) are going to affect the game, but I don't know," PIAA and college basketball official Wally Reimer said. "I know we work women's college basketball that has the same rules, essentially, and we like it. The article said it could help break up hard rebounding and hard fouls, and they could be right about that."
Some are still holding out hope that this is just the first step and a shot clock isn't far away.
"We were kind of hoping for the shot clock too, because we like to play fast," Hollidaysburg coach Brad Lear said. "We were playing a game the other night where the game went on for about two and a half minutes where that was our first defensive possession. We would have very much welcomed a shot clock, because we like to get it off early. I think the changes will benefit us, because we shoot the ball from the free-throw line very well, and we have been focusing all summer on playing defense without our hands, and in the YMCA league, we have not been in the one-and-one yet. We have really made an effort on if the guy is beating you, let him go and the guy coming from behind will help."