Varsity Basketball hits our courts tomorrow and not everybody will be familiar with the rules, so here they are in a nutshell!
Teams and positions
There are five players on the court for each team made up of: a centre, guards (point guard or shooting guard), and forwards (small forward or power forward).
Centres: These players are tall, positioned near the basket and expected to score rebounds. Defensively they should be blocking shots too.
Forwards: These guys operate in the wings and corners. They’ll take outside shots, get free for passes and drive for goals.
Guards: These players are typically shorter, fast, great dribblers and excellent passers of the ball. Defensively they should be making steals and preventing drives to the hoop.
Fouls
A foul is any illegal act, such as hitting, pushing, slapping, holding or blocking.
Three free throws are awarded if a player attempting a three-point shot misses his shot when he’s fouled. Only one is awarded if he makes the shot.
If a player is taking a regular shot and is fouled he will receive one free throw if he makes the shot and two if he misses.
If fouled while not shooting, the team who is fouled receives the ball at the nearest edge of the court.
Points
A free throw (made from the free-throw line) is worth one point.
A field goal is worth two points if it is scored from within the three-point line.
A three-pointer, worth three points, is scored if making a shot from outside the boundaries of the three-point line.
Time
Basketball is typically played in four quarters of 12 minutes each. When matches are tied, then matches typically go into overtime, which are multiple periods of 5 minutes. If scores are tied at the end of the first period, another will be played, until there is a winner at the end of a period.
The basket
The basketball hoop is typically 3 metres above the ground. The hoop is 7.24 metres from the three-point line.
Catch all the Varsity Basketball fixtures here: http://varsitysportssa.com/basketball-fixtures/
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