Every time my extended family gets together for the holidays, basketball and football are the two main topics of conversation. Thanksgiving was a happy time this year, mostly because the Green Bay Packers only had one loss on the season and basketball was just starting up.
For as long as I can remember, basketball has been a huge part of my life. In fact, the day I was born, my father coached his high school team later that same night.
When I was just learning how to walk, I wobbled onto the court during half time and entertained everyone in the stands when I tried to shoot a ball twice the size of my head. Of course, the ball did not even leave my fingertips.
In fact, I still remember the day when I made my first shot on a 10-foot hoop. It was a warm summer night, and instead of playing outside like any normal child, I was at the YMCA gym with the man who taught me everything about basketball: my dad. I was 4-years-old and I whipped the ball up to the basket all by myself, earning me the Ninja Turtle toy of my choice.
My dad rushed me K-Mart and, naturally, I selected my favorite, Leonardo.
But on the wonderful Thanksgiving day just two weeks ago, my Grandpa Crowns, who coached 22 years at the junior high level in Sheboygan, Wis., started a discussion about basketball rules that should be revised.
I never really saw problems with the basketball rules, which became second nature to me. These rules made more sense to me than some of our country's laws, at least up until I took a few political science classes.
However, coming from a man who coached his teams to 175 wins out of 220 games played, I take his basketball opinions very seriously.
Grandpa Crowns believes a couple of things need to be changed in order for the game of basketball to run more smoothly. First, when a team is in regular-bonus, it should have the option of shooting the free throws or taking the ball out of bounds when there are less than two minutes left in the game.
Also during these last two minutes, when a team is in double-bonus, it should shoot the first free throw and then have the choice of taking the ball out of bounds or taking the second charity shot.
Both of these bonus situation improvements will stop teams from fouling on purpose. It will also ensure that the winning team does not need to worry about free throws down the stretch.
I have seen many teams come back and win at the end of a game, solely because they got into a foul battle with their opponents. Fouling, in my opinion, is a cheap way to put pressure on the winning team. Therefore, to make things fair, taking the ball out of bounds should be an option. This would level the playing field and not give the losing team an advantage.
Next, Grandpa Crowns believes that when a player fouls out in regulation, he/she should be granted one foul to use if the game should go into overtime. If the player should receive the sixth foul in overtime, then he/she will have to sit the rest of the period. Grandpa Crowns does not agree that a team should have to suffer the loss of a player in overtime if that situation should arise.
As a coach myself, I do not know how many times my team has taken a game into overtime and I had to keep one of my star players on the bench because she fouled out with just seconds left in regulation. It truly is a horrible feeling, especially if you are that player who fouled-out. Her penalty would be stretched longer than it should and could give the other team an advantage.
Maybe some day the rules of basketball will change. Until then, teams will have the opportunity to be creative with their fouling strategies when the game is on the line. Perhaps the rules are set up for the underdog to have a chance at victory. Who doesn't like it when the underdog wins anyway?
If you have ever fouled out of a basketball game and wanted to run to the concession stands to buy some comfort food because you were too anxious to watch you team finish the game without you, e-mail Crystal at crowns@wisc.edu.
