Basketball Fundamentals and
Rules Guide for HEST 261
Basketball
History
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1891 Invented by James Naismith
in Springfield, Mass.
1892 First published set of rules
1896 First collegiate games
1936 First Olympic competition
Basketball Stance
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Offense
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Head over waist; able to see rim & ball
Back straight
Hands above waist
Elbows flexed & arms close to body
Feet shoulder width apart
Weight even on balls of feet; ready to
move
Knees flexed
Basketball Stance
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Defense
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Head over waist
Back straight
Hands above shoulders
Elbows flexed
Wide base; weight even on balls of feet
Feet staggered; more than shoulder
width apart
Knees flexed
Basketball Offensive Footwork
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Front Turn with
ball
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Balance stance
Weight on ball of
pivot foot
Chest leads
Pivot on ball of
pivot foot
Step forward with
other foot
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Reverse Turn with
ball
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Balance step
Weight on ball of
pivot foot
Back leads
Pivot on ball of
pivot foot
Drop other foot
back
Basketball Defensive Footwork
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Attack or Closing out
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Push off back foot
Use short, quick steps
Lead foot continues “outside” opponent’s body
Align back foot with middle of opponent’s body
Keep feet no closer than shoulder width apart;
never cross feet
Keep knees flexed, no hopping
Keep back straight
Keep hands up
Basketball Defensive Footwork
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Retreat
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Push off front foot
Use short, quick steps
Lead foot continues “outside” opponent’s body
Align back foot with middle of opponent’s body
Keep feet no closer than shoulder width apart;
never cross feet
Keep knees flexed, no hopping
Keep back straight
Keep hands up
Basketball Passing
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Passing Fundamentals
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Pass before you dribble
Use deception
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Ball fake
Pass to side away from opposing player
Common Passes
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Chest pass (most common)
Bounce pass
Overhead pass
One-hand side arm pass
Baseball pass
Basketball Catching
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Show hands
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Meet ball
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See ball
Knees flexed
Hands up at ball with fingers relaxed
Come to ball
Two-hand catch
Give with ball (absorb force)
Front turn
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Use front turn by pivoting on inside foot
Basketball Dribbles
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Change-of-pace
Crossovers
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In front
Behind the back crossover
Between the legs crossover
Reverse/spin dribble
The Playing Court—Dimensions
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The playing court shall be a
rectangular surface free from
obstructions with sidelines of 94
feet in length and end lines of 50
feet in length, measured from the
inside edges.
Rule 1
Court Facts
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Court length94 feet
Court width50 feet
Basket height10 feet
Free throw-lane distance 15 feet
from the free throw line to the
backboard
Diameter of the rim- 18 inches
Backboard/out of bounds
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Top, bottom and both sides are
inbounds. A ball going over the top
of the backboard, in either
direction, is out of bounds.
Back Court/Front Court
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Art. 1. A team’s back court consists of the
rest of the playing court, including its
opponent’s basket and inbounds part of the
backboard and the division line, excluding
the mathematical edge nearest the team’s
basket.
Art. 2. A team’s front court shall consist of
that part of the playing court between its
end line and the nearer edge of the division
line, including its basket and the inbounds
part of its backboard.
Rule 4-3
Basket Interference
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Basket interference occurs when a
player:
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Touches the ball or any part of the basket
while the ball is on or within the basket;
Touches the ball while any part of it is within
the cylinder that has the ring as its lower
base; or
Reaches through the basket from below and
touches the ball before it enters the cylinder.
pulls down a movable ring so that it contacts
the ball before the ring returns to its original
position.
Rule 4-5
Goaltending
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Art. 1. Goaltending shall have occurred
when a player touches the ball during a
field-goal try and each of the following
conditions is met:
 The ball is in its downward flight; and
 The entire ball is above the level of
the ring and has the possibility, while
in flight, of entering the basket and is
not touching the cylinder.
Goaltending
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Art. 2. It is goaltending to touch the
ball outside the cylinder during a free
throw, regardless of whether the free
throw is on its upward or downward
flight.
Goaltending
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Art. 3. When the entire ball is above
the level of the ring during a fieldgoal try and contacts the backboard,
it is considered to be on its
downward flight. In such a case, it is
goaltending when that ball is touched
by a player.
Rule 4-34
Blocking
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Illegal personal contact that
impedes the progress of an
opponent
Rule 4-9
Charging
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Illegal personal contact by pushing
or shoving into an opponent’s torso
Rule 4-10
Closely Guarded
o
Under NCAA men's rules, to be
considered "closely guarded", a
defender must be guarding a player
who is located in the frontcourt and
within six (6) feet of the player. The
count applies to a player who is only
holding the ball. Prior to the 2015-16
season, the rule included those
dribbling the ball as well.
Player Control Foul
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Is committed by an offensive player
when there is team control of the
ball. No free throws attempted.
The ball is awarded at the closest
out of bound spot from where the
foul occurred.
Bonus Free Throw
1.
2.
A second free throw that is awarded for
each common foul (except team or
player control) committed by a player of
a team, beginning with that team’s 7th
foul in the half.
A free throw that occurs starting with
the offending team’s 10th foul in a half.
Rule 4-11
Cylinder
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Art 1. The cylinder is the imaginary
geometric figure that has the ring
as its base and is formed by the
upward extension of that ring.
Rule 4-16
Dribble
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Ball movement caused by a player
in control who bats, pushes or taps
the ball to the playing court once or
several times
Rule 4-21
Fighting
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Art. 1. A fight is a flagrant foul.
Art. 2. A fight is a confrontation involving one or
more players, coaches or other team personnel
wherein (but not limited to) a fist, hand, arm, foot,
knee or leg is used to combatively strike the other
individual.
Art. 3. When during a confrontation, an individual
attempts to strike another individual with any of
the actions defined in Art. 1, whether there is
contact is irrelevant. The perpetrator shall be
deemed to have been involved in a fight.
Rule 4-26
Fumble
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Art. 1. A fumble shall be the
accidental loss of player control
when the ball unintentionally drops
or slips from a player’s grasp.
Art. 2. A fumble may be legally
recovered by any player.
Rule 4-31
Kicking the ball
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Art. 1. Kicking the ball is striking it
intentionally with any part of the leg
or the foot.
Art. 2. Accidentally striking the ball
with the foot or leg shall not be a
violation.
Rule 4-45
Guarding
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Art. 1. Guarding shall be the act of
legally placing the body in the path
of an offensive opponent. The
guarding position shall be initially
established and then maintained
inbounds on the playing court.
Rule 4-35
Guarding
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The two components of legal
guarding are:
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Establishing a legal guarding position
Maintaining a legal guarding position
In establishing an initial legal
guarding position we must know if
the defender is guarding a player
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WITH the ball
WITHOUT the ball
Legal Guarding Position
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In maintaining a legal guarding
position:
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The guard is NOT required to continue
having the torso face the opponent
The guard IS required to have either
one foot or both feet on the playing
court (cannot be out of bounds)
The guard may raise the hands or may
jump within her own vertical plane
Legal Guarding Position
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In establishing an initial legal
guarding position on a player WITH
the ball:
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The guard MUST have both feet
touching the playing court
The torso MUST face the opponent
Time and distance are NOT required
When the opponent with the ball is
airborne, the guard MUST have
attained legal position before the
opponent left the playing court
Legal Guarding Position
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In maintaining a legal guarding
position:
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The guard may shift to maintain
guarding position in the path of the
dribbler, provided that the guard does
not drive into the player or otherwise
cause contact.
The guard may move laterally or
obliquely to maintain position provided
such a move is not toward the
opponent when contact occurs.
Legal Guarding Position
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In establishing an initial legal
guarding position on a player
WITHOUT the ball:
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The guard MUST give the opponent the
time and distance to avoid contact
The distance need not be more than
two strides
When the opponent is airborne, the
guard MUST have attained legal
position before the opponent left the
playing court
Traveling
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occurs when a player holding the ball
moves a foot or both feet in any direction
in excess of the prescribed limits
described in this rule. A player who
catches the ball with both feet on the
playing court may pivot, using either foot.
When one foot is lifted, the other is the
pivot foot. After coming to a stop and
establishing the pivot foot, the pivot foot
may be lifted, but not returned to the
playing court, before the ball is released
on a pass or try for goal. The pivot foot
shall not be lifted before the ball is
released to start a dribble.
Disposal of the Ball
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Designated Spot
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The designated throw-in spot shall be 3
feet wide with NO depth limitation
The thrower-in must keep one foot on
or over the designated spot until the
ball is released.
Made Basket/Goal
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Any player of the throw-in team may
make a direct throw-in or may pass the
ball along the end line to a teammate
who is also out of bounds.
Timing Violations
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3-second lane presence
5-second inbounding ball
5-second closely guarded
10 second free throw
10-second back court
Three Seconds
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Art. 1. The three-second lane is the
area in the front court that is
bounded by the end line, the freethrow lane lines and the free-throw
line, and includes such lines.
Rule 4-66
Three second violation
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A player shall not be permitted to
have any part of his/her body
remain in the three-second lane for
more than three consecutive
seconds while the ball is in control
of that player’s team in his/her front
court.
Rule 9-9
Five seconds
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Inbounds
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Count starts: administered to
inbounder
Count ends: when released by player
Closely guarded
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Count starts: front court guidelines
Count continues: holding, dribbling,
holding
Count ends:
10 seconds
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Back court
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Count starts: touched on court
Count ends: when ball and feet in front
court
Free throws
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Count starts: administer to shooter
Count ends: release a try
Basketball Rule Facts
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Player-control & Team control fouls
count toward the bonus
All technicals to the bench count
toward the bonus
Accidentally striking the ball with
the leg is NOT a violation
The court is measured from the
inside edges
Basketball Rule Facts
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Players not in a legal marked lane
space….
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Must remain behind the 3 pt line
Must remain above the free throw line
until the ball hits the ring, flange,
backboard or until the free throw ends
The women’s 3-point line distance is
19’9”
The men’s 3-point line distance is
20’9”
NCAA Rules Site
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https://www.ncaapublications.com/
p-4227-2011-2013-mens-womensbasketball-rule-book-2-yearpublication.aspx