The 2023-24 high school basketball season is set to be another unforgettable one. The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has announced a new rule that eliminates the “one-and-one” free throw shot.
The rule states that after every quarter team fouls will reset to zero. The stipulation is that as soon as your team reaches five fouls, your opponent gets to shoot two free throws.
The new rule was put in place to speed the game up and prevent teams from getting their hands tied if they get five or six fouls in the first quarter.
In the past, team fouls would reset after the first half and once a team reached seven team fouls, the opposing team would be able to shoot a “one-and-one.” A “one-and-one” is a scenario where you are guaranteed one free throw and if you make the first, you get to shoot a second. If you don’t make the first, the ball is live and play continues. Once a team reached 10 team fouls in a half, the opposing team would be guaranteed two shots.
This change will affect every high school boys and girls basketball team in the nation. It also follows last year’s rule change which implemented a 35 second shot clock to varsity and JV competitions. That change was put in place to speed up games and prevent stalling.
Head PV Girls Basketball coach, Jennifer Goetz, believes this rule change will impact high school basketball positively. “Many times in a game, a team may get early fouls then they have to deal with that for the entire half whereas now it’s just for the quarter,” said Goetz.
Reform in high school basketball has generally followed in the path of Women’s NCAA rules.
Is this an attempt to make the transition from high school to collegiate basketball smoother? Or does the NFHS just believe high school basketball is behind the times and is making these changes for spectator pleasure?
A big reason why college basketball is watched is because of player talent, but also because they play at such a fast pace. Getting rid of the ability to stall and slow the game down has already made huge impacts. Adding the new free throw rule will speed up the game even more, hopefully attracting more spectators to the stands.
Junior PV Girls Basketball point guard Reagan Pagniano agrees the game should be sped up. “It will speed up the game for a good thing. I don’t like long games with a lot of fouls,” said Pagniano.
One concern for this drastic change is making sure there are no misunderstandings. It would be incredibly counterintuitive if referees, coaches or players misunderstand this new rule change and start arguments because of it.
Last year, when the shot clock rule was implemented, some schools and officials didn’t fully understand the rule change. It was common to have officials meet during the game just to double check the rules.
Goetz agrees there was an issue with some officials and coaches not knowing all the rules that came with the shot clock. “Anytime you have a rule change you will have hurdles. Especially when that rule change is changing something that hasn’t been changed in a long time. The shot clock rule change got much better as the season went on and I think it will be similar to that this season.”
Although the rule seems pretty straightforward, officials, coaches, players and even parents must all be on the same page if this rule change is to speed up the game.
Basketball players and fans all around the country are eager to see how eliminating the “one-and-one” free throw shot will impact the game. Luckily, high school basketball has already started, and the first game day is right around the corner.
