We like to think of our high school sports as bedrock…never really changing from generation to generation and for the most part, that’s true.  Your Grandfather’s prep basketball game is the same as your aside from the longer shorts (Thank goodness for change).  There are pretty revolutionary changes that do come around now and then but they’re few and far between.  One such change happened to Pro, college, and most importantly to our discussion, high school basketball.  It was the advent of the 3 point shot.  Let’s take a look at why it was brought about and how it changed the game.

The NBA brought about the 3 pointer during the 1980 season.  College and high school soon followed during the 80s but at different distances for the arc.  First, the basics.  When a player shoots behind the 3 point arc which for the high school game is 19′ 9″ from the basket.  If a player makes the shot behind the arc, he or she is awarded 3 points instead of the usual 2 points.  If the person is fouled and makes the shot, there is then the potential for a 4 point play (assuming the foul shot is also made).  If the player does not make the 3 point shot, he or she can take 3 foul shots if fouled in the act of shooting from behind the arc. So why would the high school basketball sport allow 3 point shots which increase the score by 50% versus making a shot 1 foot (or 1 inch) inside the 3 point arc?

Anyone who’s played basketball can tell you that more room will equal more scoring.  There’s more room to drive, more room to pass, and more room to operate in the key without another defender crowding you out.  The mere threat of the 3 point shot tends to pull the guards out further to the arc and stetch the defense more.  If you have a 3 point shooter on your high school team (and most teams do these days), the defense has to respect this weapon and the defender (or zone) needs to stretch outwards.  This frees up the interior to run plays to the post and around the floor.  The other thing it does is to balance scoring.  As basketball became a war of attrition to get the biggest and strongest inside players who would camp by the basket (think of Shaq or Dwight Howard now), establishing the 3 point arc would reward the pure shooter.  Basketball was in danger of just becoming one on one in paint while the other players let them go to work.  That’s not the case now with the 3 point shot.  Not only did the 3 point shot reward shooting, it created more scoring and probably more importantly, more excitement for the fans.

Although there was some controversy with the original 3 point shot roll-out, it’s now a fixture of the high school basketball game and everyone’s pretty much on board.

Aside from the main clock, there can also be a shot clock.  This means that from a given point (generally the inbound pass or change of possession).  Some high schools use a shot clock while others do not (based on State rules).  There’s an added cost to add a shot clock for high school basketball so the push to move towards a nationwide shot clock rule has been controversial although high school is likely to follow the NCAA and Pro’s on this matter eventually.  The shot clock is generally 24 seconds and if the ball does not hit the rim or go in, there’s a shot clock violation resulting in loss of possession for the offensive team.  This is one major time violation that’s either already at the high school basketball game or probably soon to arrive.

Another common time violation is the standard 3 in the key rule.  Basically, you cannot just plant yourself in the key (rectangle region extending out from the basketball on either side of court).  If an offensive player is inside the key, the ref will start to count down to 3.  The player must move both feet outside of the key before the referee get’s to 3.  If the player has not removed him or herself from the key before three, the ref will blow the whistle and the offensive team will lose possession of the ball but the player in question is not given a personal foul.  This rule was developed to make sure that a dominant player doesn’t just camp out under the basket, get inbound passes, and overwhelms the defense thus making the game much less dynamic and let’s face it, less fun to watch or play.  One note.  High school basketball rules do not currently use the defensive version of this rule where a defensive player can be called for a violation essentially if they are not actively guarding a player.  This occurs when a defensive player sags to double-team another player.  Again, it’s not used at the high school level.

There are two 5 second rule counts that also typically apply at the high school basketball level.  First, an offensive player must inbound the ball within 5 seconds when he or she has control of the ball.  If the player is unable to inbound the ball, or pass the ball from out of bounds, in five seconds, the team will lose possession.  There’s a separate closely guarded 5 second rule as well.  This is where an offensive player is closed guarded by an opponent but doesn’t dribble, pass, or shoot the ball.  Again, it’s to prevent an offensive player from just holding onto the ball (till the shot clock runs out) and greatly speeds up the high school basketball game.

These are the common ways that time and the clock comes into the game and for the most part, they have been added over time to make the game more fun to watch and play.  If there was any downtime, the clock has worked to eliminate it from most prep basketball games.

Where were the coaches in the above situation?  First, the coach of the player in question.  Why didn’t he pull the player after flagrant foul #2, or 3, or 4.  Clearly, something was going on with the high school boy beyond just the game.  Maybe he had some serious issues at home and he decided to take it out on the opposing player who’s  driving to the hoop.  That’s no excuse but as the coach, you would hope he would help this player deal with his situation in a better way.  Maybe the coach is part of the problem (more than maybe).  In fact, it’s hard to see how a high school sports athlete on the floor would play dirty or commit flagrant fouls if there wasn’t some complicity with the coach.  I hate to reference Kobra Kai with that dojo’s demand to “sweep the leg” in Karate Kid but hey…if the idiot coach fits, wear it.  The are great high school coaches and there horrible high school coaches.  Any athlete can recount a little of both in their careers.  There’s also a lot or grey area in the coaching profession

You don’t need a coach to demand you play dirty.  What about the coaches that take their job way to serious and just suck all the fun out of the sport.  When your between 14 and 18 years old, you always feel like you have a voice especially if speaking out might mean you won’t get to play your favorite sport at the high school level (regardless of your talent and ability).  That’s starting to change.  It may be anecdotal but I keep hearing of kids say forget it and ending the high school sport careers because of a jerk (they go a little harsher) coach.  In most cases, it’s warranted.  The coaches have been watching too much college footage of hostile, Type A coaches that scream, berate, and otherwise, are abusive.  This is high school and high school sports should still be fun.  There are way too many adults who expect high school kids (and they are kids) to be able to do what they can do.  Really good players don’t always make for really good coaches or refs for this very reason.  They expect that the kids can do what they’re able to to (after years more experience).  They’re also part of the problem but let’s not forget the parents.

Parents lose their minds when it comes to high school sports.  As a parent myself, it’s easy to see how that goes.  I’m generally pretty pragmatic but watching your kids in a sports situation bring out the primal reaction that often leads to no good.  Look, probably no one you know will go pro.  Maybe 1 or 2 (if your lucky) will play in college it’s probably a junior college.  Those are the odds.  There’s religious dedication to the development of high school sports talent that isn’t justified by the potential outcome.  In the meantime, your kids focus and effort all terminates the day he graduates high school or more pointedly, the last game he plays of his high school sports career.  You’re setting him or her up for a huge letdown.  Parents don’t mean to do this but it is indeed, part of the problem.  Let’s make the high school game fun again.  A part of a process of growing up and becoming young adults with a sense of teamwork and a nod to how effort and persistence can result in achievement.  Most importantly, let’s make it source of joy for high school kids.

Some of the fouls typically called in basketball are well-known.  Most are specific to the game of basketball itself and quite a few of those deal directly with dribbling which is by far the hardest part of mastering the game of basketball.  We’ve got quite a list of potential offending behaviors on the basketball court so let’s get started.

Travelling.  Travelling is essentially the act of movement without sufficient or appropriate dribble.  If you’re moving outside of your pivot foot, you need to be dribbling with one hand.  If you dribble with two hands, that’s also travelling.  High school players usually get caught on their first step with too much foot motion or distance covered before takinga dribble.  Occasionally they will panic and touch the ball with hands as well.  Rarely does a player stop dribbling and start up again but it does happen at this level.

Carrying.  When dribbling, you need to have a downward motion on the ball and and not “hold” or “grab” the ball in your hand.  This rule has definitely become more laxed at the high school level as any old hoops player is sure to complain about.  The tendancy with younger players is to turn the hand over at the top of the dribble and essentially cradle or hold the ball from underneath or more than sideways.

Moving Screens.  In high school basketball, you’re allowed to set a screen or pick.  This is where you hold your body in place with arms crossed (typically) to provide a barrier for your teammate to run around and block his/her defender.  The trick is that you must remain still and let the offensive player come into you.  You cannot move once the pick is set.  This is tricky since the entire floor is in motion during a typical high school basketball game.  For this reason, there’s a subjective call on whether a screen is truly set or moving.

Offensive foul.  When driving with the ball or with your back to the basket in a post move, the benefit of the doubt usually goes to the offensive player if there is too much contact but this isn’t always the case.  If the offensive player is overly aggressive such as dropping their shoulder or being out of control, the offensive foul may be called on them.  This is especially true if the defensive player hasn’t move and is deemed to have position.  You can’t go through a defensive player that’s already in position (not moving).

There are various offensive fouls resulting from time constraints in the game with the big one being 3 seconds in the key.  As an offensive player, you cannot just go down into the key and loiter there indefinitely.  You must remove your feet before 3 seconds is counted or you will be called and the ball will change possession to the other team.  Other time constraints such as inbounding the ball or bringing the ball over half court can also result in the offense losing the ball.  This is true for the shot clock as well which does happen during high school basketball games as a team is unable to get off a shot in time.

There are strange and less-seen offensive fouls that get called but the above list show the most common you’re likely to see in a typical high school basketball game.

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Like our high school football coach would say.  F.O.   You can either FIRE OUT or F$*K OFF.  I’m not sure parents knew about that little piece of advice.

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When we were coming up with the different categories for high school basketball, it’s actually pretty straight forward as opposed to high school football.  You may have different positions on a high school basketball team but they all share the same categories or metrics of comparison for fantasy league play. Your centers and forwards may get more rebounds but rebounds are a category for all the players on the floor which is quite different than football where only the quarterback is going to have passing yards.  Basketball is great in this way in that it’s a level playing field for choosing your roster’s players since you can get some exposure in all categories from any given player albeit with different strengths.  Points can and will be had by all players so it’s our first fantasy league category for good reason.  In our high school basketball fantasy league, points are pretty straight forward in that each point achieved by the high school player will translate directly into one point of fantasy league scoring.  Where some of the other categories are leveraged up meaning a block (for example) might be worth 7 points in fantasy league scoring.

The best part of using points as the key metrics for high school sports is that there are so many different ways to get there.  Some players will get there with 3 point shots while others will get their points in the paint.  This is partially dictated by the position of a given prep basketball player and of course their talent.  Points is still probably the first criteria to look at when choosing your roster for obvious reasons.  First, points are the most stable and highest grossing of the different high school basketball categories.  You’re more likely to have a consistent point stability than lesser common categories such as rebounds, steals, or blocks.  For this reason, point scoring is typically the first criteria that fantasy league owners focus on.  The best strategy is to find the most consistent and highest scorers in your area and choose them first.  Think of the other categories as back up or complementary ways to score to your core points total.   The big scorer will go fast in the draft so don’t wait too long.   You want highest scoring plus you need consistency in scoring.

Beyond the basic scoring requirement, you can look at the supporting basketball categories to an extra pop on top of points earned.   This will partially depend on the position of your chosen player with centers and forwards more likely to bring rebounds and blocks.  The blocks will also give you a bonus kick in points since they’re more valuable and less frequent.  For guards, you can look at assists and steals with steals having the leveraged points for this category.  Either way,  points are the main category to dominate with high school sports in order to have a good chance at winning.

High school basketball is the sport of choice in American high schools for winter.  Football season has just wrapped up for most programs early November depending on their playoffs situation.  It’s pretty common for high school hoop practices to start early November and actual games to follow a weeks after.  The high school basketball game runs 4 quarters of 8 minutes and the season actually has many more games than prep football.  It’s pretty typical to run 2 games per week one mid-week and one on Friday night which is pretty much a school event where most students start the weekend around it.  In a typical season, you can expect about 60 games from November through February.

High school basketball is really one of the best parts of the entire high school sport world.  No one’s wearing helmets and big bulky pads. It’s just 5 young players out on the court in a well-lit gym surrounded by not only fellow students and occasionally, the entire community.  It’s all right out there in the open which is what’s so impressive about 14-18 year olds showing the composure and mental capacity to perform athletically.  It’s tough and yet all over the country, high school basketball players are doing it with a sport that requires physical accuracy and precision.  There’s more to a high school basketball game.  The great thing about sports from the stands is a sense of a group of individuals all coming together as one.  A group unity.  You can feel it.  Nothing magnifies this more than the enclosed space of a high school basketball game.  All that energy is boxed in, amplified by the space.  When a three point shot hits nothing but net, the explosion in the stands is palpable.  You don’t just hear it….you feel it.  That’s why basketball still brings out the crowds.

What the crowd doesn’t realize about the great high school basketball game they’re watching is the amount of time that went into the skills they’re seeing.  They see the end result and get to enjoy it for a year but most of them don’t see the hours…even days of time spent since an early age to get down just the basic skills of dribbling and shooting.  That’s the just beginning.  You’re probably looking at 5000 hours minimum to get down the flow and strategy of the game.  To find skill like this in a young person is impressive.  Adding the mental coolness to this physical makes high school basketball amazing.

High school basketball is the sport of choice in American high schools for winter.  Football season has just wrapped up for most programs early November depending on their playoffs situation.  It’s pretty common for high school hoop practices to start early November and actual games to follow a weeks after.  The high school basketball game runs 4 quarters of 8 minutes and the season actually has many more games than prep football.  It’s pretty typical to run 2 games per week one mid-week and one on Friday night which is pretty much a school event where most students start the weekend around it.  In a typical season, you can expect about 60 games from November through February.

High school basketball is really one of the best parts of the entire high school sport world.  No one’s wearing helmets and big bulky pads. It’s just 5 young players out on the court in a well-lit gym surrounded by not only fellow students and occasionally, the entire community.  It’s all right out there in the open which is what’s so impressive about 14-18 year olds showing the composure and mental capacity to perform athletically.  It’s tough and yet all over the country, high school basketball players are doing it with a sport that requires physical accuracy and precision.  There’s more to a high school basketball game.  The great thing about sports from the stands is a sense of a group of individuals all coming together as one.  A group unity.  You can feel it.  Nothing magnifies this more than the enclosed space of a high school basketball game.  All that energy is boxed in, amplified by the space.  When a three point shot hits nothing but net, the explosion in the stands is palpable.  You don’t just hear it….you feel it.  That’s why basketball still brings out the crowds.

What the crowd doesn’t realize about the great high school basketball game they’re watching is the amount of time that went into the skills they’re seeing.  They see the end result and get to enjoy it for a year but most of them don’t see the hours…even days of time spent since an early age to get down just the basic skills of dribbling and shooting.  That’s the just beginning.  You’re probably looking at 5000 hours minimum to get down the flow and strategy of the game.  To find skill like this in a young person is impressive.  Adding the mental coolness to this physical makes high school basketball amazing.

First, what is man and what is zone defense.  On the surface, they’re pretty easy to understand.  With man defense (can also be used for girls high school basketball by the way) is when each player is dedicated to defending or covering another person on the opposing team.  For the most part outside of successful screens, you stay on your opponent and trust that your teammates will also stay on theirs.  Zone is different.  Rather than covering a particular person, you’re responsible for an area of the floor.  As players come into your zone, you D them up.  This is a little more advanced and complicated for high school hoop players to wrap their heads around.  There’s a constant movement and adjustment on the floor to follow the offense or the ball as it moves around the floor.  Let’s dig deeper into when to use either and pro’s and con’s of both high school basketball defenses.

The defense you plan to use really depends on the make up of your team’s athletic ability and to some extent, the opposing team’s offensive ability.  On average, man defense will result in more one on one situations and screens since this is the best way to game open shots.  If the offense is too fast for your team’s defensive ability or if they screen often and well, man defense may prove to be a liability.  Also, if you have a weakness on the floor, the zone can be used to offset this as surrounding zones can sink in and help.  So why not always use a zone defense at the high school level?  There are always trade-offs.

If your offense is faced with a zone, it’s time to long-range bomb.  A zone will favor the outside shot as defensive players have to cover a lot of ground and rotate around to get to the shooter.  This can provide opportunities for any of the shooters on your team to light it up from outside.  Let’s face it…the ball moves faster than any player can and when it swings from one side of the arc to the other, the waiting shooter will have a second or two before the defensive player can get there.  That’s the time to strike and often when a team switches out of zone defense, it’s because the offense has been punching holes in their zone with long range (especially 3 point) shots.

Some teams stick with one defense while other high school teams will bounce back and forth but this takes a lot of knowledge of both methods which is hard to come by at such an early age.  If a team is able to successfully juggle this, it makes them pretty formidable as it constantly keeps the opposing team’s offense off balance.  They are not able to get into a rhythm over the course of the game which is critical to winning a high school basketball game since so much of it is about confidence in your shot and finding a routine.  There are times for both man and zone defense even at the high school level and they will both be around as long as the game is due to their various strengths and uses.

It’s easy and fast to get set up.  Just click SIGN UP  to get your account up and running in  about 10 seconds (unless you’re typing with broken fingers…tape those things!)  You can even use your Facebook login to quickly get in and started.

If you’re a player, you’ll add any stats already gained this year so that people can pick you.  That’s right PICK YOU for their league.  Scary.

You can quickly send out an emailed invite to up to 7 other league owners/players to join your league once you create one.  Give it a good name too.  None of that “HelloKitty1″ crap.

So enjoy.  The site is all yours but it’s only as good as the number of high school football (for now…bball’s next) players we get on board.

Like our high school football coach would say.  F.O.   You can either FIRE OUT or F$*K OFF.  I’m not sure parents knew about that little piece of advice.

SIGN UP before someone takes your name and puts in soft stats.