It’s a new dawn for the free throw in high school sports in Oregon. Following the lead of the National Federation of High School Associations (NFHS) the Oregon School Activities Association has instituted new rules on fouls shots for the 2023-24 season.
Instead of teams moving to 1-and-1 free throws upon the seventh team foul of each half the system is now quarter-based. Commit five team fouls in a quarter and your opponent automatically shoots two. The old system shifted from 1-and-1 to an automatic two shots with a tenth foul in the half.
Which means the 1-and-1, which I have never liked much because it rewards you with a second shot for making a first shot, rather than rewarding you for a good play, is out the window. Good riddance. Let’s move on.
My question, though, is how will the new rules affect play and what do area coaches think? Here is what the NFHS said in its press release on the changes:
“The rules committee studied data that showed higher injury rates on rebounding situations and saw this as an opportunity to reduce opportunities for rough play during rebounds. Additionally, resetting the fouls each quarter will improve game flow and allow teams to adjust their play by not carrying foul totals to quarters two and four.”
Well, one out of two ain’t bad. I couldn’t find a single coach who feels injuries add up during free throws. Think about it. Hoops injuries are far more common in occasions in which both players are moving fast and/or in the air. I’m happy to look at data on free throw injuries during rebounds, but I remain skeptical.
Here are comments from coaches:
Tal Wold, Stayton girls: “I have enjoyed the FT portion. The game has a better flow. It seems like we are not shooting as many FTs in games. Free throw strategy has only been a conversation during a game one time, but it is something we are talking about and discussing as coaches.”
Darren Shryock, Stayton boys: “The new foul rule has done what it was designed to do, have teams shoot less free throws. I don’t think the premise of less injury is really the cause. I have seen almost zero injuries take place while shooting free throws over the years. The rule makers want to see a faster pace game, and free throws slow the game down. It rewards aggressive teams because you can commit four fouls per quarter with no penalty.”
Jamie McCarty, Silverton boys: “I like the five fouls per quarter and no one-on-one. I think it is cleaner and it allows more strategy to come into play when thinking about the game and options you have defensively.”
Karl Schmidtman, Kennedy boys: “I have noticed that we are taking less free throws, which speeds up the flow of the game and it allows teams to use their fouls as a tool when we have fouls to give late in quarters. We are still getting better about how to manage the fouls in different time and score situations, but I like the extra element of strategy that it brings to the game and I think it will be a better product for fans to watch too.”
A second rule change adds a 35-second shot clock for varsity contests. It is optional for lower levels. Coaches I talked with felt that the foul shot rule would have far greater impact, although some noted how the shot clock rule will work WITH the free throw.
“You add it with the shot clock and you really have to weigh the positive and negatives of fouling late or playing out the possession as opposed to surrendering two shots,” Wold said.
Kennedy’s Schmidtman, meanwhile, said “it has been a little bit of an adjustment for us with the shot clock. That has been one of our strengths over the years is that we are pretty patient on offense and wait for a good shot. There have only been a handful of possessions that have been affected by the fact that there is a shot clock though, through five games. I was in support of adding the shot clock, I like that teams still have to play in the fourth quarter and can’t just go into a stall game.”
The federation also tweaked the uniform rules, allowing multiple styles and lengths of uniform bottoms although they must all be like-colored. Also teams and players that wear undershirts must wear a single solid color or solid black for visiting teams with dark jerseys.
