Basketball game and its Intricacies

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Basketball game was invented by Dr. James A. Naismith in 1891. Basketball is a game played by two teams of five players each with at least five to seven substitutes each. The duration of the game is twenty minutes and for each half is ten minutes rest at half time beak.

In the game, each team aims to throw the ball into the other team’s basket. At the same time, each team is to prevent the other team from throwing the ball into its basket. Whenever the ball enters into the basket, a point is counted. An extra time must be allowed in order to get a winner when there is a draw.

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Facilities and Equipment for basketball

Facilities used in playing basketball, include the basketball court, the backboard, the basket, the ball made of rubber, canvas and socks, stop clocks, jerseys for the teams, score sheets, whistle and score board.

Positioning of players in basketball
There are two forwards, one centre and two guards per team as shown below:

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Rules and Regulations of Basketball

• Any player can catch, control, pass or shoot the ball with either or both hands
• The ball can be tossed in the air and touched again before it hits the floor, after which it must always touch the floor before it is handled
• A player may shoot and score from any point in the court
• A player may pivot or turn back with the ball

On the other hand, a player must not:

• Hit the ball with a clenched fist

• Kick the ball deliberately

• Carry the ball for more than one pace

• Double dribble i.e. a player can dribble the second time * until he has made a shot or has lost possession of the ball

• Remain in the restricted area for more than three seconds when his or her team still controls the ball, unless he begins a dribble for a shot at the goal

• Be guilty of a personal or technical foul

• A team in possession of the ball must make an attempt at the basket within 30 seconds of having gained control

• The opponent’s team must get the ball into its front court within 10 seconds and should not pass it again to its back court

• Penalty for a violation of these rules is a free-throw awarded to the opponents at the side line

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Officials and their Duties
The Referee: He inspects and approves the equipment for use. He tosses the ball at the centre to start the play. He describes whether or not a basket shall count. He checks the scores on the sheet at half time. He calls the substitutes into the court. He passes the ball to a player for a specified throw from a prescribed position

The Umpire: He helps the referee to make some decisions during the game. He stops the game when the ball is dead. He calls substitutes to play.

Timekeeper: He keeps the time with the stopwatch (a special clock that can be stopped at any time). He uses the clock to record both the player time and stoppages according to the rules.

The Scorer: He records the names and numbers of all players in a game. He informs the other officials if there is any branch of the rules about the numbers and substitution of players. He keeps a tally of the points scored by each player and team. He notes all fouls-personal and technical and notifies the referee when a player has committed five fouls. He records all time-outs debited to each team and warns a team through the official when it has had four of these (two in either half).