Basketball
Basketball is a team sport. Two teams of five players each try to score by shooting a ball through a hoop elevated 10 feet above the ground. The game is played on a rectangular floor called the court, and there is a hoop at each end. The ball is moved down the court toward the basket by passing or dribbling.
Positions
Each team has 5 players at a time. Each player has his/her own indivdual position.
- Center
- Power Forward
- Small forward
- Point Guard
- Shooting Guard
Rules of basketball
Types of Fouls
- Charging- An offensive foul that is committed when a player pushes or runs over a defensive player. The ball is given to the team that the foul was committed upon.
- Blocking- Blocking is illegal personal contact resulting from a defender not establishing position in time to prevent an opponent's drive to the basket.
- Flagrant foul- Violent contact with an opponent. This includes hitting, kicking, and punching. This type of foul results in free throws plus the offense retaining possession of the ball after the free throws.
- Intentional foul- When a player makes physical contact with another player with no reasonable effort to steal the ball. It is a judgment call for the officials.
Violations
Walking/Traveling- Taking more than 'a step and a half' without dribbling the ball is traveling. Moving your pivot foot once you've stopped dribbling is traveling.
Carrying/palming- When a player dribbles the ball with his hand too far to the side of or, sometimes, even under the ball.
Double Dribble- Dribbling the ball with both hands on the ball at the same time or picking up the dribble and then dribbling again is a double dribble.
Held ball- Occasionally, two or more opposing players will gain possession of the ball at the same time. In order to avoid a prolonged and/or violent tussle, the referee stops the action and awards the ball to one team or the other on a rotating basis.
Goaltending- If a defensive player interferes with a shot while it's on the way down toward the basket, while it's on the way up toward the basket after having touched the backboard, or while it's in the cylinder above the rim, it's goaltending and the shot counts. If committed by an offensive player, it's a violation and the ball is awarded to the opposing team for a throw-in.
Backcourt violation- Once the offense has brought the ball across the mid-court line, they cannot go back across the line during possession. If they do, the ball is awarded to the other team to pass inbounds.
Time restrictions- A player passing the ball inbounds has five seconds to pass the ball. If he does not, then the ball is awarded to the other team. Other time restrictions include the rule that a player cannot have the ball for more than five seconds when being closely guarded and, in some states and levels, shot-clock restrictions requiring a team to attempt a shot within a given time frame.