Topic > The Evolution of Basketball: The History of Basketball

Some of the new rules are similar to Dr. Naismith's, but there are many more rules added to the rulebook. The different rules stipulate that there can be five players on the field for each team. The circle now has a backing board, has an eighteen-inch cylinder attached, and is still ten feet off the ground. There are now many different lines added to the court; they are the foul line, the three-point line, the baseline, the sideline, and the midline, also known as the half court. The court is seventy-four inches long and forty-two inches wide. The circumference of a men's ball is 29.5 inches or size 7, while the circumference of a women's ball is 28.5 inches or size 6. Players can still pass the ball to teammates, but in order to move with the ball they have to dribble. Some violations involve the team having ten seconds in the backcourt, three seconds in the playing area, five seconds to bounce the ball, and five seconds with the ball while it is being firmly defended. A foul occurs if a player trips someone, holds them, puts a hand on their back, makes an illegal screen, draws a foul, blocks or charges someone. If a player shoots a 3-pointer and then gets fouled, then the player has three missed shots, as with a double, but two foul shots. If a player is fouled while shooting a double and makes it, then the player only has one foul shot. If the shooter shoots a 3-pointer and makes it while being fouled, then the player has a foul shot. Each player can commit five fouls, but after the fifth the player must remain out for the remainder