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Essay / The Evolution of Basketball: The History of Basketball
Some of the new rules are similar to Dr. Naismith's, but many more rules have been added to the rulebook. The different rules are that there can be five players from each team on the field. The hoop now has a backboard, an eighteen inch cylinder attached and still sits ten feet off the ground. Many different lines have now been added to the terrain; these are the foul line, the three-point line, the baseline, the sideline and the center line, also called half court. The field is seventy-four inches long and forty-two inches wide. The circumference of a men's ball is 29.5 inches or a size seven, while the circumference of a women's ball is 28.5 inches or a size six. Players can still pass the ball to their teammates, but in order for them to move with the ball, they must dribble. Some violations are that the team has ten seconds in the backcourt, three seconds in the paint, five seconds to throw the ball while rebounding, and five seconds with the ball while closely guarded. A foul occurs if a player trips someone, holds them up, reaches over their back, has an illegal screen, draws a foul, blocks or charges someone. If a player shoots a three-pointer and is then fouled, then the player has three foul shots, as with a two-point shot, but two foul shots. If a player is fouled while shooting a two-pointer and succeeds, then the player only has one foul shot. If the shooter shoots a three-pointer and makes it while being fouled, then the player has a foul shot. Each player is allowed to commit five fouls, but after the fifth, the player must sit out the rest of the game.