League rules:
Nothing but net basketball rules
Fall 2021 Rules:
Nothing But Net (“NBN”) is a non-profit organization offering youth basketball leagues in the Huntersville area during the spring and fall seasons each year. Nothing But Net is co-sponsored by the Huntersville Parks and Recreation Department, which will give us priority access to local gym space for conducting practices and games. Our goal with Nothing But Net is to provide an opportunity for the kids that don’t typically participate in any other youth sports in the spring or fall to play basketball prior to or continue playing following the conclusion of the HYAA Winter season. Additionally, it is our intent to teach the players in our league the basic fundamentals of basketball, teamwork and good sportsmanship, which we believe will help in their ongoing childhood development. PARTICIPANTS: NBN participants will include players between the ages of 6-18. All leagues will be “co-ed” unless otherwise stated prior to the beginning of each league season. All players must be enrolled in school up through and not exceeding grade 12. No player shall be older than 18 by the league cut-off date. No player beyond grade 12 shall be eligible. TEAMS: NBN teams will be formed by a “draft” in order to keep teams as even as possible. No group or coach may form his/her own team to compete in the league(s). ANNUAL SCHEDULE: NBN will provide an annual Fall league beginning the first week of September of each year, and a Spring league beginning the Last week of March each year. A “skills” day will be held approximately two weeks prior to start of each season, when possible. PLAYER/PARTICIPANT LEAGUE EXPECTATIONS: NBN expects every player in our league to conduct themselves in a mature manner at all times while in an NBN gym or on the properties which that gym resides. This includes the basketball court, scorer’s table, bench, bleachers, outside grounds and parking lot. This applies to both practice sessions and games. The following actions will not be allowed or tolerated by any NBN player or participant - constant harassment of a referee, league officials, coaches or players, foul language, unnecessary hard fouls or removal of uniform during a game. Such actions will result in a player or team receiving a TECHNICAL FOUL and will constitute a two-shot penalty. All NFHS rules are followed except where noted herein.Any player receiving (2) technical fouls in a single game will be ejected from the remainder of that game. Additionally, that player will receive a (1) game suspension from his or her next scheduled game. Any player assaulting a player, referee, coach or league official will be suspended for the remainder of the season and will be banned from any future NBN events. Any player ejected from (2) games during a single season will be suspended for the remainder of that season and can be permanently banned from NBN.
UNIFORMS: The league provides a numbered jersey shirt with NBN logo for all players to wear as the official uniform for all games. Uniform shirts are to be worn “as designed”. Uniform must not be modified. No writing on the shirt and no cutting of the material is allowed. If a modification has been made to the uniform, the player will not be allowed to play in that modified shirt and must purchase a replacement of the same color, at the player’s cost. By NFHS rules, a uniform violation (technical foul) may be issued at the discretion of the officials for a modified uniform.
PLAYING TIME: All players in each age division must play in at least two full quarters of each game and must appear in both halves of that game. No player may play more than (3) three quarters of a game. Accounting for playing time is done by each coach and done on an honor basis. A major, NBN League emphasis is playing time for all players. If a player shows up after the end of the first half, a coach is only required to play that player one full quarter of the remaining game time. If a team has six or fewer players at a game, the playing time limits cannot not apply. But a team of six players must have each player sit out, at minimum, a total of 4 minutes. COACHING: All coaches are volunteers and must emphasize good sportsmanship at all times. Any coach who consistently harasses referees or shows inappropriate behavior towards the players/referees will be removed from the league. There will be no appeal process. Each coach is required to sign a NBN coach’s code of conduct form prior to the start of the season. During a game, each team is allowed only (1) coach and (1) assistant coach on the sidelines. During a game, only one coach is allowed to stand in the coach’s box and the other coach must remain seated on the bench with the players. (NFHS rules)Head coaches are responsible for the behavior of assistant coach(es), players, and their team’s spectators. As such, coaches should set the expectations with players and parents at the beginning of the season in terms of good sportsmanship and a safe and positive community environment. FORFEITS: Teams not showing up within ten minutes of their game time, or within 10 minutes of the end of the game prior to theirs, whichever is later, will forfeit their game. A team may NOT start a game with less than FOUR players. However, if a team starts a game with four players and no other players show up and one of those players foul out, a team cannot finish the game with only three players. TIME OUTS: Each team receives four, 45-second timeouts per game, plus one for each overtime period. Timeouts may be used at any time during the game and unused timeouts carry over into overtime. PRESSING: For the 6-8 Yr. old division, full court pressing is only allowed in the last 60 seconds of the game. If a team is ahead by 6 or more points in the last 60 seconds of the game, that team may not press. All other times NO defense is allowed outside the 3 Point line.
9-11-year-old divisions, backcourt pressing will only be allowed in the last two minutes of the game. All other times, a team cannot press beyond the half court line. If a team is ahead by 10 or more points in the last two minutes, that team may not press.
For the 12-14 and 15-18-year-old divisions, pressing is allowed at any time during the game. If at any time during the game a team is ahead by 20 or more points, that team may not press beyond the half court line. If that lead is cut to under 20 points, the opposing team may press again. PRESSING PENALTIES: The offending team will be given an initial warning of the violation. After the first warning or subsequent, if, at the judgement of the referees, the violation is intentional and repetitive, the opposing team will shoot two technical free throws and will do so for each violation occurrence for the remainder of the game. GAME BALL: A game ball will be provided by the NBN league and will be brought to the gym each week prior to the start of the first game. The 6–8-year-old divisions will use a 27.5 youth size basketball. The 9–11 division will use a 28.5 women’s size basketball. The 12-14 & 15-18-year-old divisions will use a 29.5 regulation size basketball. GAME CLOCK: For each game, the league provides a clock operator and an official scorebook keeper.
The game clock will stop for time outs, quarter-end and dead balls called by the referee.
Continuous Running Clock Rules 6-8, 9-11-year-old age groups - If at any time during the 4th quarter a team is leading by 20 or more points, the game clock will run continuously throughout the remainder of the game, except for granted time-outs.
12-14 & 15-18-year-old age groups - If at any time during the 4th quarter a team is leading by 20 or more points, the game clock will run continuously. If that 20-point lead is cut to 10 points or less, the clock will return back normal operation stopping on all dead balls.
For the playoffs only, in the 4th quarter if a team previously losing by 20 or more points gets within 19 or fewer points, the continuous clock is cancelled and reverts back to stopping on all whistles. SCOREBOOK
The league-provided scoresheet is the official game book and the score is final after the referee concludes the game.
No later than 5 minutes prior to game time, both coaches shall provide a pre-typed roster with jersey numbers and player names ready to provide to official scorekeepers (as soon as the game in progress completes, preferably).
TOURNAMENT PLAY: NBN will conduct a single elimination post season tournament for each age division on the following the completion of the regular season league schedule. Seedings will be determined by the order of finish in the regular season. Only the 1st and 2nd place post-season tournament champions of each age division will receive trophies, medals or championship shirts. TROPHIES: NBN will be providing a participation award for all kids in the 6-8-year-old division at the end of each season. For all other divisions, an award is given to only the first place and second place teams for each age division. JEWELRY RULE: No jewelry is to be worn by any player at any time while on the basketball court. This includes rings, earrings, bracelets, watches or necklaces. This applies to practices as well as games. (This is a safety issue. Earrings may NOT be taped and must be removed.) OVERTIME: If score is tied at the end of regulation, a maximum of (2) two-minute overtimes will be held. One additional timeout is issued for each team in each overtime period and unused timeouts are carried over into overtime. If score is still tied at the end of second overtime, a jump ball will be held and the first team that scores will be declared the winner in a third and final, sudden death overtime period. No additional timeouts are issued for a sudden death period but unused timeouts can be used in the sudden death period.During Tournament Play only:There is no sudden death period. If overtime is needed, consecutive, two-minute overtime periods will be held until a winner is declared.
The running clock rule in the 4th quarter for tournament play will be adjusted to run continuously, as normal, if a team is up by 20 or more points. But shall revert to a normal, “stop clock” on dead balls if a team gets within 19 or fewer points.
Rules - North Carolina High School Basketball Association (NCHSAA) and National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) rules are in effect for all divisions except where exceptions are noted herein.
This will include the NFHS Free Throw lane rule. Players occupying marked free-throw lane lines may enter the lane when the shooter releases the ball.
The free throw shooter and players lined up outside the 3-point arc (beyond the foul line extended area) may not cross the foul line nor 3-point line until the ball hits the rim.
No player may enter the free-throw semicircle until the ball touches the rim or until the free-throw ends. This includes not breaking the foul line plane into the semicircle to box out the free throw shooter until the ball hits the rim.
When shooting free throws, the shooting team may only have two players occupying the lane lines. The other team may only have four players occupying the lane lines. The defense must occupy the two lower lane positions on all free throws. Referees are the authority, as defined by the NFHS on all rule’s decisions, game outcomes and sportsmanship decisions.
DIVISIONS - NBN plans to have (4) five different age groups/divisions each season, whenever possible: (These are modified as of 2021 to accommodate the required players per division. These are subject to change in future season and preferably are 6-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14 and 15-18 in a normal year.)
Spring 2021 divisions:6-8-year-old division will represent the (Conference USA) 9-11-year-old division will represent the (SEC) 12–14-year-old division will represent the (ACC) 15–18-year-old division will represent the (National Basketball Association - NBA) Conference USA – (6-8-Year-old) Teams will play on 10’regulation baskets. Teams will use 27.5 Youth size basketballs. Fouls shots will be taken from the 13-foot line marked by tape in the gym. Games will consist of four, 8-minute quarters. A five-second lane violation will apply, using the 13-foot line and the regular lane boundaries. Above noted pressing and overtime rules apply. There is no three-point shot and NO pressing outside the 3-point line except in the last 60 Seconds of regulation play in this division. SEC – (9-11-Year-old) Teams will play on 10’regulation baskets. Teams will use 28.5” women’s size basketballs. Fouls shots will be taken from the 13-foot line marked by tape in the gym. Games will consist of four, 8-minute quarters. A five-second lane violation will apply, using the 13-foot line and the regular lane boundaries. Above noted pressing and overtime rules apply. NO backcourt pressing until the ball crosses the half court line except in the last two minutes of regulation play in this division. Three-point shot is in effect in this division. ACC– (12-14-Year-old) Teams will play on 10’regulation baskets. Teams will use regulation 29.5” size basketballs. Fouls shots will be taken from the 15-foot free throw line. Games will consist of four, 8-minute quarters. A three-second lane violation will apply. Backcourt pressing is allowed at any time until a team is winning by 20 or more points. Three-point shot is in effect for this division. NBA– (15-18-Year-old) Teams will play on 10’regulation baskets. Teams will use regulation 29.5” size basketballs. Fouls shots will be taken from the 15-foot free throw line. Games will consist of four, 8-minute quarters. A three-second lane violation will apply. Backcourt pressing is allowed at any time until a team is winning by 20 or more points. Three-point shot is in effect for this division. A PDF version of the rules is available for download here.
UNIFORMS: The league provides a numbered jersey shirt with NBN logo for all players to wear as the official uniform for all games. Uniform shirts are to be worn “as designed”. Uniform must not be modified. No writing on the shirt and no cutting of the material is allowed. If a modification has been made to the uniform, the player will not be allowed to play in that modified shirt and must purchase a replacement of the same color, at the player’s cost. By NFHS rules, a uniform violation (technical foul) may be issued at the discretion of the officials for a modified uniform.
PLAYING TIME: All players in each age division must play in at least two full quarters of each game and must appear in both halves of that game. No player may play more than (3) three quarters of a game. Accounting for playing time is done by each coach and done on an honor basis. A major, NBN League emphasis is playing time for all players. If a player shows up after the end of the first half, a coach is only required to play that player one full quarter of the remaining game time. If a team has six or fewer players at a game, the playing time limits cannot not apply. But a team of six players must have each player sit out, at minimum, a total of 4 minutes. COACHING: All coaches are volunteers and must emphasize good sportsmanship at all times. Any coach who consistently harasses referees or shows inappropriate behavior towards the players/referees will be removed from the league. There will be no appeal process. Each coach is required to sign a NBN coach’s code of conduct form prior to the start of the season. During a game, each team is allowed only (1) coach and (1) assistant coach on the sidelines. During a game, only one coach is allowed to stand in the coach’s box and the other coach must remain seated on the bench with the players. (NFHS rules)Head coaches are responsible for the behavior of assistant coach(es), players, and their team’s spectators. As such, coaches should set the expectations with players and parents at the beginning of the season in terms of good sportsmanship and a safe and positive community environment. FORFEITS: Teams not showing up within ten minutes of their game time, or within 10 minutes of the end of the game prior to theirs, whichever is later, will forfeit their game. A team may NOT start a game with less than FOUR players. However, if a team starts a game with four players and no other players show up and one of those players foul out, a team cannot finish the game with only three players. TIME OUTS: Each team receives four, 45-second timeouts per game, plus one for each overtime period. Timeouts may be used at any time during the game and unused timeouts carry over into overtime. PRESSING: For the 6-8 Yr. old division, full court pressing is only allowed in the last 60 seconds of the game. If a team is ahead by 6 or more points in the last 60 seconds of the game, that team may not press. All other times NO defense is allowed outside the 3 Point line.
9-11-year-old divisions, backcourt pressing will only be allowed in the last two minutes of the game. All other times, a team cannot press beyond the half court line. If a team is ahead by 10 or more points in the last two minutes, that team may not press.
For the 12-14 and 15-18-year-old divisions, pressing is allowed at any time during the game. If at any time during the game a team is ahead by 20 or more points, that team may not press beyond the half court line. If that lead is cut to under 20 points, the opposing team may press again. PRESSING PENALTIES: The offending team will be given an initial warning of the violation. After the first warning or subsequent, if, at the judgement of the referees, the violation is intentional and repetitive, the opposing team will shoot two technical free throws and will do so for each violation occurrence for the remainder of the game. GAME BALL: A game ball will be provided by the NBN league and will be brought to the gym each week prior to the start of the first game. The 6–8-year-old divisions will use a 27.5 youth size basketball. The 9–11 division will use a 28.5 women’s size basketball. The 12-14 & 15-18-year-old divisions will use a 29.5 regulation size basketball. GAME CLOCK: For each game, the league provides a clock operator and an official scorebook keeper.
The game clock will stop for time outs, quarter-end and dead balls called by the referee.
Continuous Running Clock Rules 6-8, 9-11-year-old age groups - If at any time during the 4th quarter a team is leading by 20 or more points, the game clock will run continuously throughout the remainder of the game, except for granted time-outs.
12-14 & 15-18-year-old age groups - If at any time during the 4th quarter a team is leading by 20 or more points, the game clock will run continuously. If that 20-point lead is cut to 10 points or less, the clock will return back normal operation stopping on all dead balls.
For the playoffs only, in the 4th quarter if a team previously losing by 20 or more points gets within 19 or fewer points, the continuous clock is cancelled and reverts back to stopping on all whistles. SCOREBOOK
The league-provided scoresheet is the official game book and the score is final after the referee concludes the game.
No later than 5 minutes prior to game time, both coaches shall provide a pre-typed roster with jersey numbers and player names ready to provide to official scorekeepers (as soon as the game in progress completes, preferably).
TOURNAMENT PLAY: NBN will conduct a single elimination post season tournament for each age division on the following the completion of the regular season league schedule. Seedings will be determined by the order of finish in the regular season. Only the 1st and 2nd place post-season tournament champions of each age division will receive trophies, medals or championship shirts. TROPHIES: NBN will be providing a participation award for all kids in the 6-8-year-old division at the end of each season. For all other divisions, an award is given to only the first place and second place teams for each age division. JEWELRY RULE: No jewelry is to be worn by any player at any time while on the basketball court. This includes rings, earrings, bracelets, watches or necklaces. This applies to practices as well as games. (This is a safety issue. Earrings may NOT be taped and must be removed.) OVERTIME: If score is tied at the end of regulation, a maximum of (2) two-minute overtimes will be held. One additional timeout is issued for each team in each overtime period and unused timeouts are carried over into overtime. If score is still tied at the end of second overtime, a jump ball will be held and the first team that scores will be declared the winner in a third and final, sudden death overtime period. No additional timeouts are issued for a sudden death period but unused timeouts can be used in the sudden death period.During Tournament Play only:There is no sudden death period. If overtime is needed, consecutive, two-minute overtime periods will be held until a winner is declared.
The running clock rule in the 4th quarter for tournament play will be adjusted to run continuously, as normal, if a team is up by 20 or more points. But shall revert to a normal, “stop clock” on dead balls if a team gets within 19 or fewer points.
Rules - North Carolina High School Basketball Association (NCHSAA) and National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) rules are in effect for all divisions except where exceptions are noted herein.
This will include the NFHS Free Throw lane rule. Players occupying marked free-throw lane lines may enter the lane when the shooter releases the ball.
The free throw shooter and players lined up outside the 3-point arc (beyond the foul line extended area) may not cross the foul line nor 3-point line until the ball hits the rim.
No player may enter the free-throw semicircle until the ball touches the rim or until the free-throw ends. This includes not breaking the foul line plane into the semicircle to box out the free throw shooter until the ball hits the rim.
When shooting free throws, the shooting team may only have two players occupying the lane lines. The other team may only have four players occupying the lane lines. The defense must occupy the two lower lane positions on all free throws. Referees are the authority, as defined by the NFHS on all rule’s decisions, game outcomes and sportsmanship decisions.
DIVISIONS - NBN plans to have (4) five different age groups/divisions each season, whenever possible: (These are modified as of 2021 to accommodate the required players per division. These are subject to change in future season and preferably are 6-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14 and 15-18 in a normal year.)
Spring 2021 divisions:6-8-year-old division will represent the (Conference USA) 9-11-year-old division will represent the (SEC) 12–14-year-old division will represent the (ACC) 15–18-year-old division will represent the (National Basketball Association - NBA) Conference USA – (6-8-Year-old) Teams will play on 10’regulation baskets. Teams will use 27.5 Youth size basketballs. Fouls shots will be taken from the 13-foot line marked by tape in the gym. Games will consist of four, 8-minute quarters. A five-second lane violation will apply, using the 13-foot line and the regular lane boundaries. Above noted pressing and overtime rules apply. There is no three-point shot and NO pressing outside the 3-point line except in the last 60 Seconds of regulation play in this division. SEC – (9-11-Year-old) Teams will play on 10’regulation baskets. Teams will use 28.5” women’s size basketballs. Fouls shots will be taken from the 13-foot line marked by tape in the gym. Games will consist of four, 8-minute quarters. A five-second lane violation will apply, using the 13-foot line and the regular lane boundaries. Above noted pressing and overtime rules apply. NO backcourt pressing until the ball crosses the half court line except in the last two minutes of regulation play in this division. Three-point shot is in effect in this division. ACC– (12-14-Year-old) Teams will play on 10’regulation baskets. Teams will use regulation 29.5” size basketballs. Fouls shots will be taken from the 15-foot free throw line. Games will consist of four, 8-minute quarters. A three-second lane violation will apply. Backcourt pressing is allowed at any time until a team is winning by 20 or more points. Three-point shot is in effect for this division. NBA– (15-18-Year-old) Teams will play on 10’regulation baskets. Teams will use regulation 29.5” size basketballs. Fouls shots will be taken from the 15-foot free throw line. Games will consist of four, 8-minute quarters. A three-second lane violation will apply. Backcourt pressing is allowed at any time until a team is winning by 20 or more points. Three-point shot is in effect for this division. A PDF version of the rules is available for download here.