Learning more about basketball - ask the experts

[HuskyNan]

I’m starting a thread so people can ask questions about basketball (only), regarding things they always wondered about. Do you want to know the difference between man to man and zone defense? What is a protected area? Ask here. We certainly have enough coaches, former players, and other knowledgeable folk that can answer.

Anyone mocking or ridiculing the questions or the person asking gets a time out. Snark is not invited

I have three questions:

1. Why is a layup called a bunny, among other things?
2. Why is an assist also called a dime “She dropped a dime to the cutting player”?
3. I rewatched this past season’s UConn-Tenn game and there were a lot of blocks/charge calls that were really bad. But at one point Rebecca mentioned that a player had received the ball in an area, which she drew on the telestrator, a rectangle in front of the basket, which made the protected area irrelevant so that a player with the ball could be called for a charge even in the protected area. I forgot to ask about that at the time but upon rewatching, I had the same question - what is she talking about? Coaches?

 

[Bone Dog]

The etymology on “dropping a dime” for an assist is shrouded in the mists of time. I think it comes from old pay phone technology and refers to making a phone call. If I had to guess, I’d say this sounds like something Al Maquire or Dick Vitale might have come up with. And for those of us old enough to remember, the dime wouldn’t drop right away in the the older style phones. If you made a connection, then the dime would drop. If no one picked up on the other end, the phone would give the dime back.

 

[hookshot]

comes from the phrase “passing on a dime.” It calls to a pass so accurate, the passer could bounce the ball off a tiny dime on the ground into his teammate's hands ?.

 

[Bigboote]

Regarding a bunny, I've heard other easy things called bunnies. Specifically, in college, the easy courses were called bunnies. I have no idea the origin of that.

 

[FeloniousMonk]

I thought the phrase “dropping a dime” when referring to an assist stemmed from the days you could make a phone call for a dime (from a phone booth) and “dropping a dime” referred to making the connection (phone call = assist) to the scorer. I always liked that explanation.

 

[DocStressor]

In street talk, dropping a dime means snitching on someone in order to get yourself out of trouble. Sort of like passing the ball to someone else.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I also would like a (clear) answer to @HuskyNan question #3. I have heard the explanations for when the arc matters and when it doesn't, including things about the "secondary defender" and where the play originates, but they don't "resonate" - which is to say they may make sense at that moment but I can't put them together afterword to "know" when the rule applies. Hope someone can break it down simply, this is one of the few rules where I just struggle to get it.

 

[Bone Dog]

I also would like a (clear) answer to @HuskyNan question #3. I have heard the explanations for when the arc matters and when it doesn't, including things about the "secondary defender" and where the play originates, but they don't "resonate" - which is to say they may make sense at that moment but I can't put them together afterword to "know" when the rule applies. Hope someone can break it down simply, this is one of the few rules where I just struggle to get it.

I share your curiosity. I remember that game and Rebecca's explanation. But that was the first I'd ever heard of it. I could come up with some rationale for it, I suppose -- something about how the arc was put in place to address out of control drives to the basket, not people receiving the ball in the low post. If it's an extension of the old "player control foul" style of thinking, such a distinction might make sense. That's just a guess on my part. I'd really like to hear the history of this rule.

 

[Zarathustra]

The etymology on “dropping a dime” for an assist is shrouded in the mists of time. I think it comes from old pay phone technology and refers to making a phone call. If I had to guess, I’d say this sounds like something Al Maquire or Dick Vitale might have come up with. And for those of us old enough to remember, the dime wouldn’t drop right away in the the older style phones. If you made a connection, then the dime would drop. If no one picked up on the other end, the phone would give the dime back.

I also remember the bell like sound when the coin fully dropped into the "coin box".
Perhaps that give meaning to the sense that "YOUR PHONE CALL HAS BEEN CONNECTED"... the
same thing as the pass of the basketball 'Connected' to the scorer? Maybe?

 

[hoophuskee]

My only guess about "bunny" would be that a bunny is a baby rabbit ie. the baby rabbit is small/short, and possibly considered easy going.. The shot is short and easy.

I'm just guessing.

 

[Zarathustra]

In street talk, dropping a dime means snitching on someone in order to get yourself out of trouble. Sort of like passing the ball to someone else.

I also remember this use of 'dropping a dime" = reminds me of Raymond Chandler == Philip Marlow!

 

[Jmsdawg]

I believe I heard a 3 second call made on the defense in the NBA Eastern finals. Is there a 3 second violation in college on the defense?

 

[Bone Dog]

I believe I heard a 3 second call made on the defense in the NBA Eastern finals. Is there a 3 second violation in college on the defense?

I don't think so. There's also no zone rule.

 

[JoePgh]

Regarding Nan's Question #3 (the lower defensive box), there is in fact a whole Boneyard thread on this subject that appeared right after the Tennessee game:

Basketball Lawyers: Please Define "Lower Defensive Box"

The broadcast of last night's Tennessee game (specifically the play where Jillian Hollingshead drove on Aubrey and was initially called for a charge, which was then changed to a block when video showed that Aubrey's heels were in the restricted area) was the first time that I had ever heard the...

the-boneyard.com

I think you will find that discussion to be quite thorough.

 

[Bone Dog]

Regarding Nan's Question #3 (the lower defensive box), there is in fact a whole Boneyard thread on this subject that appeared right after the Tennessee game:

Basketball Lawyers: Please Define "Lower Defensive Box"

The broadcast of last night's Tennessee game (specifically the play where Jillian Hollingshead drove on Aubrey and was initially called for a charge, which was then changed to a block when video showed that Aubrey's heels were in the restricted area) was the first time that I had ever heard the...

the-boneyard.com

I think you will find that discussion to be quite thorough.

Thanks @JoePgh and @stamfordhusky for some details. If I understand this, the rule means the restricted area (where you can't draw a charge call) no longer applies if the offensive player receives the ball in the "Lower Defensive Box" (or LDB). Now let me try to imagine what the rationale behind it is.

Is the point to protect defenders from bigs who receive a pass in the low post and then try to bull their way to the basket? On this interpretation of the rule, even though the defender is inside the restricted arc, they can still draw a charge in that circumstance. Other than the Tennessee game, I have never heard of this rule, and certainly never seen it applied. It is all too common for bigs to get the ball down there and then lower the shoulder. If this rule is actually enforced, I'd expect to see a lot more low post charges called.

 

[BobbyJ]

I don't think so. There's also no zone rule.

There’s no zone rule in the NBA either. Zone D has been legal since 2001-02. Miami plays it more than anyone.

 

[Alydar]

Regarding a bunny, I've heard other easy things called bunnies. Specifically, in college, the easy courses were called bunnies. I have no idea the origin of that.

Hunting. Shooting a bear is hard. Shooting a rabbit isn't. And a bunny is a baby rabbit.

Sorry you asked?


My BB question is why the same rules call fouls away from the paint that they ignore under the paint. Touch a 3pt shooter a second after they release the shot and it's 3ft's. Do it under the glass, no call. Maybe there are different rules. I'd like to know.

 

[Beemer]

This is a great idea for a thread. I've been watching a long time and there is still a lot I don't know or understand.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Thanks @JoePgh and @stamfordhusky for some details. If I understand this, the rule means the restricted area (where you can't draw a charge call) no longer applies if the offensive player receives the ball in the "Lower Defensive Box" (or LDB). Now let me try to imagine what the rationale behind it is.

Is the point to protect defenders from bigs who receive a pass in the low post and then try to bull their way to the basket? On this interpretation of the rule, even though the defender is inside the restricted arc, they can still draw a charge in that circumstance. Other than the Tennessee game, I have never heard of this rule, and certainly never seen it applied. It is all too common for bigs to get the ball down there and then lower the shoulder. If this rule is actually enforced, I'd expect to see a lot more low post charges called.

The rule in question is enforced. As the last post on the linked thread indicated, it doesn't arise all that often; I have also seen coaches "challenge" it (add challenges to my WBB question, I have never heard coaches in the NCAA have challenges, but, well, they do in some fashion). Adia successfully challenged a charge call in a game this season, and explained it had to do with where the ball was received.

Bigs bulling around under the basket might be an offensive foul (or not) but it wouldn't be a block / charge situation. Just an offensive foul. In the PAC, there is no question in my mind that defenders get free rein under the basket unless they have the nerve to touch the shooters arm. Knocking the player down, ok, touch her arm - how dare you, 2 shots.

 

[donalddoowop]

Hunting. Shooting a bear is hard. Shooting a rabbit isn't. And a bunny is a baby rabbit.

Sorry you asked?


My BB question is why the same rules call fouls away from the paint that they ignore under the paint. Touch a 3pt shooter a second after they release the shot and it's 3ft's. Do it under the glass, no call. Maybe there are different rules. I'd like to know.

There is more room on the perimeter than there is under the basket. It is harder not to make contact in the lane. It should be easier to not make contact on the perimeter. I read that somewhere many years ago.

 

[Rowdy831]

Once upon a time the 3sec call on defense was called an Illegal Defense. A zone in the NBA is really the ability to switch whenever someone comes from one zone of the floor to another. When a player is standing in the lane and not guarding anyone this is still against the rules and will sometimes be called a defensive three second violation. Like the offensive three second it isn't called very often.

 

[Rowdy831]

The term Dime in other sports represents a perfect pass or fantastic throw that led to an out. Usually when an outfielder throws out a runner at home which is called an assist. I never really understood why a pass in basketball was called a dime but it could have been taken from baseball but I really don't know the origin. The pay phone explanation sounds plausible so from now on I will go with that one.

 

[meyers7]

Dimes. It's a little known (or at least told) story. Way back in the day Bob Cousy, who is considered the first true PG in the NBA. At least the first well known one. Anyway when he was growing up, his father used to give him $.10 for every assist he got in a game. A whole dollar if he got a double (10). He was the assist leader quite a few years. In an interview, he was asked how he became so good at it. He told the story of the $.10, dimes about his father. Dimes/assist, just stuck after that.

 

[CL82]

I have always gone with the pay phone theory. The phrase isn't hitting a dime or stopping on a dime it's dropping in time. For those of us who are old enough to remember pay phones, you had to drop the dime into the slot. I if someone needed to make a phone call but didn't have $.10 dropping a dime in the slot would be assisting them. Thus, an assist is "dropping a dime."

 

[Jmsdawg]

Dimes. It's a little known (or at least told) story. Way back in the day Bob Cousy, who is considered the first true PG in the NBA. At least the first well known one. Anyway when he was growing up, his father used to give him $.10 for every assist he got in a game. A whole dollar if he got a double (10). He was the assist leader quite a few years. In an interview, he was asked how he became so good at it. He told the story of the $.10, dimes about his father. Dimes/assist, just stuck after that.

Bob Cousy was my favorite player when I was in high school. He was the guy we all idolized. Great story, I had not heard that and I followed Cousy for many years when he was a Celtic.