Prairie City’s Cole Teel prepares to shoot a free throw against Faith Bible in the 13 Mile Shootout at Grant Union High School on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022.

HERMISTON — At the start of the 2023-24 basketball season, high school teams nationwide will have a new rule for free throws after rule changes were recently approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations Basketball Rules Committee.

Teams now will shoot two free throws for common fouls when in the bonus (five fouls). This rule eliminates the one-and-one scenario, and team fouls will reset after each quarter.

Previously, teams were awarded the one-and-one bonus when their opponents committed seven fouls in a half, and two foul shots when 10 fouls were committed each half. Team fouls were reset at the half.

Hermiston boys coach Bryan Edwards is in favor of the change.

“I think it’s awesome,” he said. “Obviously, there will be some adjustments. Coaches will have to plan a little differently. Resetting fouls will be great. There will be a lot of strategic planning involved. I think it will help the game a lot. You are able to set up your offense because you know he is going to get two.”

The NFHS said changes were made to cut down on injuries.

“The rules committee studied data that showed higher injury rates on rebounding situations and saw this as an opportunity to reduce opportunities for rough play during rebounds,” Lindsey Atkinson, NFHS director of sports, said in a news release. “Additionally, resetting the fouls each quarter will improve game flow and allow teams to adjust their play by not carrying foul totals to quarters two and four.”

Nixyaawii boys coach Jeremy Barkley is on the fence about the change, and the reason why.

“I don’t agree that it will cut down on injuries,” he said. “I haven’t seen a lot of injuries on free throw box-outs. I would like to see more information on where they get their injury numbers. It will affect strategy. It will be something to get used to and something else we use to strategize. It’s more of a learning curve for us than the shot clock.”

Oregon schools will have a shot clock starting this season, which Barkley is highly in favor of. The Golden Eagles are a high-scoring team (2,359 points scored last season), and like to run the court.

“I love the shot clock,” he said. “That is a great idea. We are a little behind on that. The ones I feel bad for are the teams that aren’t very good.”

Unlike the shot clock, which varies from state to state, the new rule is universal, and have value, according to Edwards.

“As coaches, we need to be better,” he said. “Teach your players, educate them. I’m tired of complaints. These are the rules, you play by them. You compete and give yourself a chance every night.”

Edwards agrees with Barkley on the injury data, but said the rule will encourage coaches to improve their defense.

“We are going to have to do a lot of teaching on defense,” he said. “I’m excited for how we are going to get into schemes in practice. Basketball is a game of chess. Everyone now has to adjust a bit. It will teach teams how to play defense better. We are trying to grow the game.”

While the news of the free throw rule came out just a few days ago, Hermiston player Grant Olsen texted his coach and asked if it was real.

“I told him it was,” Edwards said. “I told him he is going to have to play better defense.”