The one-and-one is done.

At its most recent board meeting, the PIAA voted to adopt the National Federation of State High Schools Associations’ (NFHS) rule change that teams will shoot two free throws for common fouls when in the bonus.

The change to Rule 4-8-1 eliminates the one-and-one foul shooting scenario. The bonus will now be set at five fouls in a quarter - instead of seven fouls in a half - and the team fouls will now be reset after each quarter, instead of carrying over.

In a press release, Lindsey Atkinson - the NFHS Director of Sports and liaison to the Basketball Rules Committee - stated that the rule change was implemented to help reduce higher injury rates on rebounding situations, and the NHFS saw this as an opportunity to reduce opportunities for rough play during rebounds.

Atkinson also stated that the rule change will improve game flow and allow teams to adjust their play by not carrying foul totals to quarters two and four.

Opinions always vary when it comes to any significant rule change - and that is certainly the case among coaches in the Times News area when it comes to this change.

Marian Fillies head coach Damian Fritz sees the rule change as an advantage for his program on the defensive side of the floor.

“I think this rule allows teams to play more aggressive because the fouls reset each quarter,” said Fritz. “I understand and respect the reservations that people have with the rule change, but for us we love to pressure teams, whether that’s in the full court or in the half court. So even if we accumulate six or seven team fouls in the first quarter, we don’t have to change our team approach in the second quarter and we can continue to be aggressive

“We’re all about playing with an aggressive defensive mentality, so this will allow us to continue to play that style and even potentially enhance that mentality.”

Palmerton boys basketball head coach Ken Termini is not in favor of the rule change for many reasons, but it’s the high pressure one-and-one scenarios late in games that will now be absent due to the rule change that frustrates the Bombers’ coach the most.

“It doesn’t matter if you are 5-2, 140 pounds or 6-4, 240 pounds, you can walk up to the free throw line during that one-and-one scenario in a high-pressure moment and you can contribute,” said Termini. “If you have skill and if you have poise, you can make a difference, and that’s a part of the game that I do not want to see go away.

“I think you’re going to see younger players and some players that just aren’t physically developed yet, see less playing time because of this rule change, and also less opportunities to shine in those moments.”

As Director Atkinson stated in the NFHS press release, it was safety - specifically safety in rebounding situations when players were shooting free throws that spurred the rule change.

“I don’t necessarily understand the rationale behind it,” said Panther Valley head coach Pat Crampsie. “If you’re trying to make the game less physical, it just doesn’t really make sense, because you’re giving teams extra fouls.

“I think you’re going to see an increase in physicality with this rule change, and also, taking away the one-and-one, which has been such a great part of the game, I don’t like that at all. Those moments late in a game where a player may have to hit the front end of a one-and-one to either protect a lead or try and help their team come back are always highly entertaining and pressure packed.”

Whether coaches and players like it or not, the new rule will take effect when the 2023-24 opens in just a few months.

One universal theme, however, from all three coaches was that this rule change would work better if it was put in place in conjunction with the proposed NFHS shot clock rule that the PIAA voted down last year.

If that feeling is wide spread among high school coaches throughout the state, this year’s free throw shooting change could be aligned with an even bigger rule change in the near future.