FOUR MAN BASKETBALL
4MAN.NET
FAST BREAK BASKETBALL IS BACK!
(This is the transcript of the former 4man.net website. This is to give you an idea of the inspiration to the concept of this league.)
THE CONCEPT
Over 100 years ago, James Naismith invented the game of basketball for a bunch of slow, short guys with no hops. He actually set the rim at 10 feet so no one could touch it. But if he had to do it all over again, given the speed and size of today’s players, he’d undoubtedly-
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“Make the game of basketball four-on-four.” (Frank Hughes, espn.com) |
4Man is a new summer professional basketball league offering explosive hoops surrounded by dynamic live entertainment.
4Man is full-court basketball played four-on-four.
Same size court. Same hoop.
4Man is open-court, fast-breaking, high-scoring, slam-dunking, crowd pleasing basketball. 4Man is faster, sleeker, cleaner, with greater emphasis on finesse and creativity, and less on brute force.
4Man means a lot less standing around- 44 minutes of action in under two hours. The 4Man motto- keep the ball in play. 4Man is junking all those two-minute timeouts that kill the flow at the end of a game. Plus, 4Man introduces a dynamic hockey-style “power play” to basketball, replacing most of those stupor-inducing free throws.
In a word, while staying true to the basic tenants of the game, 4Man brings showtime back to professional basketball.
RULES
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“The fast-break was always the most gorgeous action in the sport, perhaps in any sport.” (Frank Deford, Sports Illustrated) |
ALL RULE CHANGES WERE MADE TO:
| Speed up the game | Promote fast-breaks | Increase artistry |
| Discourage thuggery | Keep the ball in play | Reduce foul shots |
4Man (aka “4ball”) is 4-on-4 full court basketball. Same size court, same hoop, NBA lane and 3-point line. But 4man makes the pro game more dynamic by featuring:
Four 11-minute quarters (games to finish in under two hours).
21 second shot clock.
No defensive 3-second violation and zones allowed (but good luck).
Overtimes decided by first team to seven points.
Fouling and foul shooting: A player fouled while shooting receives one shot worth two points. Fouled while shooting a 3-pointer – one foul shot worth three points. All other fouls result in the offended team taking the ball out of bounds (to eliminate the Hack-a-Shaq strategy).
Power play: At the fourth team foul per quarter, the fouler goes to a mid-court penalty box for one possession. The ball is immediately put back into play- 4 against 3. Once the defense regains possession and crosses mid-court, the fouler re-enters on-the-fly.
No foul-out rule: In 4Man, once a player exceeds his foul limit, his team will pay an additional penalty if his coach elects to keep him in the game.
Timeouts: No back-to-back timeouts allowed. No calling timeout when you’re in trouble or inbounding the ball. Commercial timeouts will be spread evenly throughout all four quarters. Team timeouts will last only 30 seconds. And catch this- with three minutes left in the game, you won’t see another commercial until after the final buzzer.
Physical Play: In 4Man basketball, grabbing, elbowing, shoving, hooking and body-slamming (with or without the ball) are fouls. The defensive player will be allowed to hold his position.
THE BUSINESS
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"An off season schedule, single-entity ownership, low ticket prices, more scoring, smaller venues- if this all sounds like Arena Football, well, the league’s brain trust is flattered by the comparison.” (Alex Wolff, cnnsi.com) |
4Man means Summer Pro Basketball.
4Man will launch nationwide with eight teams in June of 2004. Working with Beacon Sports Capitol Partners, we’re conducting arena searches, securing television deals and talking to local investor groups (particularly existing minor league team owners) across the county. (info@4man.net).
Teams will play a 32-game regular season schedule during June, July, and August, in mid-sized arenas.
Plus, 4Man is basketball re-designed for television – offering the fastest, wildest, highest-scoring, most telegenic version of the greatest sport in the world.
The 4Man bet? Over time, our games will attract a significant number of the urban, mostly male viewers advertisers crave.
Our ultimate goal- to offer dynamic pro hoops and a great show at affordable prices.
PLAYERS
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“It’ll be a great place for a player to show what he’s got. There’s no hiding in 4-on-4. And yeah, we’ll be there scouting.” Chet Krammer, Miami Heat) |
The world is filled with thousands of excellent basketball players. 348 of them play in the NBA. The best of the rest are playing winter basketball in Italy, Greece, Spain, the NBDL, the CBA or they’re just coming out of college.
The 4Man Basketball League will offer them an opportunity to showcase their talents during the traditional off-season. A spot on a 4Man roster will mean a ticket to an NBA tryout for some. And just like in Arena Football, 4Man will eventually discover its own Kurt Warner.
ENTERTAINMENT
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“It’s not just basketball, it’s show business, and these guys understand that.” (Ron Shelton, Director, “White Men Can’t Jump”) |
4Man is committed to providing fans with a complete entertainment experience. We’ll be drawing from the deep well of talent in the Hollywood community to develop a show that’ll rock your world.
Live music, Afro-Cuban drum troupes, local drill and stomp team competitions, indoor marching bands, fraternity step shows, mascots, comedians and the latest L.A. craze- battles of the hip-hop clowns. But it’s not enough to sit back and enjoy, because our cheerleaders are into “call-and-response” – and you can’t help but get involved.
Add to this live halftime performance of the music world’s finest emerging and established music acts, and you’ve got an idea of the entertainment promise 4Man will deliver.
4MAN SHOWCASE
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“You’ll know I’ll love it.” (Mark Cuban, Founder, HDNet TV) |
4Man has run dozens of trial games in UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion in our effort to create the greatest version of the greatest game in the world.
The plan is to continue these trial games while also developing versatile troupes of musicians, dancers, cheerleaders and mascots who will bring sports entertainment to its next level.
Then, in the summer of 2003, 4Man will barnstorm the country with a series of showcase games and entertainment competitions, culminating in a nationally televised All-Star Tournament.
MANAGEMENT
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“This will be one of the greatest things to ever happen to the game of basketball.” (Mike, a fan from New Jersey) |
Rob Ryder, Founder and Commissioner robryder@4man.net
The catalyst behind 4man, Ryder played basketball at Princeton and has worked as basketball supervisor on major Hollywood movies, including “White Men Can’t Jump” and “Blue Chips.”
Chris Fager, Founder and President cfager@4man.net
Fager was a member of the senior management team in Hollywood that created and built the national network E! Entertainment TV from launch to a global business worth than $1 billion.
Clay Moser, VP League Operations cmoser@4man.net
Moser was the Vice-President of the Continental Basketball Association and until recently served as CEO of the Idaho Stampede, that league’s most profitable expansion franchise.
Dan Grigsby, Counsel
Grigsby has represented the Los Angeles Lakers since 1981, and has represented the Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA), the Los Angeles Kings (NHL), the Continental Indoor Soccer League, Roller Hockey International, the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour and the West Coast Hockey League.
Pete Newell, Rules
A Basketball Hall-of-Famer, Newell coached the University of California Bears to both NCAA and NIT titles, as well as the 1960 Olympic team to a gold medal. He has also served as GM of the LA Lakers and currently runs his famous Big Man’s Camp.
Ron Shelton, Development
Hollywood’s leading writer/director/producer of sports movies – “White Men Can’t Jump,” “Bull Durham” and “Blue Chips” among them – Shelton played college basketball and professional baseball in the Baltimore Orioles’ organization.
Brian Taylor, Basketball Operations
A Princeton All-American, ABA Rookie of the Year, and 10-year NBA player, Taylor has also worked as a teacher and coach, and as an administrator for the National Basketball Players’ Association.
Joann Klonowski, Sales
Klonowski’s 25-year career includes major and minor league experience and spans a wide range of sports including football (CMO for the XFL’s LA Extreme) hockey, soccer, baseball and the Olympics.
Don Meek, Marketing
As the principal architect of the Fox Sports Event Group, Meek built and managed more than 65 high-profile, televised sports events throughout the country.
Heidi Palarz, Television
Palarz is a 5-time Emmy Award winner who has been responsible for managing national telecasts for NBA in the Western Conference with NBC Sports and Turner Networks.
Alison Ball-Gabriel, Music
Ball-Gabriel was the Director of A&R at EMI and RCA Records, the VP of A&R for the Urban Music Development at Warner Bros. Records and currently runs her won boutique label through A&M/Interscope.
CONTACT
The 4Man Basketball League, 2601 Colorado Avenue; Santa Monica, CA 90404 Phone (310) 453-5424 Fax (310) 828-3131 E-mail: info@4man.net