If the information is properly kept during games, and unfortunately that’s not always the case, those big new high-school scoreboards inside gymnasiums keeping tabs on the various girls and boys basketball games have capabilities to reveal much.
The score is the one thing that is always kept, and done so correctly. But now, those new boards are set up to tabulate and display the points and personal foul totals of each of the 10 players in the contest at the same time, five per team. If a player leaves the game, their totals are replaced by the substitute that enters. Then, those totals will reappear when, and if, that player returns.
Those two totals are the biggest additions to the scoreboards, and can be very helpful for those involved in and have a big rooting interest in the action. For fans, it’s nice to know a player’s personal-foul totals, especially if that player is one of the best.
In high-school basketball, a player is disqualified with five personal fouls. So keeping up with that total throughout a game is important.
Keeping track of the players’ point totals is more of a curiosity thing for those watching – not nearly as significant as the personal-foul numbers. It’s always neat to know, though, if someone is approaching 20 points in a game. Or, on the more rare occasion in high-school basketball, 30 or 40.
It takes work and concentration for those doing so to correctly keep up and quickly post such scoreboard information. For those schools that regularly do so, that effort is so much appreciated. For those taking the easy way out and don’t, please make an effort to keep up and learn how from those that do.
Not all schools have scoreboards with those capabilities. The new boards are often added if gyms are renovated. If that occurs, maybe training sessions regarding how to properly use the boards could be included.