When taking digital photographs at a basketball game, hanging out behind the backboard is a great place for getting good shots. Rebounds, scoring, fights over the ball -- it all happens under the boards. Here are some other good locations for shooting hoops:

• Take to the bleachers. Take some shots from up in the bleachers with a telephoto prefocused on the rim. This is a good location for getting the rebounder pulling the ball off the rim and a good look at the player's face. Try to find a spot a little higher than the rim. This generally calls for a longer zoom lens setting, about 100mm to 135mm for a digital camera.
• Head for the sidelines. Shoot along the sideline with a longer zoom setting to get a shot of a ball handler bringing the ball up the court. From this position, look for a shot of the coach yelling instructions to the players and pivot to grab some crowd intensity shots. Sometimes, you can catch a tense moment as the ball is thrown back into play.
• Don't forget halftime and timeouts. Now's the time to look for shots of the coach talking strategy. A wide-angle lens gets you in close when possible (easy for high school ball or younger, but you probably won't be able to get that close for college or the pros).

Basketball is a great sport for the novice photographer who's looking to build a sports portfolio. It's possible to get good photos without having to break the bank on a camera with an ultralong telephoto lens zoom setting.