Rndballref
20 Years Experience
Chicago, IL
Male, 60
For twenty years I officiated high school, AAU and park district basketball games, retiring recently. For a few officiating is the focus of their occupation, while for most working as an umpire or basketball referee is an avocation. I started ref'ing to earn beer money during college, but it became a great way to stay connected to the best sports game in the universe. As a spinoff, I wrote a sports-thriller novel loosely based on my referee experiences titled, Advantage Disadvantage
The coach (assuming he has not been seatbelted with a technical foul prior to this) is entitled to stand inside the coach's box, which is out of bounds. If the coach was out of bounds or his foot was on the line the collusion, though unfortunate, is not a technical foul. If the coach was squarely in bounds which casued the collision then it should be called a T. Borderline, I would pass.
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Carrying the ball is one of ways the rule book states that a dribble comes to an end. So the very next dribble should be called as a double dribble if the player carried the ball prior to the subsequent dribble. My opinion is that refs have allowed too much carrying to go on - the dribbler gains too much control of the basketball if you let a player cup or turn over the ball.
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The direction of the pivot foot vis a vis the nonpivot makes no difference as you can pivot 360 degrees on your pivot. If your right foot is the pivot you can step with your left and then jump picking up your right foot off the floor and it is legal. I think of it this way - if you were not allowed to ever lift your pivot foot how could you shoot a layup? Direction does not matter, you can make this move as a fadeaway and it is still not travelling (but your coach might bench you!).
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No, by rule they cannot, but it depends (and the following discussion assumes the offensive player does NOT have the ball):
Coaches teach the armbar technique but if the arm in the back prevents an offensive player from moving to another legal spot, it is holding.
If the armbar is set within the verticality the defender is entitled to, and the defender's forearm is used to keep from being pushed backward by the offensive player then there is no foul, or an offensive foul.
I always looked to see if the armbar moved foreward to push the offensive player off his spot, then it is a foul. If the armbar did not push the opponent, I would not call it
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Just how educated is the typical US military serviceman?
Fifteen minutes before the game, the officials are to take their positions on the court. An Umpire (U1 & U2) stand on the sideline at approximately the free throw line extended. While walking to their positions, all officials are to look for obstructions, short throw in areas, proper bench locations, and proper coaches boxes. The referee stands at half court. The umpires are tasked with 2 things: get a count of the players and look for faulty or illegal equipment (metal clips in hair, unauthorized uniform variances, etc.). The referee takes the player count from both umpires and between 10-12 minutes before gametime the referee checks the scorer's book to 1) ensure that the book has at least as many entries as there are players warming up, and 2) that the starters are designated in the bokk no later than 10 minutes before game time. Once the book is verified, the referee calls the umpires together along with team captains and coaches. The referee normally conducts the pregame with mandatory state-required admonishments. Then the referees go back to their positions and right before the nationa anthem stand in front of the scorers table.
I never found a coach trying to take advantage of equipment except there have been over or underinflated balls that I have adjusted. Many referees carry an inflation pin in case they have to let some air out of a game ball.
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It is confusing because there are different philosophies of how to call these situations. The rules clearly state that a foul intentionally committed should be called intentional and administered with 2 free throws and the ball at point of interruption.
Most referees will avoid calling intentional fouls if the foul is not severe, the player attempted to go after the ball, and/or did not grab the player. Here is the dilemma...if you wait to make sure a foul is a foul when the whole gym is expecting one then it looks bad not to call an intentional and play can get rough. If you have a quick whistle on first contact it looks like you are aiding the losing team in their attempt to foul their way back into the game.
I wish I had a better answer for you. This is one of the toughest judgement calls in the game.
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Great question. In my career I have called very few T's on coaches. My approach is two-fold. 1) if the coach is working me up and down the court, I will talk calmly on a dead ball (never stop officiating on a live ball - ignore the coach). I will say, "coach, your constant rants are unwarranted, and may prevent me from doing my job. If it persists without specifics, I will be forced to call a "T" and have you seatbelted to the bench". 2) if the coach wants/needs to discuss a particular play on a dead ball, always in front of the bench, don't let the coach come on the court - walk him back to the bench, he will follow: a) I ask the coach what he saw on the play. If I saw something different, I tell him and explain that if I saw it his way, I would have called it his way, but I didn't.. b) If I saw the same thing, but believe he is misinterpeting a rule or a mechanic, I explain why I am calling it the way I did. For example, if a coach tells me that a player is camped out in 3 seconds and I have ignored it, I explain that I am applying advantage/disadvantage and will only call 3 seconds if it is material to the play - so he may be technically right, but that is my call. c) If I have booted the call, I admit it to the coach and tell him that since calling (or ignoring) a play, I have replayed it in my mind, and think I made an error. They always stop the harrassment when you admit an error. It is tough when you are young - they treated me differently as my hair grew gray than when I first started out - sure, my judgement improved, but also coaches usually try to push around young officials. In summary, ref the best you can. Be honest with yourself about blown calls, and have the strength to explain your calls - if you can't explain your calls, you should not be wearing the stripes.
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