Basketball Referee

Basketball Referee

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

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Last Answer on September 20, 2019

Best Rated

What is the rule for tapping a loose ball when recovering a steal? I saw a call tonight that stopped a fast break because a player tapped the ball to a teammate with the palm of their hand??? How does the rule state this violation? A first for me!

Asked by Cliff about 10 years ago

you can tap a ball. the main prohibition is that you cannot punch the ball with a fist.

Say someone fouled me, and i receive 2 free throw shots. If I jump over the free throw line and make my shot before landing does it count? Also, is it legal to dunk a free throw shot if physically able?

Asked by Shane about 11 years ago

In the violations section of the rule book regarding free throws, it states that the free throw shooter shall have neither foot beyond the vertical plane of the edge of the free throw line which is further from the basket.

This restriction ends when the ball hits the ring, backboard or until the free throw ends.

So no, a player cannot soar through the air leaping from the semi-circle to dunk a ball - he would have to cross the vertical plane of the free throw line.

I have found being a 17 year old referee in Australia refereeing National championships is a great way To put up with angry spectators. But how do you go about speaking to the coaches when abuse is thrown at you from them without T'ing them up?

Asked by Lochlan over 11 years ago

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.

lets pretend a 1on1 situation.
if the attacker is attempting to drive in to the right using his right hand, can the defender trap the attacker's left arm to stop them?

Asked by Terry over 11 years ago

I am not sure what you mean by trap. Are you saying the defender steps closer and prevents the dribbler from moving because of the outstreched arm of the dribbler?  Then yes, the defender can move as long as he is entitled to the spot on the floor. But if you are saying the defender somehow holds the arm of the dribbler it is a common foul.  If I have missed the point of your question rephrase it and I will try again.

Seems to me that a foul on a tip in should be a loose ball since by definition no team has possession. If it gets tipped in and the team is in the bonus its no different than a player making a shot while his teammate gets fouled under the basket.

Asked by dhatch over 11 years ago

In NFHS there is no such thing as a loose ball foul,  This is very simple... in the judgement of the officials is the batted ball a legitimate "try" for a goal?  I would never call a batted ball anywhere other than in the paint a legitimate try.  So, a half court tip, batted ball would earn a common foul, not a shooting foul. You are correct in that you must have player control established to be in the act of shooting. But it is not the same as a fellow player being fouled to shoot a one and one on a made shot while in the air, because it is a foul on one player - either he is in the act of shooting, *which ends when an airborne shooter hits the floor, or he isn't in the act of shooting.

R ball...in 2 ref high school BB should only the "under" ref look for and call 3 second violations, so the upper ref won't have to waste his time looking for it and can look for other violations????

Asked by Mark M about 11 years ago

In a two man crew there are occasions when the trail official should call three seconds.  Imagine the ball in the corner near the sideline and endline (baseline), on the lead official's side of the court (the lead is the ref on the endline). The lead should drift toward the sideline with the body angled away from the basket.  That leaves the trail official responsibility to look into the paint, and possibly call 3 seconds.  By the way, I rarely called 3 seconds in Varsity games - because I think it is the perfect advantage/disadvantage call.  That is even though someone is camped out for 3+ seconds, I would only interrupt the game for 3 seconds if that player received the ball or captured the rebound.

can Substitute A6 enter the court wearing a leg compression sleeve for medical reasons

Asked by candyman007 over 10 years ago

The answer is yes.  A rule change for this coming season (2014-15)  in NFHS rules states: Arm sleeves, knee sleeves, lower leg sleeves and tights are permissable as long as they meet the color and logo restrictions.