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

Who has the authority to throw a fan out of the game?

Asked by Cody about 11 years ago

Indirectly referees and the home school have the authority.  In NFHS rules there is a function called home management.  It is usually the athletic director, or a representative of the AD.  The rule book states that in the absence of a designated home management person, the home team head coach will assume that function.

Directly from the rule book:  The officials shall penalize unsporting behavior by player, coach, substitute, team attendant or FOLLOWER.

Further the book states:  ... the officials may rule fouls on either team if its supporters act in a way to interfere with the proper conduct of the game.

It also cautions the officials to be careful applying penalties so as not to unfairly penalize a team.

When I officiated, I never engaged in an expulsion dialog with a fan.  I simply went to home management (the AD) and said something like, "the guy in the third row with the blue shirt has to go.  Home management always complied with my request and escorted the unruly fan out (or used an on site police officer to be the escort) and the AD often apologized about a overzealous home team fan.

In the Michigan v Tenessee NCAA game Nic Stauskas passed the ball to himself off the backboard. While everyone lauds it as a "heady" play I think it's illegal, yes? I'm told it's only legal in the NBA.

Asked by Bill Szcz about 11 years ago

In high school rules, a player can retrieve the ball after a "legitimate" shot attempt without hitting anything.  For example, you could retrieve an airball shot even though the ball has not been touched by another player.  However, f the throw to the backboard is not a shot attempt and a player purposely throws it off the backboard, I would call that travelling - much like tossing the ball forward to yourself and moving down the court.

What is the rule on standing side by side on tip off.

Asked by Dean over 11 years ago

Rule 6 Section 3 Article 3... Teammates shall not occupy adjacent positions around the center restraining circle if an opponent indicates a desire for one of these positions before the referee is ready to toss the ball.

Is a referee considered to be apart of the court

Asked by Zach riordan almost 11 years ago

Well, the referee is considered to be part of the floor where he is standing.  If he is out of bounds and the ball touches him, it is out of bounds.  If he is in bounds and the ball touches him, play on.

Backcourt Violation:- If a member of my team is at the backcourt, while I am dribbling and have achieved front court status, i then take a shot and on the rebound it hits one of my team member's hand and reaches the back court. Is this a violation?

Asked by MJ almost 11 years ago

Team possession ends when the shot goes up.  If the ball touches an offensive player's hand, but he does not direct or control the ball, team possession has not been re-established and therefore no backcourt violation.

On a throw-in, after a basket, the thrower is permitted to run the baseline. We have a live ball situation. Can he/she dribble while running the baseline?

Asked by JiminJax over 10 years ago

There is no restriction on a throw in of a player bouncing the ball - unless the referee interprets the bouncing to be a pass which first hits out of bounds. If it is clearly a dribble, no issue.

If you r howling at a game telling the referee he didn't call a fowl can he make u leave the building

Asked by huff over 10 years ago

Yes, of course the ref can. As I have addressed in prior questions, there is a Home Administration function (usually the athletic director, but always a representative of the home team). Home Administration is responsive to the referees needs including safety and timeliness. If a referee asks Home Administration to remove a fan, they will do it. Each referee has a different tolerance so it rarely happens. But if you get personal, or disrupt the game you should be tossed.