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 referee (as opposed to the other officials) has the responsibility to decide matters upon which the timer and scorekeeper disagree. Furthermore, "the referee shall make decisions on any points not specifically covered in the rulebook."
There is no explicit provision in the rule book to address the situation you describe. So, the referee has to decide what would be consistent with the intent of the rulebook.
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If team A loses possession because B tips the ball, but A does not reclaim possession (going thru fingertips does not establish possession) there would be no backcourt violation.
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I understand your point. In nearly all sports, coaches make moves that help determine the outcome of games; time outs, call in plays etc. I think the NFHS needs to decide if they want to completely eliminate the "everyone in the gym knows it is an intentional foul" being ignored or called as a common, or leave it unevenly called as it is. In the past they have tried to issue guidelines, but the gray area for interpretation is a mile wide. Don't know how much noise they hear about this issue, but NFHS has not settled on a good solution yet.
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See my answer about nine questions back where Cody asked, "Who has the authority to throw a fan out of a game?"
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The 3 second area (the paint) is defined by the outer edge of the lines. Any part of your foot on the line puts you in the paint.
The outer line on the court is out of bounds, so on a throw in the player who is throwing the ball in could step on the line before throwing in as long as the foot does not step on the court.
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I can honestly say I have never noticed that.
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Some officials carry a small gauge, but most referees hold the ball head-high (about 5 3/4 feet high) and let it drop. It should bounce up to the official's elbow when the upper arm is held parallel to the floor. Higher bounce than the elbow means over-inflated, bouncing under the elbow means it needs more inflation. The referee usually checks the game ball after making sure the book contains at least the number of players who are warming up (and the starters are designated), around 10 minutes before gametime. Try it sometime when you are on a wooden floor. Note, if the game is being played on an indoor soft rubberized floor (as in underclass games in the fieldhouse), the ball will need more air than on a wooden floor.
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