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

SubscribeGet emails when new questions are answered. Ask Me Anything!Show Bio +

Share:

Ask me anything!

Submit Your Question

651 Questions

Share:

Last Answer on September 20, 2019

Best Rated

Can a referee order a player to retrieve a basketball that has gone out of bounds? Saw a player start then stop to get a ball that was rolling off the court and went out of bounds. The ref could ask the player to help but can't compel that act

Asked by Chipjr about 10 years ago

You are correct. There is nothing in the rule book which would compel a player to retrieve the ball for an official. The only related rule deals with a player not giving the ball to an official or touching the ball when the other team has possession, like after a basket by your own team. This would be a delay of game.

A1 fouls B1, B2 fouls A2 with two officials calling the fouls at the same time. Team B is in the bonus, Team A is not. Do you shoot a bonus for Team B or do you resume play at point of interruption?

Asked by RefnDre almost 11 years ago

If the officials determine that the fouls were simultaneous then no free throws are shot, and it goes back to the point of interruption. If the simultaneous fouls were committed with no team possession (for example while rebounding) then it goes to the possession arrow.

If the second foul was intentional and committed after the first foul it would be a technical. Then you would administer the penalties for the first foul (free throws if in the bonus or on a shooting foul), then you would administer the technical foul and the ball would be taken out at half court by the opponent of the technical foul shooter.

1 pt game, ref gives ball to inbound with 7.6-7.9 secs left and running clock. team does not get ball in until less than 1.5 seconds, so clearly five seconds, but no call. Coach shows ref 6 seconds ran, but no call. What would you do?

Asked by Michael over 11 years ago

According to NFHS rules, a referee can alter the scoreboard if, and only if he has direct knowledge of the error and correction. So, in this case you start with 7.6 minutes. The throw-in team has 5 seconds to avoid a violation. So theoretically the violation should have been called with 2.6 seconds. You might think that this is the end of it. However, it takes longer to administer a throw in than 2.6 seconds, allowing both teams to set up. So unfortunately I think the game ended. This is why I dislike running clocks in close games.

While in the air, grabbing a rebound, in one motion I land on both feet and the ball touches the ground with it in both my hands, never letting it go, what can't I do?

Asked by Audelio over 9 years ago

If your hands are on top of the ball pushing it to the floor it is double dribble. If the ball drops and you pick it up it could be a muff, and if you lift one foot the other will be the pivot. Then you can dribble.

Follow-up: Is this the correct call to make? Calling the technical % wise giving the advantage to the offending team. Free lay-up is guaranteed 2 points. Assume FT% is 80% and avg team fg % .3-.4. Calling the tech seems to remove there advantage.

Asked by Ryan over 10 years ago

True. It is the same halt in advantage as an intentional foul which stops a breakaway. The rules try to take care of this by awarding 2 free throws plus the ball. However, I agree. Although I never ran into an intentional T to stop a breakaway, it would be good practice to let the player finish the layup or jump shot and then call the T.

Is there a rule in Indiana High School re: Can a coach play a freshman player who is not on JV roster in some games / not all games whch takes out a JV player who is on JV roster, he isn,t even able to dress in uniform and sit on bench with team.

Asked by Jackiejdp over 10 years ago

I do not know. Each state association sets rules for eligibility so you will have to check with Indiana's high school association.

team A inbounding ball under their offensive hoop. ball is thrown in, inadvertently the horn goes off {20 left on shot clock}, Team A lays it in. good hoop or not?.. call made was inadvertent whistle, no hoop {neither ref actually blew a whistle}

Asked by midd44 over 10 years ago

There is a long running example of this in previous case books from NFHS: "If the scorer signals the horn when the ball is live, the officials shall ignore the signal if a scoring play is in progress. Otherwise the officials may stop play to determine why the horn was sounded."

In your scenario, count the basket, then blow the whistle (because a scoring play was going on while the horn was originally sounded.