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 i box out an opponent before their offensive player takes a shot ?

Asked by Kobe54 about 9 years ago

Yes, because boxing out is getting to a spot on the floor before your opponent is entitled to that space, and doing it in a way that "blocks" the direct path of your opponent.

How do you decide that making or not making a call will affect the score at the end of a game

Asked by rimbreaker over 8 years ago

You don't decide based on how you think it will affect the score, if you follow the Advantage Disadvantage philosophy you decide to ignore a violation or foul if the infraction did or did not cause an unearned advantage to the violator.

If a player is suspended for 1 game and his team receives a win as a result of a forfeit, should he be allowed to play the following game without actually sitting out a game?

Asked by JT over 8 years ago

I think this depends on the state interpretation of its own rules. My opinion is that the player should not sit out the game after a forfeit because it is not the player's fault that a team did not show for the game of his punishment. But i see it the other too.

Player A is substituted before the 2nd free throw. Player B enters the game. Opponent is called for a violation during the 2nd free throw. Can Player A re-enter the game?

Asked by David Johns about 8 years ago

A cannot reenter until the clock starts during a live ball.

When I basketball official gets in the way of the game and the ball is rolling towards out of bounds and the players can't get to it because the official is in the way then the ball goes out of bounds what should you call

Asked by Kevin about 8 years ago

The ref is part of the floor. If he gets in the way there is no relief. The ball is awarded to the opposite team who touched it last.

Why do some refs say the wrong team color sometimes? In a recent rec league game, for example, the ref called a team in orange jerseys "red." The first time I saw this I figured it was colorblindness. Then it happened several other times.

Asked by Brian about 8 years ago

It is just easier to say red than orange, or even blue than turquoise.

If the ball inadvertently hits a body part (hip) on the dribble but does not come to rest, ie, the ball handler lets the ball bounce off the floor and resumes dribbling, is this a violation?

Asked by mojolin over 8 years ago

no violation