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

When driving to the basket, how much can you use your off hand to swat away the defender's reaching hand and how much can you legally push the defender?

Asked by Jay over 10 years ago

In theory, you cannot use your hand to swat away the defender. In practice, I think it is a judgement call by the official. If I were working games my judgement would be based on whether the hand swat created any kind of advantage for the offense.

is it legal in a "step through" move to pivot and then step with non pivot foot while lifting your pivot foot to then jump off your non pivot foot towards the goal to shoot?? Ive heard people say you have to jump off both feet or its travel.

Asked by maxstarr over 9 years ago

Yes legal.

5. My Question: Is the pivot foot the 1st step or 2nd step
I read somewhere that player who lands with one foot first may only pivot using that foot.
Is it the 1st foot or 2nd foot that becomes the pivot foot when you land.

Asked by Doug about 9 years ago

If you catch the ball in the air, land on one foot and hop to both feet, then neither os the pivot foot. However, generally, yes. Your first foot down is your pivot foot.

Team A is in bounding the ball. And team B is guarding the inbounded but is getting to close and crossing the line. Is this delay of game? And if so what happens when you call delay of game?

Asked by Riley Prior over 9 years ago

On the first infraction of ctossing thru the throw in boundary, a warning dhould be called and the scorer should note that in the book. It is a warning unless the defender reaches thru and contacts the player or the ball.

The second violation of any teammate reaching thru without contact or the first contact reaching thru with contact is a technical foul.

last nite Tufts/Amherst game: foul shooter got boxed out & knocked down before her shot hit the rim. foul called on girl boxing out. shooter given a 1&1. correct call but are you ever allowed to displace {knock down} when boxing out?

Asked by midd44 about 9 years ago

No, you can never displace a player who is entitled to that space. The legal act of boxing out is continuously moving to spots before the opponent is entitled to those spots.

Hello I was wondering about centrifugal force. If you apply this to baskwtball, is it illegal. Technically, your in act of dribbling and your not palming the ball or having your hand be underneath the ball. So I using centrifugal force legal?

Asked by Joe almost 9 years ago

If you use centrifical force to move and control the ball you are carrying the ball in violation of the dribbling rules if you have given up your pivot foot.

can a player holding a basketball intentionally throw the ball off the ref than pick up the ball and start dribbling in college

Asked by mike about 9 years ago

The ref is part of the floor, so yes, you can bounce the ball off the ref unless the player is judged to try to harm the ref. If it is malicious then it is unsportsmanlike tech foul.