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
Like most things in life it is not difficult to be a referee. However, it is very hard to be a good referee. Here are some of the reasons: 1) You need to study the rule book - it takes a long time to really understand and internalize them, 2) once the rules are understood it takes a long time to decide which rules should not be enforced at which levels/situations, 3) since there is a learning curve, you have to make a big commitment to it before you can be well compensated, 4) even if you develop into a good referee, you have to be lucky enough to be "discovered" and/or mentored by people in a position to help and promote you, and finally you have to have a different occupation that allows you spend your time investing in ref'ing. Oh yeah, you also need thick skin.
The coach can argue mixup all he wants, but it shouldn't matter. Awarding an unearned free throw is correctible, but all points and fouls earned before the error is detected count. In this case, an extra free throw was not awarded - the referees simply misled the lane rebounders, and that is NOT correctible. So, argue til you are blue in the face, and call it lousy officiating, but the play and points by rule stand.
Simple answer: no. So again (Advantage Disadvantage), if the post player is setting up down low and swatting the defender's hands and they are in a minor way pushing or leaning on each other, then I am ignoring it or telling them hands off. But as soon as the ball is delivered to the post, and he received it because he swatted the defender's hands away from a legal guarding position, then I am calling an offensive foul.
The rule book states that a player is out of bounds if any part of his body is touching out of bounds or touching a player who is out of bounds. It also states that an airborne player has the geographical position of where he jumped from (until he lands). So the player does not by rule have to have two feet in bounds, just one as long as the other is in the air and not out of bounds.
HR Executive
What's the worst reaction you ever witnessed during a lay-off?
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Do you find it creepy when men want to go into gynecology?
Private Detective
OK. Got it. A player with the ball could push, hold, slap, trip, and charge for player control fouls. A team mate of the player with the ball could do the same plus illegal screens. All of these are control fouls with no free throws.
You are allowed to screen or block out if you get to a space before your opponent leaves his feet to get to that spot. It is no different than blocking out on a rebound.
Rule 7 in the NFHS rule book is the chapter on Out of Bounds and The Throw In. Section 1, Article 2b states, "The ball is out of bounds when it passes over a rectangular backboard. By excluding fan shaped backboards it means a ball passing over fan shaped is NOT out of bounds.
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