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

To follow up on my last ? regarding inbounding the ball. The referees stopped the game saying no foul since the ball was not "in play" my understanding is the ball is live once handed to the player from the ref. That is why the 5 sec count starts?

Asked by tim about 10 years ago

You are correct.  The ball is dead after a goal is made, when it is apparent that a free throw is unseuccessful, when it is to be followed by another free throw or a throw in, a held ball occurs, a player/team control foul is called, most of the time when the whistle blows, a free throw violation, or a time out.

The ball becomes live on a jump ball when it is tossed by the referee, when it is at the disposal of th thrower on a throw in, or on a free throw when it is at the disposal of the shooter.

The pro game seems lax on the rules, I guess for entertainment value. I'm more appreciative of a well played and reffed game. How do you view the pro's. And who is your favorite player?

Asked by Rimbreaker about 10 years ago

I don't like the pro game because of how it has evolved, especially in the east.  Post a big player on the block, slow the game down to half court, never full court press, winners are too predictable and players turn on/off hustle instead of playing hard the entire game.  So I am with you.  if I had to pick a player whose game I admire it would Kevin Durant.  I despise how Wade, James and Bosh colluded to put their team together, and could have started a league-ruining trend.  I like the college D1 game.  There are upsets and coaches can piece together unique game plans to try to win.  Much less predictibility.

Team A is inbounding the ball after a dead ball. They have 5 people on the court and the 6th one is handed the ball from the referee. We immediately started calling for a technical as that meant 6 players on the court. Is this correct?

Asked by tim about 10 years ago

Yes, the ball becomes live when it is at the disposal of the thrower on a throw in.  It is illegal to have 6 players when the ball is live.  Should be a technical.

BUT, it is also poor officiating by the referee crew, because one of the throw in officials' partners should be counting players (after time out for example) and preventing this situation from arising.

Hello, I just wanted to know.
Are you allowed a half step after you crossover the ball then two more? Or only 2 and 3 is a travel?

Asked by Juvens dalger over 10 years ago

There are no allowances for a crossover. Travelling is traveling.  Here is the travelling rule:

1) if you catch the ball with both feet on the floor, either foot can be the pivot.

2) if you catch the ball in the air and land simultaneously on both feet, either can be the pivot. If one foot hits the floor first it must be the pivot. However, if you catch the ball in the air hop on one foot then land on both feet, neither can be a pivot.

3) once you have established your pivot foot you can lift the pivot but must pass or shoot before the pivot returns to the floor. (and of course you cannot hop on your non-pivot foot if the pivot foot is in the air).

People want to say that you get 1 & 1/2 steps or you get 2 steps. Neither of these are correct. It depends on whether you are entitled to a pivot or not, and then you can lift up the pivot and onto your non pivot but you must shoot or pass before the pivot hits the floor.


If you r howling at a game telling the referee he didn't call a fowl can he make u leave the building

Asked by huff almost 10 years ago

Yes, of course the ref can. As I have addressed in prior questions, there is a Home Administration function (usually the athletic director, but always a representative of the home team). Home Administration is responsive to the referees needs including safety and timeliness. If a referee asks Home Administration to remove a fan, they will do it. Each referee has a different tolerance so it rarely happens. But if you get personal, or disrupt the game you should be tossed.

Thanks for last answer. The coach taught the boys that when dribble driving, swat a defender's reaching arms upward and away with the free arm to have a clear shot. I heard that violated nfhs 4-24-7 but I didn't see the latest text. True? Thanks.

Asked by rodkovel@juno.com about 11 years ago

In theory, swatting a defender's arms is a violation.  If a defender has the right to a space, swatting his arms is a foul.  But if the defender is handchecking (or forearm checking) an experienced ref would either call a foul on the defender, or not call anything. Instead he could warn both players to keep their arms off each other.  Unfortunately, often the offensive player gets caught swatting because the ref missed the initial armcheck.

is there a rule about which referee gives the ball to the foul shooter - does it have to be the ref under the basket throwing it to him or can it be one of the outside refs handing it to him?

Asked by seth over 11 years ago

It is not a rule, but rather it is a mechanic perscribed in the NFHS Handbook.  It used to be that the trailing referee would hand the ball to the free throw shooter for the first attempt and the lead (on the endline) would administer the rest of the free throws.  Maybe ten years ago, it was changed so that the proper mechanic is for the lead official administer all free throws from the baseline.  Most referees cannot advance if they do not follow the perscribed mechanics.  Most importantly, mechanics set a consistent way of working a game, so that you can easily work with people you have never been assigned with, and secondly, following perscribed mechanics sets a professional expectation for coaches and assignment chairpersons to evaluate (in addition to judgement, hustle, and rules knowledge).