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
The ref is part of the floor. If the ball bounces off a ref, it is ruled based on where the ref is standing. If the ref is standing one foot out of bounds and player causes the ball to hit the ref it is ruled out of bounds (even if the ball never crossed the line). Likewise if the ref is legally in bounds and the ball hits him, play on. Think hockey.
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No T. The coach is where he should be, and there he is considered out of bounds - so when the ball touches him it is OB. However, it borders on unsportsmanlike conduct if the coach purposely grabs it to prevent the other team from making a play. In any case I personally would not call a T.
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The National Federation of High Schools revises the rules annually. The last most significant rule change (in my opinion) was implemented a couple years ago. Before the change, when a player with the ball committed a foul it was an offensive foul. Likewise, before the change, if a player on the offensive team WITHOUT the ball committed a foul it was considered a common foul and if the other team was in the bonus free throws were attempted. When they changed the rule they added a foul type (offensive team foul) and it is penalized like a player control foul - no free throws. Most changes to the rule book are "points of emphasis" or mechanic changes. It seems rough post play and hand-checking are annual points of emphasis. An example of a mechanics change was made several years ago so that the referee reporting a foul now normally stays table-side (near the coaches to explain a call if necessary) while the other officials rotate away. It used to be that in Illinois for example, when you paid your annual state registration dues you received three books: rules, case studies, and mechanics. To cut costs, most officials in Illinois now receive the books every other year. You can go to nfhs.org and see the changes legislated by sport prior to each season.
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I am a big fan of college basketball. I was really disgusted when D Wade and Bosh and LeBron conspired to rig Miami's team, which circumvented the whole basis for creating competition in the NBA - each team owner acting in their own interest in the market for players. There is a real danger for this precedent - what if in the future a group of free agent all stars decide to play for a team a rack up a record of say, 75 - 7. Who would watch the games? When Jordan had his 2nd run on the Bulls, the stadium often emptied out in the third quarter - just before the fat lady sang. In general I find the NBA, especially in the eastern conference too physical. Although I must admit it is fun to watch the D Rose and the Bulls (I probably like them because they don't have a center-oriented offense. So, I am a bigger fan of the college game because I find it more competitive and more capable of upsets. Having said all of that, the increasing number of players leaving college early hurts the fans ability to follow team progress. In the end, I would rather be associated with the college game.
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NHL Team Marketer
Is fighting in hockey good or bad for the game?
Police Officer
Can I become a cop if I have misdemeanors on my record?
Dry Cleaner
Why do dry cleaners have autographed pictures on their walls?
I was taught that the only times to blow your whistle before administering a throw-in is after a time out or before the resumption of play to start a new quarter.
I would also blow the whistle if there was a long delay before a normal throw-in (such as confusion at the scorer's table), but certainly not on most normal throw-ins.
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First, the rule. Your position on the court is based on where you stood (or touched last). So after a rebound a player establishes himself out of bounds (one foot or two), and then lifts a foot through an imaginary plane along the baseline, he is not inbounds until his foot hits the floor inbounds - no violation for breaking the plane by the player throwing in the ball. Secondly, there is the dominent philosophy of basket officating called, "Advantage Disadvantage" which holds that you should only stop the game if an opposing player caused a change in A/D. So, you pass on uncontested palming in the backcourt for example.
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A good resource is the Illinois High School Association's website. It publishes online a list of officials' associations. Every official must belong to an association and each association maintains lists of members. In addition, most associations have an assignment chairman whose function is to help member officials get bookings. www.ihsa.org
You can also call local park districts and ask who books their officials. There are a few guys who run businesses which hire referees for games, and often the park districts hire them to supply officials.
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