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

Hi Rndballref, your insights into reffing have been very helpful! On a fast break, opposition player yells out to distract the ball carrier making a basket. I am unsure of how to call this, but it is frustrating to see in junior b'ball. Thoughts?

Asked by Aussie Ref almost 10 years ago

There is no specific prohibition specifying the volume or content of on court expression except the provisions against unsportsmanlike conduct. For some (not me), excessively yelling "ball, ball" by a defender is unsportsmanlike.  

Of course if the vocalization is derogatory or vulgar it would be a technical. You might as a preventative measure talk to the coach and suggest that a player yelling like this is getting close to unsportsmanlike behavior and he should tone it down.

As a referee, is there a code of conduct in place that would disqualify a parent from refereeing his own sons AAU championship game? The opposing team attempted to have a parent ref his sons game. Isn't there rules against this?

Asked by Kaylee almost 10 years ago

I am not an expert on AAU rules but common sense would tell anyone to avoid officiating your son's game in competitive play. It would be different if it was a "house" league, but this is inappropriate for traveling basketball.

In a high school game in 1963: Player A is fouled severely on a shot & gets two free throws. He is injured on the play and leaves the game not to return. Player B makes both free throws & stays in game. Question: Who is entitled to the points??

Asked by Lonnie H. Duke almost 10 years ago

Player B is awarded the points for the free throws he makes. There are no points awarded for drawing a foul - at least not in NFHS rules.

Hi Ref, can a player blow in another players face? In my daughters game player B1 was playing defense by standing in player A1's face (within 12 inches) even when play was stopped and would repeatedly blow in A1's face. Legal? Thx

Asked by P_Johnston about 9 years ago

I would warn the player that blowing air in the face of an opponent is unsportsmanlike and the next occurance would be a technical foul.

Player A dribbles into front court, passes to Player B who has not established position in frontcourt. After the pass, Player B jumps into front court before the ball gets to him to not get called for backcourt violation. What is the right call?

Asked by Coaching Youth almost 10 years ago

Backcourt violation is the correct call because a player who catches the ball while in the air is considered to be in the court position from where they last touched the court. For example, if a player is out of bounds and leaps up, as soon as the player touches the ball it should be whistled dead on an out of bounds violation.

In your question if an offense player leaps from the backcourt to touch a ball which has been established in his team's front court it is a backcourt violation. Two exceptions to this rule: 1) on a throw-in, a player can jump from either side of the centerline, catch the throw in and land on the opposite side, and 2) a defensive player who leaps from his backcourt to intercept a ball which came from his front court (which was in possession of the offense before the interception).

can you catch your own air ball if it is a shot attempt?

Asked by NGUYEN LE over 9 years ago

Yes in NFHS rules a shooter can retrieve his own airball as long as it was deemed a legitimate shot.

Dear ref,

How much u get $ per a match ?


Thx
John from Czech republic

Asked by jan.lejcko@gmail.com over 10 years ago

High school varsity games pay about $60 - $75 for single game assignments. Underclass double headers (i.e. 2 freshman games) pay $80 - $100. I know that some states will give the referees a percentage of the gate for well attended, big match ups. These are rough numbers - it varies by location, parochial vs public, suburban vs city, etc.