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

SubscribeGet emails when new questions are answered. Ask Me Anything!Show Bio +

Share:

Ask me anything!

Submit Your Question

651 Questions

Share:

Last Answer on September 20, 2019

Best Rated

With the new rule in high school basketball with free throws, it is a violation to break the plane of the freethrow line before the ball makes contact, if you also foul the shooter at the same time do you enforce both the lane violation and the foul

Asked by Bob over 10 years ago

I believe the new rule (added in 2014-2015) allows players lined up along the free throw lane to break the plane as soon as the ball is released (like the NBA). If a defender violates it is a delayed violation (live ball) and so you would enforce the subsequent foul. However, if a lane violation is committed by a teammate of the shooter, the ball is dead and any subsequent unintentional fouls are not enforced.

Since im not sure how to reply to your answer on 4 shoots for a technical let me rephrase, there is only one technical and there are 9 team fouls makeing the technical the 10th does this situation recieve 4 free throws

Asked by Brandon Jackson about 10 years ago

No, you do not award 4 free throws in this scenario. While tehnicals count against team foul bonus totals you do not get a technical and a common foul for the same action.To illustrate, let's assume there are 8 team fouls on team b and a technical foul is called. Team a gets 2 free throws and the ball, and the bonus count goes to 9. Then on the next play team b commits a common foul. Team a shoots 2 free throws because the count goes to 10.

Why isn't it an offensive foul when a shooting player jumps into the defender? The shooter creates the contact but is always rewarded.

Asked by Crcsda over 9 years ago

If an offensive player jumps and causes contact within the defender's space it should be called a player control foul, unless the contact did not change the play in a material way (Advantage Disadvantage Theory of Officiating).

In tonight's Vandy/Wichita NCAA tourney game, a technical foul was called on the Vandy coach for protesting a non-foul call on a shot one of his players just made. Wichita State was awarded 2 ft's, but the ball was then given to Vandy. Why?

Asked by Brian Zdanowski about 10 years ago

NCAA has a list of technicals and penalties. In NFHS rules all technicals are 2 free throws plus ball, at the mid court line. NCAA is point of interruption. It is confusing.

the other team has 5 team fouls and fouls one of are players after the call a double tech is called 1 on each team do we still keep the ball or does it go to alternate possesion

Asked by murph over 9 years ago

It goes to the possession arrow.

To clarify; if the ball is rolling towards out of bounds, a player stops it and he goes out of bounds ; can he come back in and pick it up?

Asked by Donny over 9 years ago

Again, if in the opinion of the referee, the player purposely stepped out of bounds then it is a violation. If his momentum carried him out, or if he was pushed then no violation.

If a player is suspended for 1 game and his team receives a win as a result of a forfeit, should he be allowed to play the following game without actually sitting out a game?

Asked by JT over 9 years ago

I think this depends on the state interpretation of its own rules. My opinion is that the player should not sit out the game after a forfeit because it is not the player's fault that a team did not show for the game of his punishment. But i see it the other too.