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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651 Questions

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Last Answer on September 20, 2019

Best Rated

can i box out an opponent before their offensive player takes a shot ?

Asked by Kobe54 over 9 years ago

Yes, because boxing out is getting to a spot on the floor before your opponent is entitled to that space, and doing it in a way that "blocks" the direct path of your opponent.

How do you decide that making or not making a call will affect the score at the end of a game

Asked by rimbreaker over 8 years ago

You don't decide based on how you think it will affect the score, if you follow the Advantage Disadvantage philosophy you decide to ignore a violation or foul if the infraction did or did not cause an unearned advantage to the violator.

If the ball inadvertently hits a body part (hip) on the dribble but does not come to rest, ie, the ball handler lets the ball bounce off the floor and resumes dribbling, is this a violation?

Asked by mojolin about 9 years ago

no violation

What constitutes a foul being on the ground or not?

Asked by Riley about 9 years ago

There is no distinction in the rule book about being on the ground except 1) a player who alights and shoots the ball is called an airborne shooter until he comes back to the ground, and if fouled even after releasing the ball the airborne shooter is in the act of shooting and 2) a player is considered to be in the act of shooting if he begins the habitual motion of shooting a try regardless of being on the floor or in the air.

Why do some refs say the wrong team color sometimes? In a recent rec league game, for example, the ref called a team in orange jerseys "red." The first time I saw this I figured it was colorblindness. Then it happened several other times.

Asked by Brian over 8 years ago

It is just easier to say red than orange, or even blue than turquoise.

Player A is substituted before the 2nd free throw. Player B enters the game. Opponent is called for a violation during the 2nd free throw. Can Player A re-enter the game?

Asked by David Johns over 8 years ago

A cannot reenter until the clock starts during a live ball.

One of our junior high players was called for travelling while shooting a free throw. Is there such a thing?

Asked by Bleacher Coach about 9 years ago

No. There is no such violation. Likewise, there is no travelling on a throw in.