Untangling a Mess

What’s your quick initial impression if you’re the lead official on this play? Blow the whistle, signal a held ball and everyone moves on, none the wiser?

If so, there’s a good chance you are not seeing the complete play or are hesitant to apply concrete rules knowledge to what you are seeing:

1

HELD BALL: The player in white clearly does not have his hands on the ball at all, much less so firmly enough that control cannot be obtained without undue roughness (NFHS 4-25-1; NCAAM/W 6-4.2.a).

2

LEGAL POSITION: We can see the player in blue is completely on the playing court. Are the legs of the player in white touching the endline? If so, does his contact with the opponent cause the opponent and/or the ball to be out of bounds (NFHS 4-35-1a, 7-1; NCAAM 4-23.1.a, 7-1; NCAAW 4-18.1.a, 7-1)?

3

LEGAL POSITION, PART TWO: Who is at fault for the tangled arms between the two players? Is this illegal use of the hands and arms (NFHS 4-24; NCAAM 4-18; NCAAW 10-6)? Could this be deemed incidental contact (NFHS 4-27; NCAAM 4-21; NCAAW 10-2)? Is the player in blue afforded extra protection because he is the only one of the two in contact with the ball?

4

LOCATION, LOCATION: This pileup takes place inside the freethrow lane. If this is on the blue team’s offensive end of the floor, are you ruling there is team control and therefore the provisions regarding three seconds in the lane apply (NFHS 9-7-1; NCAAM/W 9-9.2)? What if it’s in the white team’s frontcourt? Is there any way the white team remains in team control at this snapshot in time?

Let’s say you haven’t been too quick with your whistle, you let this action play out, you consider the points raised above, and now: second player in white is not legally entitled to that same position.

Again, is it easier to just rule a held ball and be done with it? Yes. But officials are not hired to do what is easy. They are hired to do what is fair and safe according to the rulebook. Use the rules — not the path of least resistance — to dictate your rulings.

5

PILING ON: Now, the second player in white becomes involved in the scrum. Again, many of the same factors still apply, but you also must now rule on whether he has illegally influenced this play. Just because the ball is loose does not allow a player to illegally contact another player in an effort to secure it. The player in blue is legally entitled to his spot on the floor. The

Caseplays

Throwing Ball at Opponent

Play: While A1 is holding the ball in team A’s frontcourt, A1 is frustrated with opponent B2. A1 throws the ball at B2, and the ball strikes B2. The nearest official blows the whistle, quickly gets between the two players and no further unsporting behavior or misconduct occurs. What shall be the penalty for A1 throwing the ball at B2? Ruling: In both NFHS and NCAAM, personal fouls only involve player-on-player contact, so this play cannot result in a personal foul. When the ball is thrown at an opponent, in NFHS it shall result in a player technical foul for this unsporting behavior or shall result in a flagrant technical foul if the conduct is deemed severe or extreme (4-19-1, 4-19-4, 10-4-6, 10-7). In NCAAM, it shall result in a Class A technical foul for this unsporting behavior or shall result in a flagrant technical foul if the conduct is deemed severe or extreme (10-1, 10-3.1.b, 10-3.1.g). In NCAAW, personal fouls and intentional fouls only involve player-on-player contact, so this play cannot result in either of these types of fouls. When the ball is thrown at an opponent, it shall result in a player/substitute technical foul for misconduct, or a disqualifying foul if the conduct is deemed severe or extreme (1010.1, 10-12.3.a, 10-13, 10-14).

Basket Interference

Play: A1 attempts a two-point try that bounces off the ring and is (a) airborne over the basket when B2 sticks his or her hand into the net, or (b) in contact with the ring a second time when B2 sticks his or her hand into the net. Ruling: In (a), there is no basket interference, as the ball is not on or within the basket when B2 makes contact with the net (NFHS 4-6-1, NCAAM/W 9-15.2.a.1). In (b), this is basket interference by B2 in NFHS and NCAAW, as the ball is on the basket when it contacts the ring the second time. Award two points to team A and resume play with a nondesignated-spot throw-in along the endline awarded to team B. In NCAAM, it is only a violation if the contact with the net had an effect on the play (NFHS 4-6-1, 7-5-7, 9-11 Pen. 1; NCAAM/W 9-15.2.a.1, 9-15 Pen. a.2, 9-15 Pen. b; NCAAM A.R. 265).

Another common situation that creates confusion is if we don’t use proper signaling when we “chop” the clock. Often, the table personnel working at high school games are relatively inexperienced and are taught they are not supposed to start the clock unless the official brings a raised hand down to chop the clock. If we don’t use proper signaling and we try to be too cool by doing it the way we do in college basketball, we run the risk that the clock won’t start properly.

Perhaps the biggest issue with proper signaling is when we report something at the table that is completely different than what actually happened. For example, in my first few seasons as an official, I developed a habit of using the pushing foul signal to indicate all manner of illegal contact. I thought that worked for me for perhaps the first 2-3 years of my career. As I started moving up the ladder from youth ball and YMCA leagues to high school basketball, I started to get in trouble with knowledgeable coaches because there were times when, instead of reporting a blocking foul on illegal contact that met that definition, I defaulted to and signaled a pushing foul. Coaches would ask me how did the player push the ballhandler? These coaches were sometimes correct, and I had no explanation for them nor rulebook language that backed up my signal. When at the table, report what happened accurately and use the proper signaling for the respective foul. Understand proper signaling is the universal communication that everybody understands, from the table personnel to the coaches to, in a perfect world, even the fans who are sitting at the very top of the stands.

Proper signaling makes you look sharp and knowledgeable because it will minimize confusion. It will not help you avoid all conversations with players and coaches because the reality is we need to be effective communicators, and sometimes this requires verbal responses in addition to our physical signals. However, it will certainly minimize unnecessary lengthy discussions that must elevate to warnings and technical fouls with coaches who, even if they agree with a foul call, will give you a hard time just because you used the wrong signal to report a foul.

Don’t give these types of game disruptors any additional ammunition to question your aptitude or ability as an official. They are already going to question your judgment and your rules knowledge. Give them one less bullet by using proper signaling from start to finish.

Vlad Figueroa, Orlando, Fla., officiates women’s college and high school basketball, and high school football. He has worked both the Florida State High School Athletic Association and Georgia High School Association state tournaments in basketball. *

When reporting a foul at the scorer’s table in NFHS play, using the correct signal for blocking (PlayPic A) or pushing (PlayPic B) is key to your credibility as an official.