I Like This Ref!

We had an unusual Violation Rule Call the other nite. Unusual for the fans and some coaches, but not to Referees......

During an Inbound Play (also called a Throw-In), the Defender reached across the "Vertical Plane of the Throw-In Line" and slapped the ball while it was in the Throw-In Player's hands.

A Technical Foul was called.

As my partner was administering the 2 Free Throws, I was standing along the sideline by the Mid Court Line, where the ball would be put back into play, and could hear some chatter from the fans asking each other, "What was the 'T' for?"

They had been well behaved, so I turned & explained that it was an Automatic Technical Foul for a Defender to slap the ball while it was being held by the Thrown-In Player.

A fan queried, "Aren't you suppose to warn the player first?"

It was "asked" in a tone that was more of an effort to try and tell me I had made a mistake, rather then a true question...... Some fans think they know the rules better than the Refs, you see......

So I replied, hoping my explanation would help those fans (and now my Online Friends, too) be more knowledgeable and not need to holler at future of my fellow Refs in similar situations,

Here's the explanation. I hope it helps!

"No sir. On the FIRST time a Defender reaches across the line but does NOT either hit the Thrown-In Player or slap the ball, THAT is a warning and a "T" the 2nd time it happens.

In this situation, the Defender slapped the ball and THAT is an Automatic Technical Foul. 2 Shots for the Offense and the ball placed at the Mid Court Line, which is why I am standing here now.

But if the Defender had slapped the Throw-In Player, THAT would have been an Automatic Intentional Foul. Still 2 shots, but the ball would have been put back in-play at the same spot where the foul occurred.

3 similar play situations but 3 entirely different Rules and Consequences."

A lady commented, "I did not know you Refs had to know so many Rules!" Then commented, "I like this Ref. At least he is willing to talk to us & let us know what happened!"

Photo by Chip Griffin via Flick

Knowledgeable fans are happier fans and holler less at the Refs.

I like it when the fans are happy......

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The Students Win!! The Students Win!! The Students Win!!

This should be shouted with the same enthusiasm as when the great Chicago Cubs Radio Announcer, Harry Carey, used to shout, "Cubs Win".....

I refereed the Staff VS Students Game at Benjamin Franklin High School (BFHS) This afternoon. The Staff likely will not be asking to be back again next year......

One teacher had 2 Fouls called on him in the 1st Quarter. He was a rather burly fellow & long past his prime playing days. About 6'1'' tall and 250 lbs or so. (I'm being kind here, folks!) He objected loudly to the 2nd Foul and asked a fellow Staffer to take his place because he couldn't take such lousy calls. (He calmed down after a fellow Staffer / Player told him to calm down because BOTH the Foul calls were legitimate!)

I had fun! I think the Students that played AND the Students that watched had fun, too

I called several Technical Fouls during the game. Only 1 was legitimate......

1. The Staff had 10 men & 2 ladies. The Students had 4 girls. 2 minutes into the game I called my 1st "T" on the Staff for "Violation of the Title IX Gender Equality for not playing a female within the first 2 minutes of the game.

2.  A "T" on a Teacher / Staff Player for "Assigning excessive Home Work."

3. A "T" on a Teacher / Staff Player for "Requiring Student to take too many notes in class."

4. A teacher decided to play in the 2nd Half after being a Spectator the 1st Half. When he entered the game a Staff Member dimmed the lights, then flashed them with a big build up about a "Special Player" entering the game. I "T'd Up" that teacher for "Illegal Participation" since his name was not in the Score Book before the game. (THAT was my only legitimate "T".....)

5. The MOST Satisfying "T" was on the Boy's team Head Coach, Jon Mott, for "A Coach Impersonating a Player."

Coach Mott had earlier come up to me saying he "wanted to have some fun of his own for the kids entertainment" and asked me to call a "T" on him and then Toss him out of the game.

After a Foul call I made, he rushed over & gave me a "Chest Bump" & started waving his arms around like he was all mad, hollering, "Toss me out! I want to get tossed out!" So I acquiesced and gave him the well known, "You're Outta Here" gesture and off the court he went to thunderous cheers from the students.

Photo by thelowrybrand via Flickr, acquired and modified under 

CC BY-SA 2.0 license 

The result would be FOUR technical Foul Shots for the Students with about 4 minutes left in the game.

The Students were down 17 points at the time. (I think some of the Staffers really wanted to win!!)

As the 1st student went to shoot 2 Free Throws for the 1st "T", I strolled over to the kids keeping score and running the Score Board and told them to score 5 points if the shot was made. It was a Boy, so I also told him to score 2 points if he just hit the rim but missed the the shot. He made 1 & missed 1. Then a Girl attempted the 2 Free Throws for the Ejection of Coach Mott. I told the Scorekeeper to score 5 points if she made a shot and 3 for a miss. She made 1 & missed 1. The score was tied!!! 17 points off 2 Technical Fouls. Imagine that!

6. My final "T" was with 2 minutes left and an all Men Staff team on the floor. I called a "T" for another "Title IX Gender Equality Violation for failing to have a Female Player on the Floor in the Final 2 minutes." (See, I told you the Male Staffers wanted to win and grab the "Bragging Rights" over the Students!!)

The Student Shooter made BOTH Free Throws to take a 2 point lead that they did not relinquish!!

The last 2 minutes were regular Basketball Referee calls. No more shenanigans!

By some miracle the Student Team held on for the win to the GREAT delight of the Student Section and Student Players!!

So, this might be the only time I get asked to work the Staff VS Students Game at BFHS, but I had plenty of fun, even if it is the only one!!

After the game a Student told me the "T" and Ejecting Coach Mott was his favorite part of the game.

Mine, too......

5/21/2014

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The Coach Just Had to Ask

I recently worked a Pre-Season Scrimmage where the Home Team Coach questioned the very first call we made...and nearly every other call after that.

This Coach has a reputation for doing that and really annoying Referees.

When I called Traveling after his player fell down while holding the ball after getting a rebound (an automatic Traveling call!) the Coach hollered, "She tried to dribble on her way down! That's not Traveling!"

"Coach," I replied. "I did not see any attempt to dribble. Even if she tried, she fell to the ground while holding the ball, so it's still Traveling."

"No, no, she was dribbling while on the ground! Didn't you see that?"

"No, Coach, I did NOT see that and now your version is changing...Please just let the Refs referee and you can focus on coaching. OK?"

He replied, "Hey, I'm just asking. I can ask, can't I?"

"Coach, you were NOT asking. You were attempting to influence me to change my call, which strictly speaking is a Unsportsmanlike Technical Foul."

"I'm just asking!"

"Coach, you 'ask' about almost every call that goes against your team. Quite frankly, us Referees get tired of all your asking and after a while just quit paying attention to you. THAT can be quite a problem if you want to call a Time Out and we figure you were just 'asking' about something else again and ignore your request."

After that he did not "ask" about any more calls the rest of the game......

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You know the Rules have changed since 1958, don't you, Ref?

Players, Coaches & fans know ABOUT some of the Rules in basketball, but often do not really know the correct Rules......and THAT can cause problems when you're trying to referee a game.

Every year the Rules get tinkered around with. Some are minor procedural changes that the fans never hear about. Some are major Rule changes, like Hand Checking in High School Basketball recently. And all too often folks not intimately involved with the Rules, like Referees are, do not know about these Rule changes......until they see the Ref make a call they do not like or understand.

The other nite I was refereeing a Men's Rec League.

"PSUK Basketball - Bristol 2013-111" by Andrew Spillane via Flickr

A player, not liking that I had called a Violation he did not know was a new Rule Change, hollered at me, "You know the Rules have changed since 1958, don't you, Ref?

I thought that was a rather clever retort. After all, I am 63 years old. I know that, but I still move up and down the court pretty well and neither Alzheimer's Disease or Old Timer's Disease (I can never remember which one it is that I need to be worried about) has stricken me down, sidelined me or caused me to forget the Rules.

Amused tho I was with the comment, I "T'd" him up anyway for being disrespectful!

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Sometimes Ya Gots to Trust the Referee

Playing a round of Golf the other afternoon and ended up in a group, none of who I knew.

As the round progressed it became apparent 2 of the golfers were well acquainted- one was the Basketball Score Keeper at the High School he teaches at and the other was the District Athletic Director.

When I mentioned I Referee High School they both paused, looked at me and said, "THAT's why you look familiar!"

The the AD said, "I learned an important lesson from you."

I did not recall ever seeing the fellow before and asked how that was.

Turns out he was the AD at a local High School and did NOT like my NOT calling an "Over and Back" violation against an opponent.

He said, "I went into the Referee locker room at Half Time to ask for an explanation as to why you missed that call. You calmly pulled out your Rule Book. When I saw that it was all marked up with red ink underlining & yellow highlighter I realized I might have made a mistake in questioning your call......You turned to a page, held it out to me and said, "Here's the Rule." After I read it you said, "and this is how we call it" and explained it to me very clearly. I thought I knew the Rule but I was wrong and you had made the right call. So now each season I tell all my coaches to be sure and attend the AIA Coaches Meeting to learn the Rules. I don't want them to question the Ref's call and be wrong and be as embarrassed as I was with you!"

It is quite common among fans and even some coaches and AD's to be FAMILIAR with a Rule, but not REALLY know it.

So, if you're watching a High School Basketball game and see a player dribbling the ball near the half court line know this-until the Ball and BOTH feet of the dribbler cross the Center Court Line the ball is still in Back Court and the player can step BACK into the Back Court with no violation.

It drives fans, players & coaches crazy when that happens and the Referee does not blow the whistle, but the Referee is making the right call.


Sometimes ya gots to trust the Referee. He might just have spent a LOT of time studying the Rule Book!

(Pictures of my 2016-17 NFHS Basketball Rules Book. Authentic wear & tear.)

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What Happened to the 28 Foot Line!?

The "5 Seconds Closely Guarded" Rule has changed, several years ago, in fact........ but I understand if a mom or a dad now has a 14-18 year old high school student/basketball player that the rule changed AFTER Mom/Dad stopped playing. So them not being up to date I am OK with.

But a Varsity Coach?

Currently the rule is quite simple. If a Defensive Player has ONE foot within 6" of the Offensive Player's nearest foot a "5 Second Count" is started. You'll know when it starts because the Ref starts a distinct arm motion for the "Count". The defender does not even need to attempt to play defense and can just stand there motionless. It is the 6" distant that triggers the referee to start counting.

Photo by Ryan Dicky via Flickr, acquired and modified under a Creative Commons License

In days past, if the Offensive Player was dribbling and went below a line marked on the court 28' from the End Line the "Count" started over again. Not any more. The 28' line isn't even on most courts these days.

I called a "5 Seconds Closely Guarded" Violation and the Head Coach protested, "But he crossed the 28' line!!"

"What do you mean, Coach?" I asked (oh, I knew what he was talking about, but I was highly curious how this was going to play out).

"He crossed the 28' line. You did not start a new count!"

I replied, "What 28' line are you talking about, Coach?"

The coach was a bit flustered, convinced that I was some idiot Referee that did not know the rule as well as he did...

"The 28' line, Ref! Don't you know the rule?"

I was being polite and asked, "Yes, Coach I do know the rule, could you please show me what 28' line you are talking about?"

NOT seeing any 28' line on the floor where he expected to find it, he started to point, saying, "THAT 28 FOOT LINE RIGHT THER....."

He paused, turned to his Assistant Coach, quite perplexed and flummoxed and asked him, "Where's the 28' line?" The Assistant Coach looked up and down the sideline and shrugged his shoulders.

"Coach, that rule changed several years ago, the "5 Seconds Count" follows the dribbler anywhere he goes on the court."

"Are you sure about that?" The Coach asked, not wanting to give up the argument.

"Yes, Coach. That is why the 28' line was removed when your court floor was resurfaced, and you can't find it now."

And I off I trotted to get the game going again.

So, the next time you or someone you know is watching a High School game and the Referee calls some violation differently from how it was when you played, please double check the Rule before hollering that the Ref doesn't know what he/she is doing!!

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