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
I have officiated some house leagues, summer high school leagues and travelling basketball tourneys where a shooting foul is awarded 1 point and the ball, and a common foul after 7 team fouls also gets 1 point + ball. At one point in time there was a proposal in college ball that a team would have the option of shooting free throws OR the ball. Doesn't seem like anyone talks about that anymore. I think the pros like close games and slowing the game down with fouls compresses the score, but those last 2 minutes sometimes takes 20 minutes.
Share Answer: 
Simple answer: no. So again (Advantage Disadvantage), if the post player is setting up down low and swatting the defender's hands and they are in a minor way pushing or leaning on each other, then I am ignoring it or telling them hands off. But as soon as the ball is delivered to the post, and he received it because he swatted the defender's hands away from a legal guarding position, then I am calling an offensive foul.
Share Answer: 
The coach can argue mixup all he wants, but it shouldn't matter. Awarding an unearned free throw is correctible, but all points and fouls earned before the error is detected count. In this case, an extra free throw was not awarded - the referees simply misled the lane rebounders, and that is NOT correctible. So, argue til you are blue in the face, and call it lousy officiating, but the play and points by rule stand.
Share Answer: 
There is no provision in the rules for an official to overrule another, and there is no prohibition against it. One of the officials is designated as the referee, the others are umpire 1 and umpire 2. The referee has to settle all disputes not envisioned by the rule book. As I have said before, I always wanted my partners to approach me if they disagreed with my call and allow me to change my own call if my partner created doubt or if they clarified the play for me. But I always wanted the right to not change my call as well. By the original caller changing his call he can explain it to the coach adversely affected. Good referees have this discussion before the game and talk about how they are going to handle a disagreement on a call. Generally, this should not happen too often because each referee has a specific area to watch and while there is some overlap calls usually fall within one ref's primary responsibility area.
Share Answer: 
Stand-Up Comedian
What's your worst bombing story?
Personal Injury Lawyer
What's the most frivolous case you’ve handled?
Call Center Employee (Retail)
Do you think it's just a matter of time before all U.S. companies move their customer support overseas?
I believe that is a made up rule. The only way to construe a violation would be to consider it unsportsmanlike, but that is a stretch. The way to handle it is if there is a dead ball after the team was counting approach the coach and ask if the coach considers counting in that way sporting. Maybe he will stop them, but as a ref I would not call a foul.
Share Answer: 
Placing the ball on the floor repeatedly denies the other team the opportunity to grab the ball and run. Here's how it should be handled. After the second occurence, the ref should stop the game and issue a "delay of game warning" against the team, and ask the scorer to register a warning in the book.. If they do it again, the offending player should be charged with a technical foul.
Share Answer: 
The rule book states that a player is out of bounds if any part of his body is touching out of bounds or touching a player who is out of bounds. It also states that an airborne player has the geographical position of where he jumped from (until he lands). So the player does not by rule have to have two feet in bounds, just one as long as the other is in the air and not out of bounds.
Share Answer: 
-OR-
Login with Facebook (max 20 characters - letters, numbers, and underscores only. Note that your username is private, and you have the option to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
(A valid e-mail address is required. Your e-mail will not be shared with anyone.)
(min 5 characters)
By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to Jobstr.com’s Terms and Privacy Policy.
-OR-
Register with Facebook(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
Browse Jobs
Host a Q&A
Search
Submit Your Question
Host a Q&A
Last 7
