12 Quick Rules Questions to Test Any Referee – Basketball Rules – Ep. 14

YouTube Video Transcription

Greetings everyone! Welcome back to another episode of the Basketball Rules Expert. the youtube show where we take National Federation of High School rules off the printed page and breathe life into them. We simplify, clarify, amplify and give them back to you in a format that you can take with you onto the basketball court.

Greetings again everybody my name is Greg Austin. I’ve been a high school basketball official for over a decade and I consider myself to be a Basketball Rules Expert. This show is all about helping you on your journey to becoming a Basketball Rules Expert as well. Today we’re going to try something fun — we’re going to have a lightning round show. We will go through questions quickly and get the answers because we need immediate answers in these scenarios. but before we do i’d like to thank our show supporters: 

• Robert Lloyd
• Peter Blum
• Matthew Winn
• Tim Robinson (S)

Much appreciated and much love. If you want to support the show there’s a link in the show notes below. Today we’re going to get started with our lightning round show. Quick questions quick answers. Not a deep dive into the rules, just an emphasis on the things that we need to know .

Play Scenario: Player Fouled on a Successful 3-pointer

While A1 is attempting a three-point try they are fouled by B1. the officials rule an intentional foul on B1. The try is successful. the officials award one free throw to A1 and the ball to team A for a throw-in. Were the officials correct? Yes or No? 

Simple question. An intentional foul in National Federation of High School basketball rules what is the penalty? This would also apply to a flagrant foul; the penalty is the same. two free throws for the offended player or their eligible substitute and a throw-in to the team at the spot nearest the foul. This ALWAYS applies except one instance: a three point try that is missed and then it is three tries for free throw.

We need to know the rule. simple and straightforward it is two free throws always. always two free throws to the offended player or their substitute if they were injured. and the ball to the team at the spot nearest the foul. Ding! The one exception is if the three-point try is missed. Then it is three tries for free throw to the player or their substitute and the ball for throw in at the spot of the foul. it applies to intentional fouls. it applies to flagrant fouls. all the same. simple and straightforward. so in our instance here the try was successful. natural inclination may be “and one.” but we know what the penalty is. So in this instance Were the officials correct? Yes or No?  the answer is no the officials were not correct.

Play Scenario: A Second Time Out Request End of Game

as time expires in the fourth quarter with the score tied player A1 is fouled in the act of shooting. team b head coach is granted a time out before the time out has ended, team a head coach requests a timeout. the officials deny the timeout request. Were the officials correct? Yes or No? 

This is a funky part of the rules book. It is near the end of the game after time has expired but the game has not ended. In this situation there is a rule that we will not allow successive timeouts. A successive time out that is defined in the rules book as a second time out after time has expired

it’s an odd quirk of the rules it is what it is. Were the officials correct in not allowing a successive timeout at the after time had expired in the game? Yes. Yes they were.

It’s important to know that the clarifier is “after time has expired.” not that the game has ended.  after time has expired we will not allow successive timeouts to be granted. so, in this instance Were the officials correct? Yes. Yes they were 

Play Scenario: Airborne Player Requests a Time-Out

A1 requests a timeout while airborne holding the ball and heading out of bounds. the officials grant the timeout request Were the officials correct? Yes or No? 

A fact of life for high school basketball officials is that the stakeholders in the game: our partners, ourselves, we’re fans of basketball. We watch basketball. We watch NBA basketball. We watch collegiate basketball. The rule sets in those different levels of play can be different. That understanding of what the rules are sometimes erroneously filters down into high school. In NCAA Mens or the NBA, when A player’s momentum is carrying them out of bounds a timeout shall not be granted. This doesn’t apply to high school. In NFHS Rules, a player holding the ball may request a timeout and it should be granted. there’s no restriction that they cannot be in the process of having their momentum carry this off the court. Were the officials correct? Yes. Yes they were 

Play Scenario: Defender Contacts the Thrower

A1 has the ball for a throw in.  B1 reaches through the boundary plane and fouls A1. the officials rule a player Technical Foul on B1 Were the officials correct? Yes or No? 

It’s an atypical play. one that can catch us off guard. easy to remember though that during a throw-in. when a defensive player contacts the thrower, by rule it is an intentional foul. if a defensive player breaks the boundary plane and contacts the basketball that is a player Technical Foul. in this instance the officials should have ruled an intentional foul on B1. Were the officials correct? No. No they were not.

Play Scenario: Player who has played is discovered to Not Be in the Scorebook

Team a substitute A12 enters and plays the second period. At halftime the official scorekeeper notices that A12 is not in the scorebook and informs the officials. The officials rule an Administrative Technical Foul and start the third period with free throws. Were the officials correct? Yes or No? 

logically this seems to be correct. but we have to remember with Technical Fouls there are periods of time that are allowed for the discovery of the Technical Foul. in this instance an Administrative Technical Foul can be assessed only if it is discovered while the player is violating. had the officials discovered that A12 is not in the book while A12 is playing, an administrative Technical Foul would be the appropriate penalty. but in this instance we’re outside of that period, so the officials have no authority to assess the Technical Foul. Should A12 come back into the game indeed then that would be the appropriate time. So in this instance Were the officials correct? No. No they were not 

Play Scenario: Thrower-In steps on the Boundary Line

Thrower A1 steps on the endline during a throw-in. the officials rule a throw-in violation Were the officials correct? Yes or No? 

Sometimes, reflexively we see somebody step on a line and we think something illegal has happened. but the rule for a thrower is they are not allowed to step onto the court. The court begins with the inner edge of the boundary line so in this instance Were the officials correct? no the officials were not correct this is a legal play 

Play Scenario: Player with the Ball Slides on the Floor

A1 dives for a loose ball on the floor A1 slides controls the ball and then slides some more the officials rule a traveling violation has occurred. Were the officials correct? Yes or No? 

A great hustle play. A player dives on the floor and controls the ball. The player slides some more. Before they stop official rules of travel. The gym erupts. everybody wants to travel. everybody knows you can’t do that — except yes. yes you can do that. This is a legal play by rule. Were the officials correct? No. No they were not. 

Play Scenario: Player catches their own airball

A1’s try for goal fails to reach the basket and A1 catches the ball while it remains airborne. The officials rule a traveling violation Were the officials correct? Yes or No? 

in National Federation of High School rules it’s legal for a player to catch their own air ball as long as it was a try. if the officials make the judgment that it was a try for goal then there’s no longer team control and the player can catch the ball. why would people think this is a traveling violation? because with other rule sets specifically the NBA this is a violation. we watch those games. we think those rules apply and they don’t. So in this instance, Were the officials correct? No. No they were not. 

Play Scenario: Player makes a basket over the backboard

A1 while standing inbounds behind the backboard shoots the ball over the backboard and the ball passes through the basket. the officials rule this a legal play and allow the goal Were the officials correct? Yes or No? 

National Federation of High School rules for dealing with a rectangular backboard. the ball cannot pass over the backboard legally by rule this is an illegal play. An out of bounds violation should have been ruled. The existence of other rule sets right? We see a highlight from an NBA game. In the NBA game they allow the goal. in National Federation of High School rules this is illegal it is a violation and the goal should not be scored. In this instance Were the officials correct? No. No they were not.

Play Scenario: Player in Backcourt throws the ball off an official in the frontcourt

A1 throws the ball from the backcourt and hits the official who is in the frontcourt. the ball rebounds to the backcourt and is recovered by A2. the officials rule this to be a legal play Were the officials correct? Yes or No? 

A1 makes the pass from the backcourt. That means that they are inbounds, they are holding the ball. we have team control on the court. A1 throws the ball to the frontcourt. The ball hits the official and the ball bounces back into the backcourt where A2 recovers the ball. This errant pass hit the official who was on the court. A2 collected it. What do we need to understand about status. When the ball was in the backcourt it has backcourt status. the ball when it’s thrown still has backcourt status. when the ball contacts the official who is in contact with the frontcourt the ball gains frontcourt status. then, the ball goes into the backcourt where A2 collects the ball. the team has caused the ball to go from the backcourt to the frontcourt and back to the backcourt without a player touching the ball. This is a backcourt violation by rule. Were the officials correct? No. No they were not 

Play Scenario: Ball contacts the top of the backboard

A1 attempts a field goal the ball hits the rim then hits the top of the backboard and then passes through the basket the officials rule this a legal play Were the officials correct? Yes or No? 

obviously the backboard has six sides it has the front side it has the backside it has the left side the right side the top side and the bottom side only one of those sides is out of play is out of bounds and that is the backside of the backboard. a ball that contacts the top of the backboard can obviously remain in play by rule Were the officials correct? Yes. Yes they were

Play Scenario: Player returns to the court to grab the ball

A2 deflects a ball passed by A1. A2’s momentum carries him or her out of bounds A2 then returns to the court grabs the ball and scores the officials rule this illegal play Were the officials correct? Yes or No? 

A1 passes to A2. A2 deflects the ball but their momentum carries them out of bounds. They immediately return to the court, grab the ball and score. Was that a legal play? yes, by rule a legal play. all the player needs to do is establish inbound status. that is achieved by having a part of their body touching the playing court and nothing touching out of bounds.  Once the player has legal inbound status there is no restriction against grabbing the ball and scoring. so, Were the officials correct? Yes. Yes they were 

Show Wrap Up and Thanks to Show Supporters

Thanks for joining us today on Basketball Rules Expert youtube show. If you find this content to be valuable, let’s do all the things. let’s like, subscribe, notify and make sure to share the show with other officials who could find value. Again, we owe a debt of gratitude to our show supporters Robert, Peter, Matthew, and Tim. much appreciated and much love. If you want to support the show you can always buy us a coffee. There’s a link above and in the show notes below. we’ll have these questions from the lightning round in an online quiz back at the website abetterofficial.com. There’s a link above and in the show notes below. as always we have additional video content for you here. make your choice choose wisely and we’ll see you in the very next video.