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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Last Answer on September 20, 2019

Best Rated

Are you better than the average bear in picking NCAA brackets?

Asked by doug the terrible over 13 years ago

Not at all.  I am biased toward the Big Ten so I went down with Wisconsin already in the 1st round.  My beloved Illini nearly lost to Colorado State too.  My best pick so far this year is California over UNLV, but generally I am middle of the pack.  How about you?

will i play high school basketball if i average 12 points, 7-11 rebounds, 6steals and 7 assists in a game i am 12

Asked by tommy about 13 years ago

Depends where you are.  If you live in a small town you will probably be the best in your class.  Around Chicago and its suburbs, there are more important measurements: speed, height, jump shot form, fundamentals, basketball IQ, etc.. The basketball landscape is littered with players who dominated in 8th grade but didn't grow in height, skills or athleticism.  There is a great book about one such player, Play Their Hearts Out, which chronicles the true story of Dimetrius Walker.  Once, he was a sure fire next LeBron, but in high school he stopped growing and now is a bench guard in college.  Be humble, and forget the scoring stats - my best advice is work on your fundamentals.

2) While dribbling a player loses control and steps out of bounds - but the ball remains in play...can that player be the first to touch the ball ?

Asked by Alex almost 13 years ago

Yes, in the definition section of the rule book it states that "during an interrupted dribble the out bounds provision does not apply".  So a player can step out of bounds and come back in and resume a dribble or pick the ball up, as long as stepping out of bounds was unintentional.  In high school going out of bounds purposely is a violation, in college it is a technical, and in the NBA there is no prohibition.

the official sometimes shall remain at the scorers able at all times until the game has been completed true or false

Asked by mike almost 13 years ago

The officials NEVER remain at the scorers table.  Directly from the NFHS rulebook:  The official scorebook shall remain at the scorers table througout the game, including all intermissions. Note, it says the official scorebook, not the official.

If a defender reach out with his hands on the opponent even when he's in air but don't push him, should I call it a foul? I have difficulty to make this calls, because it's definetly wrong defense mechanics but I don't know if there's real contact.

Asked by Max almost 13 years ago

If you shoot a jump shot and someone touches your waist, it normally disrupts the flow of your shot, and therefore should generally be called.  BUT, this calls for your judgement - if you think the touching causes the shooter to alter the rhythm of his shot then call a handcheck.  Other than in a shooting situation, I suggest these guidelines for calling a handcheck: foul if 1) the handcheck dislodges the dribbler or postplayer, or 2) the handpressure is constant on a moving opponent.

If a player gets a defensive rebound and is pushed by an opponent and falls, a foul is not called. The player begins dribbling before standing up. Is this a travel?

Asked by coach wilson over 11 years ago

If the player was pushed it should be a foul. If the player was not pushed, it is traveling when they hold the ball and any part of the body hits the floor beside the hands or feet.  

Probably the right call is a late-called foul. It seems wrong to penalize the offensive player when the defender started the problem.

I actually have 3. Is it legal for a player when going for a layup to lead with his bent knee? Is it legal for a player that stops his drive to bend over and clear a space using his head/shoulders? Also what determines if over the back is called?

Asked by zaq1996 over 11 years ago

1) it is ok for a player to do a layup with a bent knee UNTIL the knee contacts a defensive player who has obtained legal guarding position. 2) It is ok for a player to bend over into a space UNLESS the offensive player contacts an opponent who has legally obtained legal guarding position. 3) There is no such rule as over the back (this is a pet peeve of mine). It is perfectly legal for an opponent to leap high enough to reach over the top of a player as long as no illegal contact is made. When the game announcer tells the fans that an "over the back" foul was called he really should be saying "there was a pushing foul, or illegal use of hands", but you will not find in the rule book over the back or reaching in.