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

SubscribeGet emails when new questions are answered. Ask Me Anything!Show Bio +

Share:

Ask me anything!

Submit Your Question

651 Questions

Share:

Last Answer on September 20, 2019

Best Rated

A player commits 5th foul. Ref confirms with official. Replacement player enters game. 4 mins. later, the player who fouled out re-enters the game. The official scorer now says he only has 4 fouls. Wasn't the player ineligible to return?

Asked by Brooks over 10 years ago

The table official's book is the final word unless the referee has certain, personal knowledge. So assuming the official has not kept track of how many fouls a player has, if the scorer discovers a counting error of a player;s foul, he should conference with the referee (head of the game officials), explain what happened, and if a player really had 4 fouls it should be explained to both coaches and the player should be allowed to reenter the game.

For NFHS, the new rule for the end of a free throw includes the ball striking the backboard. Can free throw shooters now bank the ball directly back to themselves?

Asked by Dunkster over 10 years ago

I believe that although the free throw ends when the ball hits the backboard, it is still a violation if the free thrower fails to hit the ring.

Can a defending player push on an offensive player with his body when he is not posting up. He appeared to be doing for the sole reason of aggravating the player into a foul. I do have a video clip.

Asked by docbar85@gmail.com over 10 years ago

Pushing an opponent is a foul. but the severity must be judged by the official. If it is immaterial to the play I would generally ignore (unless it is escalating into a potential pushing fight).

a player dribbles the ball, before going out of bound he releases (untouch) the ball, and get out of bound. After he gets back in court from out of bound, can he pick up the ball and continue the dribble?

Asked by Antuxity about 11 years ago

It is a violation for a player to leave the floor for an unauthorized reason. The ball is dead when the player goes out of bounds and is awarded to the opposite team.

Further to the backcourt question, once team A (offense) achieves front court status, and then team A dribbler attempts a pass to his team mate, if it hits his team mate's hand (but not in control of teammate) and goes backcourt, is this a violation?

Asked by MJ about 12 years ago

Yes, it is a backcourt violation because team A never lost team control.

does arrow on change of possesion change if team doesn't get ball inbounds?

Asked by Jeff over 10 years ago

yes, the arrow changes once the ball it at the disposal of the throw in player.

On a designated spot throw in. Can a player take one step forward to adminster a throw in

Asked by Rox over 11 years ago

On a spot throw-in, a player must stay within a 3 foot area along the out of bounds boundary. That three foot area extends from the out of bounds line all the way back to the wall, or the first obstruction (bleachers, table, etc.).  

So to answer your question, as long as the player does not step in bounds before releasing the ball, he can take as many steps forward short of breaching the out bounds line.