[just another ref]

The illegal substitution I referred to happened in an 8th grade girls game. A1 got her 4th foul. (still in the 1st half) The coach beckoned A2. A2 leaped from the bench and ran straight onto the court. A1 dropped her head, shuffled over to the bench and sat down. I looked at first one player and then the other, and then at the coach. The coach
was a young lady who apparently had very little experience in basketball of any kind, but she now realized that her team had screwed up. I softly explained that this was not acceptable, that the sub must report, etc. The coach ducked her own head and apologized. Instead of T'ing both players, A1 for leaving the court for an unauthorized reason and A2 for entering without being beckoned, I compromised and called 1 and charged it to the coach. I know that this has no basis in the books, but it just seemed reasonable at the time. My rule of thumb is in jr. high if a player has properly reported at the table and I can intercept that player on the way into the court, I merely send him back. If the player races out into the crowd as soon as he hears the buzzer, or, even worse, without reporting at all, I have been known to call the T. In varsity games, this is something that we stress to both coaches and captains in pregame, so if a player forgets and enters too soon, well, he shoulda known better.