[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Originally posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.
It is late at night, I do not have any of my rules books in front of me because I am already packed to leave on Friday for the YBOA Boys' Nationals in Lakeland, Florida, and I intend to go to bed as soon as I make my post.


1) The NCAA addressed this problem a few years ago. I cannot remember off hand which school year, other than to say that the NCAA issued an in-season bulletin detailing the protocol that was to followed for such a situation.

2) Prior to the NCAA in-season bulletin, both the NFHS and NCAA followed the same interpretation. And here is where the interpretation gets murky. I have only antecdotal information from two sources: A rules interpreter from Florida, and arules interpreter from Canada.
While officiating in the YBOA Girls' Nationals in Orlando, Florida, in July 1993, I stopped the game to fix the net. A local rules interpreter told me that was wrong. I asked him what was the correct procedure. He told me that the FloridaHSAA had received an interpretaion from the NFHS that the net should not be fixed until the first naturally occuring dead ball, stopped clock situation.
While attending the 1993 IAABO Fall Rules Interpreters Conference I posed the question (including the information that was giving to me by the Florida rules interpreter) to a group of fellow interpreters at lunch one day. A rules interpreter from Canada told me that the NBCUSC (National Basketball Committee of the United States and Canada, the predessor the NFHS and NCAA rules committees) had issued an interpretaion over 35 years ago that was identical to the information that was giving to me by the Florida intepreter.

As I stated my information is only antecdotal and about the time that the NCAA made its in-season interpretation, I tried to get Mary Struckhoff do an investigation of the NFHS archives to clarify this situation, but nothing ever came of it. And that is where it stands today.

I suppose that this BALD, OLD GEEZER (please read the aaargh! thread) should write to Mary next month and see if she will try to clarify this situation.

Good night everyone. Have a nice weekend.

MTD, Sr.

I sent an email to Mary Struckhoff (NFHS), Ed Bilik (NCAA Men's), and Barb Jacobs (NCAA Women's) just after January 01, 2000 (yes, you read the year correctly, 2000). My email contained the information concerning the information that I had received from the two officials in 1993. I requested that they review the NFHS and NCAA archives for a rules intepretation. I have yet to received an answer from Mary Struckhoff, but I did receive and following email from Barb Jacobs:



[email protected] Printed: Sunday, April 4, 2004 11:25 PM


________________________________________
From : Barbara Jacobs
Sent : Tuesday, January 25, 2000 2:34 PM
To : [email protected]
Subject : Rules Interpretation
________________________________________


Mark,

I have spoken with Ed Bilik and we both agree on the following interpretation:

Net caught on rim after a made basket: How to handle

1. If there is a basket attendant supplied by game management, that person
can get the net down as play continues to the other end of the court. If
play stays at this basket's end (press situation) officials should blow the
whistle immediately and get the net down. There would be a possibility of
a quick steal and a shot at the basket with the net hung up.

2. If there is no basket attendant, officials should stop play
immediately and get the net down.

3. If this is a re-occurring situation through out the game, game
management should be notified by the officials to change the net at half
time or after the game.

This is the interpretation that went out to officials, coaches and
administrators on January 11, 2000.

Hope this clarifies it for you. The high school rules are different from
ours and Mary Struckoff will have to give you their interp.

Barbara Jacobs
NCAA Secretary/Rules Editor
National Interpreter


The interpretation that Barb gives in her email can be found in the NCAA Women's Bulletin of January 11, 2000. The interpreation has never appeared in an NCAA Men's Bulletin, but according to Barb, it applies to men's games as well.

While the NCAA Women's Bulletin of January 11, 2000, reverses NBCUSC's "original" interpretation as far as it applies to games played under NCAA rules, there is still a question with regard to games played under NFHS rules. I hope that I can convince Mary Struckhoff to do some research and give us a definite answer concering this problem.

MTD, Sr.