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Thanks for all the comments on my first thread situation last week, I think it generated good discussion and even set some of the experts out to test their own knowledge.
Saw another odd situation this week. This situation is complicated and certainly interesting to me. Maybe there is something in the rule book that DIRECTLY addresses this that i'm forgetting about....maybe not:
6.9 seconds left in the 4th of a Boys varsity bball contest, in which the score is Team A (Home) 59 and Team B (Visitor) 57. Team B inbounds from their backcourt endline and tosses the ball to the freethrow line of their backcourt, starting the clock. This player dribbles up the court and reaches just over the half court line where the clock reads about 3 seconds. At this point you can hear a teammate wide open some feet in from the three point line on the left side screaming "Pass it Pass it." The kid with the ball obviously hears him and looks to him and is staring at him with 2.1 seconds left. He then throws the ball up (looked half like a pass and half like a shot..hard to explain) but the ball ends up not even close to contacting the rim, but closer to the kid that was screaming for the pass. This kid lunges forward for the ball and throws it up, but obviously time has expired.
The trick is there is a push foul called on the defense, in which they fouled the "shooter". Now the thing is, WAS HE SHOOTING? Does he get the 3 shots, or the 1 and 1 (it was regular bonus at the time, not double). If this is ruled as a pass, he gets the bonus...if it's a shot he gets the 3 shots.
Taking into consideration the rules and common sense...I get:
Things in favor of it being a shot: The motion he launched the ball from looked more like a shot I suppose. His head and eye motion glanced away from the kid that was screaming (pass me the ball) and towards the rim (although he ended up looking somewhere in between the rim and the kid).
Things in favor of it being a pass: 2.1 seconds were left, the kid knew that because the coach yelled (3 seconds trevor), thus he was aware of the time. The fact he was aware there was some time left tells me it might have been a pass to the wide open man, because that's an easier shot to make (and he thought he had the time). Also, when he began his motion to get rid of the ball, he was looking directly at the open player and was well aware of him. Finally, when the open kid shouted "Pass it" the "shooter" said something of his own. He said "Got ya" as he threw the ball up.
Now I figure some of you will say "the rule book doesn't allow us to split hairs and analyze it the way u did." I understand that, i'm just trying to give everyone the most accurate feel for the situation as possible. There are a lot of competing factors in my mind that cast doubt on the fact this is a shot. I have a feeling a lot of you will say "rule it as a shot and shoot 3" because it isn't our job to read the minds of the shooter. In most situations I agree, but this one may be different. Is there enough here to give the official knowledge that this was a pass? The "Got Ya" uttered by the "shooter" could be taken a lot of different ways. Bottom line, this comes down to what constitutes a try.
If I had to bet my life on one side or the other, i'd say it was a pass. However, by a comment I heard from the kid that shot it after the game, I know what it was. He was passing the ball. The officials gave him 3 shots as an airborne shooter. Team B hit all three and ended up winning the game by a point.
EDIT: I should clear this up. The foul occurred and was whistled right after the ball left the "shooters" hands, while he was still in the air.
[Edited by Rar on Feb 19th, 2005 at 03:53 AM]
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