|
The short answer is that the official was not correct.
The following is the main rule that governs missing FTs on purpose:
"Rule 9 Violations and Penalties
SECTION 1 FREE-THROW PROVISIONS
A player shall not violate the following provisions governing free throws:
ART. 3 . . . He/she shall throw within 10 seconds to cause the ball to enter the basket or touch the ring before the free throw ends."
Your teammate met the required conditions and so should not have been called for a violation in my opinion.
The long answer is that there is a convoluted justification for the official's call, even though the vast majority of officials believe this interpretation to be incorrect.
Here is that rule:
"Rule 4 Definitions
SECTION 20 FREE THROW
ART. 3 . . . The free throw ends when the try is successful, when it is certain the try will not be successful, when the try touches the floor or any player, or when the ball becomes dead."
Now the argument goes like this. When your teammate obviously tried to miss the FT, the official made a judgment and was certain that the try would not be successful, so the ball became dead at that point. If at this point the ball had not yet hit the rim, then the FT shooter violated article 3 from Rule 9 that I posted above.
The reason that I and most other officials feel this is not the correct understanding of the rule, is that if the try eventually hits the ring, then it was clearly close enough to being successful to preclude an official from being certain that the try would not be successful at some earlier time.
Therefore, the standard by which officials are taught to judge this action is if the FT attempt hits the ring then the shooter has not violated Rule 9, Article 3.
Unfortunately for you and your team, this particular official seems to be in the minority camp.
However, it sounds like you played well and had fun. Congrats on your high school career.
[Edited by Nevadaref on Mar 14th, 2005 at 11:52 PM]
|