Quote:
Originally posted by M&M Guy
Quote:
Originally posted by David M
But, if he is being benched by the coach for a reason other than injury I would inform the coach he must play.
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On what basis? Again, who gets to decide if a player is eligible?
Now, if a coach only has five players, and he's sitting his best player with 4 fouls so they can rest up for the final couple of minutes of the game while the other 4 players do their best to keep the game close, then yea, I have a problem with that. The game is meant to be played with 5 players and that's an attempt to gain an advantage by keeping that "eligible" player on the bench. (Hmm, there's that advantage/disadvantage principle.) Now what advantage is being gained by keeping a discipline problem on the bench? Couldn't it be argued that you're putting that team at a disadvantage if you force them to play that problem player?
It's just an issue that I don't think we need to look at too closely. If a coach tells me that player is no longer eligible to play, then that's good enough for me.
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On the basis of 3.1.1 (I am quoting from the 2003-04 book) which reads:
Situation: After six players have been disqualified, Team A has only four who are eligible to continue in the game as players. In a gesture of fair play, the coach of Team B indicates a desire to withdraw a player so that each team will have four players on the court.
Ruling: This is not permissible. team B must have five players participating as long as it has that number available. If no substitute is available, a team must continue with fewer than five players. When only one player remains to participate, that team shall forfeit the game unless the referee believes this team still has an opportunity to win the game.