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Old Sun Jan 29, 2006, 08:38pm
rainmaker rainmaker is offline
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This call is probably the most varied from location to location, and from level to level.

The rule is that a player on the team with team control of the ball in the frontcourt may be in the free throw lane up to 3 seconds. The lane includes the free throw area, EXCEPT for the half-circle at the top where the ft shooter stands.

A player who is in the lane less than three seconds and then receives the ball and is jockeying for a shot is allowed some leeway, but she'll get the whistle if she passes the ball out. Furthermore, the player who thus receives the ball may get leeway, but her teammate also in the lane does not.

Also, there used to be a rule that the count was suspended if there was an interrupted dribble but that rule was changed a year or two ago.

Lastly, if a player from the team with control is trying to clear the lane, but there's a defender blocking her way, the call should not be made, unless she changes her mind, and uses her position in the key for an advantage.

Note that the ball must be in team control, and must have frontcourt status. So the entire time that the ball is coming up court from under the opponent's basket and is in the backcourt, the count doesn't start. Also, once a shot leaves the hand, there's no team control, so there can be no 3 seconds. Most parents get confused on this point. If there's a shot, miss, rebound, shot, miss, rebound, etc, all ten players can be in the lane for as long as it takes for the ball to either go into the basket or someone to get team control again.

In practice, at the varsity and jv level of high school ball, a lot of refs don't call it until there's a really blatant advantage. So if someone's just standing there, picking her nose, with one foot in the lane, and one out, it won't be called, until all of a sudden she receives a pass (open shot) or is used as a screen for a teammate to get an open shot.

Also, a lot of refs won't call a 3 second call on someone's who's at the top of the lane and has an inch or two of shoe in the "restricted area", but isn't playing into the lane.

I hope this helps.
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