Quote:
Originally posted by Snaqwells
Blindzebra nails it. In this case, if I see the kid fall when the ankle didn't twist, I'm letting it go. I often let the play take shape before whistling the play dead on a defensive injury anyway. If the player is in peril, I'll likely err on the side of safety. If he falls in the middle of the crowd, and I'm convinced he's taking a dive, I'm hitting him with a T.
If I'm not sure, and he's in the middle of the play (somewhat likely given the likely full court press, unless his teammates stand around doing nothing), I'll whistle it dead.
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And just how do you know he didn't twist his ankle. You have six players in the free throw lane jostling for position for a possible missed free throw and you are concentrating on watching the player's feet to see if one twists his ankle. My ankles are so shot, that I don't need to twist my ankle to go down. I suffered a stress fracture in my right foot this July while officiating a basketball game. I was just running down the court, I didn't land awkwardly on my foot while running, it just happened.
There is no way you can tell if he is taking a dive. I am not saying that it is not possible for a player to take a dive, but the probability of it is highly unlikely. Remember you are dealing with players who are H.S. age and younger. The safety of the players always, I repeat always, comes first.
The fact that an official would think more about a player taking a dive than being concerened about the safety of the player tells me that something is amiss in his officiating priorities.
MTD, Sr.