[Mwanr1]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

1) Well, personally I really don't care if the player is impaired or dumb. That's got no relevancy at all imo when it comes to judging this play. As an official, all I'm worried about is whether I'm letting a coach and his team benefit from from an unsporting act in some way. If that unsporting act caused an opponent's turnover, then that coach and his team sureasheck are benefiting from that unsporting act imo. I won't let a coach get away with gaining an unfair advantage like that. Apparently you would. Guess we're gonna have to disagree on this one...big time.

-ohh come on now, we all know different games require different types of officiating. The player with the ball must have been extremely dumb if he/she listens to the opponent coach and give him the ball. Where's the game awareness? Is he even playing basketball? Why’s he paying attention to the coach? If those were the things I question - is he playing basketball? By having a low basketball IQ, they are putting themselves in a very bad position to expect a call that they caused to lose. IMO, why should they be rewarded for their own mistake?

Here's a scenario I think it can be measured similarly. Is this an acceptable play by the defender?

A5, facing his own basketball rebound the ball and on his way down he hears a shout down court that screams, "THROW ME THE BALL." A5, who is now in full control of the ball, thought one of his teammates was open for a fast break opportunity. A5 quickly pivot and throw the ball down court, and the pass is intercepted by B4. Every person at the gym knows B4 shout “THROW ME THE BALL” except for A5. But A5 committed the play. Can you still panelize B4 for saying “throw me the ball?” Or better yet give him a “t” for quote and quote “creating an advantage on the court?” If so, then why? If not, why not?

Basketball is never fair. As an official, it is critical to enforce all of the rules and make sure the game flow smoothly. If a coach creates an advantage for his team (like spilling water to cause a player to fall, struck his foot out, throw things on the court, etc), then sure heck we gotta nail him. But the degree of creating an 'advantage' must be measured. As stated in the previous post, if they were in grade school, because of the talent of basketball, we can and should enforce something to prohibit the coach from doing it again. After all, for the grade school level is still about learning to sport of basketball. For this particular scenario, it is to me that a “bonehead” play was made by the offensive team. I just cannot see what the coach did wrong in terms of creating an advantage and thus deserving a “t.

3) Players shouting "dead" or "shoot" aren't unsporting acts; it's that simple. Any official with any kind of experience at all knows the difference. [/QUOTE]

I know, I know – those are some words that can be said in the written rule of basketball. Now I also want to point this out. What if the entire team (all 5 players on the court) mumbles “dead” or “ball” while the ball is being dribbled? After a minute or two, it must get irritating – can it? I am interest to know what action you would take for this particular scenario?