[actuary77]

Per NFHS 9-3-3: "A player shall not leave the floor for an unauthorized reason."

This is my 5th year officiating HS ball and last Friday was the first time I had to call a violation per this rule. BJV game. Offensive player A1 was trying to lose a defender and ran from one side of the front court to the other along the OOB under the basket. Not just one foot OOB but a good 3 feet from the end line.

I was the L and immediately called a violation. The coach wondered what I called and I told him it was the OOB violation. He was still wondering and started saying things like: "He wasn't going for the ball" and "He didn't touch the ball." The asst coach muttered that he's never heard of such a rule. I told them politely that I can discuss with them after the game and show them the rule from the book. Fortunately, that was the end of that. Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to show them the rule after the game.

IMHO, the rule as written is quite ambiguous in this kind of play. I can almost anticipate the follow up question from coaches as "What is an unauthorized reason?" But I'm 99% sure that this is a violation because of more than one case in the NFHS Case Book.

I just wanted to get a sense of what others have been doing or not doing to enforce this rule. Have you had similar experiences where coaches didn't know this rule existed? (I, for one, certainly didn't until I began officiating and read the rule book) How did you handle it?

Thanks.

PS.1. I've seen this play happen a lot in college and in the NBA. I just assume that it is legal at those levels.

PS.2. What would be the penalty if the defense violates?