[JRutledge]

The best way to learn basketball rules is to actually work games. I would suggest that you invest in the Simplified and Illustrated Rulebook and the Athletic Rules Study program (which for some reason I cannot get the web site to come up). Basketball is a sport where you have a lot of options or judgment involved more so than the other two sports you mentioned. What makes a good basketball official is how they call the game. The rules often almost never come into play as much as you might read here. Your job really comes down to calling basic fouls and basic violations. And even when you watch a game officiated by others, people tend to disagree if certain rules should be applied or should not be applied.

I would suggest you study the rules in preparation for the test because in most cases you have to say. Start with the definitions section and read a lot of plays in the casebook. But reading the rules over and over again is not going to help you when you have to call a tough block/charge consistently if you are not in the right position or you have not been on the court your knowledge of the rules alone will not save you. In football and baseball, the rules have a progression where one thing cannot be decided without another event in most cases. In those sports you have less wiggle room to make judgment.

Peace