[jdw3018]

First game of the year. Thirty seconds left. Tie ballgame. A1 dribbling the ball out high, running some clock.

I'm L, about midway between lane line and 3-point line (I'm on my right side of the lane), 3-4 feet deep of the endline.

A2 runs right in front of my face, coming from the corner to my right all the way across the lane toward the other corner, running 3 feet off the court the entire way.

A didn't appear to be running a set play. A2 wasn't avoiding a screen. But I blew it, informed A2 of the violation and awarded B the ball.

In an old post on this play, I was on the side of don't call this violation if it's not part of a set play, avoiding a screen, gaining an advantage, etc. In this situation, he was so far off the court for so long, my rationale was that it would be easy for the defense to lose track of him.

Thoughts on this call? I'm pretty sure I'd call it again in the same situation, but I'm also pretty solid that I wouldn't have called it if it hadn't been so blatant/deep/of such length.