Quote:
Originally Posted by referee99
Boys JV game last night. Team A ball in their front court, passing among teammates. Ball tipped by B1... going out of bounds... B2 bats ball towards Team B basket. Ball is deflected off of A1 (while still in Front court) and goes into Team A's back court. A1 then retrieves in the back court. Official (me) calls backcourt violation.
Coach and fans go crazy. Everyone saw the bat of the ball by B2. Coach wants answers. I tell him I'll explain it later.
At halftime, discuss the play with partner, the Var official who was watching, and the 2nd Var official that didn't see it but was in the office. Partner and Var witness are trying to sort out why it was backcourt violation. They are not quite getting it. I sum it up for them: "Team control. Last to touch in FC, first to touch in BC." Strangely, they are still a bit confused... one mentions that the coach was pretty adamant.
I suggest that they coach doesn't know the rules here... and mention that, "Look, if we (I guess that I was implying "you guys"), with all of our training and rules knowledge/study are sitting here trying to sort this play out, how the heck is a coach supposed to know this?"
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At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this call (LTFT backcourt violation) creates a HUGE game management problem EVERY TIME. 90+% of the varsity high school coaches don't know it -- I don't even want to venture a guess at the percentage for sub-varsity, middle school or lower level coaches. Parents and players -- FORGET ABOUT IT!!!
Explaining why I called an illegal dribble/carry on a point guard may not merit much of an explanation. A LTFT backcourt violation is different. In the first case, the coaches know the rule, they may be questioning your judgment. In the case of LTFT, the assumption is that you somehow completely MISSED the tip by the defender.
I know that many (maybe even most) officials on this forum disagree with my view, but I still maintain that a rule change here is appropriate. Even if the rule may make sense (from an after-the-fact explanation standpoint), the fact remains that this call creates a furor EVERY TIME from the offending coach, players and spectators. Further, the other coach typically doesn't know the rule, anyway. A rule change here would not even be noticed by most of the coaches.
Rule Change Suggestion: Once ball is tipped by the defense, the division line "disappears" until the offense has PLAYER CONTROL and BOTH FEET in the FRONT COURT, again. A back court count would be started WHEN THE TEAM GAINS PLAYER CONTROL IN THE BACKCOURT (as opposed to starting the count as soon as the ball goes into the back court as the rule is today).
The rule would match 90+% of the coaches' understanding of the rule anyway.
Until that happens, EVERY TIME an official makes this call he/she will get an unfair butt-chewing by the coach, the players and the fans (and, even some officials, apparently). Included will be the wrecking of the flow of a good game.