[coach41]

I was working an 8th grade boys basketball tournament today and an interesting situation occurred during the championship game between the "Red" and "White" teams.

The game is in the final seconds (not sure exactly how much time left, will explain in a second) of the 2nd quarter with the Red team winning 30-15. White inbounds the ball in their own backcourt and their ball handler dribbles up the left of the court in an attempt to get off a shot.

The ball handler gets picked up by a Red defender who forces the ball handler toward the left sideline. However, the White ball handler somehow manages to get pass the defender, crosses half court and puts up a shot which GOES IN!

However, The Red coach contests that the White player was out of bounds. My short answer to the coach was "No, he wasn't".

To be honest, I DID NOT get a look at where the ball handler's feet were when he beat the defender. The reason for this was due to the game clock.

While the game was held at a school gym, the tournament hosts were using a portable game clock which was placed at the scorer's table. The portable clocks are basically useless to officials for last minute situations because we can't see the time and the buzzer's are not all that loud.

Thus as the White ball handler raced up the court, my sole focus was on the following:

1. Seeing if there was any fouls.
2. Getting in position to see/hear the clock in case a shot when up.

Unfortunately, I may have followed too closely to see where the ball handler's feet were. However, I don't feel so bad for not seeing this. The two young ladies at the scorer's table (two seniors in high school) said the White ball handler never stepped on the sideline. They said that the player had his foot above the sideline for a split second but he planted his feet back onto the court.

Besides perhaps saying back a little more to get a better look at the player's feet, how else could I have handled the situation?