In my profession (software engineer with emphasis on human-computer interaction) I have had cause to study some about the limits of human mental ability. I did not do the research on this, I only have read what others have written about it. Still, I find it rather fascinating.
Our conscious and our subconscious are both plugging away, all the time. While the subconscious can handle many tasks at once (e.g., walking and chewing gum
), our conscious can only handle one stream of thought at a time.
So, while a player is lining up along the lane and desparately trying to remember what his coach said about free throw situations, he is not even capable of also consciously paying attention to the ref. He has got to focus on one or the other.
The player is taking it all in, of course, but subconsciously. We don't yet understand how information goes back and forth across the boundary from concsious to subconscious, but it's an imperfect process. Perhaps especially so when it happens in a moment of panic, like when a player suddenly realizes that he doesn't know how many shots.
It's entirely plausable that he can pull the last thing he heard from the ref across the boundary, but lose all the rest. That being the case, I think pizanno's advice is right on the money--make sure that last word is the important one.
The "usability guy" in me wants to get on the soapbox about it being rather unfair to characterize players as "not paying attention," as if they are somehow misbehaving. They're doing just what the coach wants them to do--think! It's the limitation of the conscious mind that allows only one stream of thought. But I'll resist the urge.
BTW, it's that same "limitation" that allows us to focus on the game and not notice all that is going on around us off of the floor.