[BillyMac]

I'm still finalizing my article and trying to make sure that everything is correct before I submit it.

Today at work I was thinking about whether or not there was a "statue of limitations" on duplicate numbers. I recalled that when I first learned the rules about thirty years ago we learned that technical fouls for illegal numbers can only be charged if the player with the illegal number actually participates in the game as one of the five players on the court. We also learned that technical fouls for duplicate numbers can be charged at any time after the ten minute mark, even if the player with the duplicate number never participates as one of the five players in the game. Then I started thinking about a case play that I remembered dealing with the "duplicate" numbers 0 and 00, and that technical fouls could only be charged if both 0 or 00 participated as one of the five players in the game. When I got home I looked up the case play and discovered that 0 and 0 are not "duplicate" numbers (although computer scorebooks treat then as duplicate numbers), but rather, they are "illegal" numbers, with the only catch being that when the second "zero" participates as one of the five players in the game, the second "zero" is the illegal number.

Here's the case play:

2008-09 NFHS Basketball Rules Interpretations
SITUATION 2: A team has members with No. 0 and No. 00 listed in the scorebook and it is discovered (a) with 14 minutes on the clock prior to the game, (b) with 8 minutes on the clock prior to the game or (c) after the game starts. RULING: In (a), changes can be made without penalty. In (b), if a number is changed in the scorebook, a team technical is charged. The offended team is awarded two free throws and a throw-in at the division line to begin the game. The arrow is toward the offending team. If no changes are made to the scorebook, no infraction has occurred. In (c), after the game starts, there is no infraction if only one of the team members (No. 0 or No. 00) participates. If the second team member wishes to participate, the result is an illegal number when "discovered." The penalty is a direct technical foul on the head coach for an illegal uniform. Two free throws and a division line throw-in for the offended team and loss of coaching box privileges for the offending coach. The second team member (with the illegal uniform number) may participate without further penalty and is NOT required to change his/her number. Another possibility exists after the game starts when one of the team members wants to change his/her number prior to participating. The result is a team technical foul (no loss of coaching box) for changing the scorebook. COMMENT: No team should have both No. 0 and No. 00 on its regular roster. The infraction is likely due to bringing a player up or down a level. Therefore, it is possible the team has access to other legal uniforms to replace a uniform with an illegal number. (3-4-3d; 10-1-2; 10-5-4)

I guess what they say is true, "You can learn something every day". I also guess that, contrary to what they say, "You can teach an old dog new tricks".