[LearningREF]

Hello All,

New here and relatively new referee. I have reffed for over 5 years but it's been almost 10 years since I started up again this month. I currently ref in a middle school rec league and need some help with some basic questions. I have NFHS's Rules by Topic book but couldn't find these scenarios in it nor could I find answers when googling - perhaps, too basic? Anyway, I appreciate any help and look forward to reading your answers.

1. A1 is dribbling with her right hand while being guarded. A1 loses control of her dribble and the ball bounces away from her. She takes several steps to catch up to the ball and without grabbing or touching the ball with two hands, she continues her dribble with her right hand. The play occurred right in front of me and I let it go. However, my partner blows his whistle and calls a traveling violation, explaining she passed the ball to herself. All I can say is considering A1's basketball ability and IQ, there is no way she intentionally passed the ball to herself -- she most certainly lost control of it. Is this a traveling violation?

2. A free throw shooter jumps in order to try his foul shot. Before the ball hits the rim, his front foot's toe lands on the free throw line (about an inch onto it) but does not go beyond it in any way. Is this a violation?

3. Same scenario as number two but this is with a player lined up along the lane. His toe steps onto but not over the lane line before the ball hits the rim. Is this a violation?

4. B1 is defending A1. Every time A1 gets the ball, B1 starts yelling obnoxiously in order to distract A1. B1 does not taunt or curse or even really use words; she just yells. Is this allowed? Is this a technical foul? Is this behavior allowed during free throws? Is this allowed in any scenario?

5. Team B scores a made basket and decides to press Team A. It takes Team A four seconds to inbound the ball. Team A, then, still has the ball for another six seconds in their backcourt. Has team A committed a ten-second violation? When does the ten second count actually begin?

6. I have read in the NFHS book that hand checking, especially if persistent, is a foul. I infer this to mean that persistent hands on a player who has the ball should be called even if it's not clear if the defender is gaining any advantage by having his hands there, correct? This seems to differ from other foul calls a ref would make where he is deciding if the contact gains an advantage for the player.

7. A1 and B1, both grab a rebound simultaneously. Before a jump ball is called, A1 starts moving both his feet (takes steps) in order to maintain contact with the ball, while B1 holds his left perfectly still on the floor. Is this a jump ball or a traveling violation on A1?

8. Same scenario as seven but this time A1 maintains a pivot foot with his left foot but steps out of bounds with his right foot before a jump ball is called. Is this out of bounds on A1, ball goes to team B?

9. Last one...A1 is dribbling in his frontcourt and B1 knocks the ball away from him and it bounces into the backcourt. A1 runs and retrieves the ball in the backcourt, touching it first. Has a backcourt violation occurred? What if A1 had merely touched it while it was still in the frontcourt after B1 had knocked it away and then finally gained control of it after it entered the backcourt?


Thanks again. Even after playing and watching basketball for decades, it's amazing how little confidence one can have in some basic rules of the games. It gives me a new found respect for what refs go through and how much they know!!