FT Trail Signaling

[bainsey]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

College ball has been playing off the release for years (before I started officiating) and I never see college players knocking free throw shooters off the line.

True, but entering the lane on the release has been part of the college game for a pretty long time. We're only in year two of this rule in NFHS, since its reinstatement, and we're not even talking about knocking the shooter, but merely crossing the FT line. Some coaches are teaching kids to box out the shooter, not knowing crossing the free throw line before the hit "cuts both ways."

Last night, my partner and I had this violation on a defender four times in our two games. The visiting coach (who had both games) didn't understand what we were ruling until I spoke with him at halftime of game two.

But, this is about the signaling. To me, it seems silly to get a hand up immediately, then out if there's a violation. The time frame is too small to do both. Now, it makes more sense to keep the hand down for a second, and raise it immediately on the hit, essentially declaring there is no violation, and start the clock on the chop. Or, signal the delayed violation, if there is one.