3 feet?? Oklahoma vs Kansaa

[Cole4088]

Is this a real rule? If so, how do you miss this in such a big game as a NCAA official??? For those that missed the game.
Throw in from sideline. Oklahoma throwing in and Kansas defender maybe gives in 3" for the throw in and pass gets defelected to Kansas.

[BoBo]

This is an issue at these old great courts, Phog Allen, Kameron Indoor Arena. There is no space for the inbounder to take a step back to create space to pass.

Needed to be looked at for years.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by Cole4088

Is this a real rule? If so, how do you miss this in such a big game as a NCAA official??? For those that missed the game.
Throw in from sideline. Oklahoma throwing in and Kansas defender maybe gives in 3" for the throw in and pass gets defelected to Kansas.

It was badly administered but he had more than 3". His shoes were longer than that. The 3' is not measured face to face but from the obstacle behind the thrower (the table). The thrower should have a total of at least 3 feet of space. In this case, he had about 18", maybe 24". On top of that the defender was across the line that was there.

The official should (and did) back the defender up an appropriate amount to allow for the throwin but did nothing when the defender clearly violated the temporary space that had been established.

Raw deal for OU to lose on that.

[wildcatter]

Where is this 3 foot depth rule? Rule 7-6.8.b states "The designated spot shall be 3-feet wide with no depth limitation." That is the only mention of three feet.

The opponent is allowed to be right up on the line. Rule 9-4.3 illustrates the penalty for repeated infractions: "The opponents of the thrower-in shall not have any part of their person beyond the vertical inside plane of any boundary line before the ball has crossed that boundary line. Repeated infractions shall result in a CLASS B technical foul."

BoBo is right on when saying that these old arenas have a big issue. The Oklahoma player looked as the ball in his hands had crossed the boundary (still in his hands) when the Kansas player crossed the boundary/touched it. It's hard to say whether or not he was over the line while the Oklahoma player had the ball behind the boundary line. I'd say it's almost impossible given the lack of space that the Oklahoma player held the entire ball behind the boundary line. It's a big issue, but the refs looked to get the call correct, despite what pundits on ESPN say. It *looked* like a bad call because they were on top of each other - almost no playing court has a OOB area that narrow.

EDIT: should add that NCAA rule is that the opponent may not cross boundary plane until ball has crossed boundary plane while I believe NFHS is that the opponent may not cross boundary plane until the thrower-in has released the ball.

[JetMetFan]

Originally Posted by wildcatter

Where is this 3 foot depth rule? Rule 7-6.8.b states "The designated spot shall be 3-feet wide with no depth limitation." That is the only mention of three feet.

NF Rule 1-2-2 implies the 3-foot protocol on a throw-in (If, on an unofficial court, there is less than 3 feet of unobstructed space outside any sideline or end line, a narrow broken line shall be marked on the court parallel with and 3 feet inside that boundary. This restraining line becomes the boundary line during a throw-in on that side or end, as in 7-6. It continues to be the boundary until the ball crosses the line). The way the rule is written if teams are playing on an 84' x 50' court with at least 3 feet of unobstructed space outside all boundaries a defender on a throw-in would have to - by default - be at least 3 feet away from the thrower as long as the thrower didn't move forward.

NCAAM and NCAAW don't have this language in their codes.

[wildcatter]

Got it. Thanks JetMetFan. Had heard the 3 foot rule for NFHS but couldnt find it at all in the NCAA rule or case books. Think the restraining boundary is to be 6 feet in NCAA if possible but could not find a mention of any protocol changes if not. Was wondering tonight if old courts like Allen or Cameron had their own "ground rules" that weren't publicized when refs would back players up before throw-ins (or they could have just been backing them up to not cross the boundary plane).

[JetMetFan]

Originally Posted by wildcatter

Think the restraining boundary is to be 6 feet in NCAA if possible but could not find a mention of any protocol changes if not.

Remember, the restraining lines are behind the end lines. They don't have anything to do with making a throw-in. They're to keep non-playing personnel away from the court.

Originally Posted by wildcatter

Was wondering tonight if old courts like Allen or Cameron had their own "ground rules" that weren't publicized when refs would back players up before throw-ins (or they could have just been backing them up to not cross the boundary plane).

My guess is the 3-foot courtesy in NCAA probably began because of courts like Cameron and those at other older on-campus facilities (such as the old Catholic schools that Al McGuire used to call "confessional boxes" because they were so tight).