Pointing direction at tip

[BryanV21]

Originally Posted by umpjim

Not a basketball official. Would this be the equivalent of a baseball umpire saying ball four, take your base, and pointing to 1B?

I believe the reason for strike signals and such given by umpires was to relay information about the call to those that can't hear them. It's not necessarily for the benefit of the players/batters.

Therefore, the point to first base is simply a way to let those that can't hear the ump say "ball four, take your base" to know it's a walk.

However, I'm not a historian on that, I just heard it somewhere.

[SNIPERBBB]

Only time I ever pointed directions before the tip was for rec-league. Never did it for any level of HS/MS ball.