The rule (5-2 Art 5) says "When play is resumed with a throw-in or free throw and three-tenths (.3) of a second or less remains on the clock, a player may not gain control of the ball and try for a field goal. In this situation only a tap could score."

There is no mention of what the time may actually be. Let's quit trying to twist this, the officials kicked a rule, pure and simple. Same thing happened in a play-off game in Northern Virginia 2-3 seasons ago.

That would be why I asked the question...I know Washington State has that variance. I am wondering if WV does???

I agree with the sentiment of others posting before me: the crew should get together to be sure everyone knows the rule and what scenarios could happen. But, I wouldn't tell the coaches.

Who’s Trent Tucker? And Why Is There A Rule Named After Him? ...
 

From an upcoming article I'm writing for a magazine. It's been twenty-eight years and I'm sure that some Forum young'uns don't know the background of the rule.

The Trent Tucker Rule disallows any regular shot to be taken on the court if the ball is put into play with three-tenths of a second or less left in the period. The rule was born out of a game between the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls on January 15, 1990 at Madison Square Garden. The game was tied at 106 with one-tenth of a second left in regulation and the Knicks in possession. During a timeout called by the Knicks, both teams prepared for what was seen as the only possible way the Knicks could win in regulation: an alley-oop tapin by Patrick Ewing from an out of bounds pass. When play resumed, the Knicks player throwing the ball in, Mark Jackson, saw the alley-oop play get broken up. He proceeded to throw the ball inbounds to Trent Tucker, who was the only player open. Tucker then turned around and hit a three-point jump shot before the buzzer, giving the Knicks the win, 109–106. Replays showed that the clock was not started until Tucker's shot was already in midair. Afterward, everyone said a player could not catch, plant, spin, and release a shot so quickly. The NBA determined that you cannot catch and shoot in three-tenths of a second or under. All you can do is throw it at the rim and have someone tip it in.

I'm scrambling for my books to see what the diameter of a division line should be! :D

The question then is what is "the clock"? What if the clock at the table shows 100ths while the clock on the wall doesn't? What if one clock on the wall shows it and another doesn't?

The NCAAW rule is better here -- as soon as the ball is caught, the game is over.

Fill In The Blank ...
 

You didn't answer the fill in the blank question (when I certainly know that you can). Is this one of those fisherman metaphor things?

Yeah, if they ask the right questions. And you are not going to be able to ask all the possibilities, but testing is one of the biggest jokes in officiating. We act like if they test you that means you know the rules. You only know the questions they ask you. If they never ask you about what can happen on .3, then does that mean you will not ever learn the rule? Rules knowledge comes with experience, study and talking with several officials over time. And sometimes you learn the rule when you totally screw it up.

Peace

It's Not That Simple ...
 

The statement was made that if there is a catch that the game is over.

Sounds pretty simple. It's not that simple. The game might not be over under at least one hypothetical, but very possible (what often happens to players in the act of shooting), circumstance. I wouldn't nod to the table, and run out of the gym, if something else happened in addition to the catch and shoot.

Oh, That Trent Tucker ...
 

As a thirty-plus year retired science teacher, I know the value of context in understanding, and remember things.

If you take a closed book test, you might not know the answer. ;)

Peace

Tricky, Tricky, Tricky ...
 

Not fair. Trick question.

The division line isn't a circle and doesn't have a diameter, it has a length, and a width.

Yeah well we only had a short amount of time for a brief discussion. Having just a catch was not part of our discussion. I didn't think it was necessary to have a "pre-game" discussion during the time-out. Forgive me if I didn't mention the other hypothetical situations but I thought we covered the most important one.