Jeff,

I wanted to get your take on this play. Do you think this is a travel? And would it be called? I had a very similar play this summer at one of my summer camps in Illinois. I called the travel, and then 2 separate assignors told me I was wrong and that we shouldn't penalized the offense for making an athletic play. This play is never called in any games that I see, mainly underclass, even though it is pretty well determined it is a travel almost 100% of the time.

If you look at the comments I made in this thread, my position is rather clear what I think of this play.

And I cannot speak for what assignors in every situation want. I know what I am calling and I would rather call this a travel, then ignore and award the player with a foul which often happens around the basket. This was not even a good spin move either that might be difficult to identify. This looked bad live to me.

Underclass games (and varsity games) get a lot of travels that never actually happen. So this not being called properly would not be a surprise to me.

Peace

Because this is an NCAA game, I would have a travel, because the pivot foot is moved after it is established before the ball handler shot. If it were an NBA or FIBA game, I would pass.

Do you mean the pivot foot was lifted and replaced?

He also did not execute the beginning of his spin move cleanly. He hopped on his pivot once and then spun, at the end of which he replanted his pivot foot.

Yes. The pivot foot was picked up and replaced before the ball was released on the shot.

Varsity basketball is the highest level I work, but I'm calling this a travel every time I catch it. The moment I'm told to stop calling it I will, but it is being called more the last couple of years (Correctly in my opinion) than it was previously.

I agree with you on this. It is a travel and it's really not that hard to see. Nobody has told me not to call it, BUT nobody else is calling it. As a result I have cut back dramatically on the number of travels that I have called in the last couple of years. Consistency is everything and it's hard to blame the players and coaches for being upset when "He's been making that move all year and it hasn't been called."


But I see traveling is a POE in the books AGAIN this year. Also, our study guide had a couple of questions along the lines of: A1 catches the ball with his left foot on the floor. He goes forward with a one, two action before releasing the ball on a shot...….. (or something like that). Somebody wants this called, but it has been very slow to trickle down. I'm hoping either the trend will reverse itself or they will rewrite the rule:


A player, before releasing a try, may spin, hop, Euro, or whatever. As long as this is smoothly done, it shall be a legal play.

Here's my opinion on this, that I don't think I've seen anyone bring up. This isn't a typical spin move. the issue on a normal spin is when does the player gather the ball. if close, you assume he HASN'T gathered it with the foot down and coming up, so that the foot that comes down just after the gather is the pivot foot. It's not unlike seeing the gather on many moves as being completed after that last foot is just off the floor. If you call it close on this, you'll never advance in leagues that are good bball. I was always told don't call travels on plays like this when observers have to think about whether it is a travel or not. Give the benefit of the doubt to the ballhandler.

In this case, it's different, because there is an extra step in there clearly WAY AFTER he has gathered the ball, and then that foot is lifted and he comes down with each foot AGAIN. This was clearly a travel, poor footwork. But it's because this wasn't a typical spin move.