Ball-side Mechanics

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Originally Posted by ilyazhito

I have seen ball-side mechanics mentioned in both 2 and 3-person mechanics manuals (NFHS pp. 17, 44-45, IAABO pp. 25, 27 for 2-person ball-side mechanics, NFHS pp. 77-78, 80, IAABO 133-137 for 3-person ball-side mechanics and rotations), but officials tend to place more emphasis on 3-person ball-side mechanics (perhaps because rotations are also involved when Lead moves ball-side in a 3-person game) than on 2-person ball-side mechanics. Officials are often not taught about 2-person ball-side mechanics (those that use it, including myself, learned how to go ball-side from reading the mechanics manual and applying ABC principles).

Seeing this, and reading various online resources on basketball officiating (some of which encourage officials to go ball-side in both 3 and 2-person games) made me wonder what the purpose of ball-side mechanics are. Is the information on 2-person ball-side mechanics just dead words printed in a manual that will not see the light of day, or is there some higher reason for information on ball-side movement to be included in both the 2 and 3-person sections of high school mechanics manuals?

The most common situation where I have seen (or used) ball-side mechanics in 2-person games is on frontcourt throw-ins where the ball and most of the matchups are on Trail's side of the court. I have also gone ball-side if there is pressure in the frontcourt on Trail's side, and there are multiple matchups on Trail's side, or if a drive/pass to the post is imminent. In the 3-person games I have worked so far, I haven't had to rotate frequently, because the ball would either move quickly from one side to the other, or there would be a quick shot shortly after the ball moved away from the Lead's side, making a rotation unnecessary. In your experience, what is the most common situations for moving ball-side (and some reliable cues for ball-side movement/rotation other than ball position)?

Ball Side Mechanics for Two-Person Crews predates the 3-Pt FG in H.S. and college (both men's and women's) and Rotation Mechanics in Three-Person Crews. It goes back to the early to mid 1980s for both H.S. and college. Meaning that it has always been the required Two-Person Mechanic in both H.S. and college for over 35 years.

I could give a $100 online seminar on Two-Person Mechanics but I just do not feel like sitting down off line to type it so that I can copy and paste it here. That said, a Two-Person Crew is nothing more than a Three-Person Crew with only a L and C or a L and T depending upon whether the L has gone Ball Side or has not gone Ball Side.

I will leave it that except to say, it really grinds my gears when Two-Person Crews do not use Ball Side Mechanics. But that is a story for another time.

MTD, Sr.