Ball-side Mechanics

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by ilyazhito

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.

Use that, whether it's a throw-in or not.

It's the same general principal of when to move across as in 3-person (although you might move "back" sooner that you would in 3-person).

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

... although you might move "back" sooner that you would in 3-person.

I once forgot to get back. After a turnover I started up the court as the new trail and after several steps spotted my partner on the same side of the court as me, and at the same time he, as the new lead, turned to look over his shoulder and spotted me. It happened several years ago but I can still remember the look on his face.

[ilyazhito]

Thank y'all for the great advice and info. I'll look to go over early and often (when appropriate) in both my future 2-person and 3-person games. I had always suspected that 2-person should be 3-person without the Trail, and recently started working 2-person games with that mindset, and MTD confirmed that.

[Kelvin green]

Going strong side will put you in better position to referee plays. I learned it along time ago and should be used more,

[BillyMac]

In this thread, a few members have stated that, while allowed by mechanics, many officials don't take advantage of two person ball side mechanics.

I was going to point out that even fewer take advantage of IAABO mechanics that state that the trail can initiate a frontcourt rotation in a two person game:

When pressure is applied in frontcourt, near farther sideline in trial's PCA, trail may rotate beyond the basketline toward farther sideline to provide maximum coverage. As a result of trail rotating, lead may rotate across the basketline, changing lead's PCA, and line responsibility.

But I decided to double check the wording of the mechanic. Good thing that I did because it's gone. It last appeared in the 2016-17 mechanics manual, and then disappeared in the 2017-18 mechanics manual.

Do any IAABO members remember this change being announced?

[ilyazhito]

Maybe the bit about Trail initiating a rotation was based on the fact that a Center official with on-ball pressure between the 3-point arc and the division line can initiate a rotation by moving above the play, becoming Trail and having the Lead move across the lane. In this case, the Trail would be performing the role of the absent C official, and Lead would take over Trail's job.

I'm also surprised that many veteran officials, and even some evaluators do not know about ball-side mechanics. However, I'll still look to make ball-side strong side, whether in a 2- or 3-person crew, with partners who know, or don't know. If my partner chews me out for going ball-side, I'd sit there and think to myself that he doesn't know what he's talking about (like the JV veteran in another thread relating communication with one's partner to wearing the same color of shoelaces ).

[Nevadaref]

Obviously, 2-man mechanics are much older than those for 3-man. Also, the game has changed significantly. 1989 is when HS adopted the 3pt shot. The frequency of such attempts has been on the rise ever since. The old style of pounding the ball into big guys in the post isn’t as popular now.

What does all of that mean? The days of 2-man at the HS level are dwindling and the need for the L to come strongside to observe post activity is also dropping drastically.

When I started officiating 20 years ago, the post players were still dominant and coming strongside was the norm. It was done almost exclusively to watch the post matchup. Now my area doesn’t even teach this anymore. The L is likely better off just staying on his side. There are far more long range jumpshots and long rebounds than true post matchups. Couple that with 3-man being more prevalent and this mechanic is almost extinct.