Fun With A Lodged Ball ...

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

Once, many years ago, I decided to jump up to knock the ball free. About half way up, it occurred to me that I'd look really foolish if I didn't knock it free. Luckily, I knocked it free. But, I never did that again.

I haven't been able to jump to grab a net (or a ball stuck between the ring and the backboard, or a ball up in the supports) in many years. In most boys high school games, a player will offer assistance. In a girls high school game, or a middle school game, I'm asking the site director, or the coach, to get someone to get the net unstuck, or the ball down.

Over four decades, I've seen nets become so tangled that no amount of jumping and grabbing (the grabbing often makes the tangle much worse) can get them untangled. It sometimes takes someone on a stepladder to get the job done, not often, but it happens, more than once, but not much more.

We have a school in our area that has a gym with basket supports that so often get balls stuck in them behind the backboards that there is always a long pole available behind the bleachers to be used to "punch" the ball out of the supports.

Many years ago, back in the 20th century, when I was a young junior varsity official, I stayed to watch a great varsity game between two conference arch-rivals in a packed gym. Although one of the varsity officials was one of the best on our local board, with a resume that included many conference playoffs, and state tournament games, the crowd seemed to be getting on him most of the game. This official also happens to be one of the shortest officials on our board. Early in the third period, a net becomes hung up on a rim. Here comes this official, running as fast as he can, from midcourt, jumping as high as he can, to dislodge the net, missing the net by more then a foot. Every one in the crowd laughed at his effort. But you know what, the crowd was on his side the rest of the game.