Air Ball Free Throw ...

[ilyazhito]

How is this relevant to anything? I thought the topic was air balls on a free throw and blowing the whistle. I do it on all air ball free throws for the sake of consistency, for the same reason why, as a back judge in a football game, I don't blow my whistle on a scoring kick until it passes through (or wide of) the uprights. In football, not blowing the whistle until it is allowed by rule saves me from inadvertent whistles, and in basketball, blowing the whistle on errant free throws that do not hit the ring, whether in flight or on a bounce off the backboard, allows the officials and players to smoothly progress to the next play, whether a following free throw or a throw-in for B (the non-shooting team) at a designated spot.