Throw-in

[Mike Goodwin]

Originally Posted by Zoochy

Team A has an End-line throw-in in their back-court. A1 is standing on the table side of the 'painted area' and the Trail official is standing on the other side of the 'painted area.'
Should the official rotate to the same side as A1 OR is it allowable, in NFHS, for the Trail official to not rotate and bounce the ball across the 'painted area' to A1?

Hey, Zooch:

According to the 2021-23 Officials Manual, 5.2.2.A.3 "In the backcourt, the new Trail is administering official. The trail official may need to change sides of the court depending on the throw-in spot," so I would suggest there is no provision for the new Trail to bounce the ball across the FTLE, but that doesn't mean I've never done it.

However, I can safely tell you, depending on who my partner(s) is (are), I might stand to the inside of the thrower and hand the ball to him/her. When my partner(s) see me underneath the basket, they'll know which side of the court which I will be moving from backcourt to frontcourt.

It's certainly easier to get newer officials to the right spot(s) before the throw-in starts rather than the getting the old, curmudgeonly veterans to do what they actually know what they're supposed to do (which is C becomes new Lead and L becomes new Center).