Looking for advice. FT shooter has just received the ball from the official and the horn sounds (just briefly because the timekeeper realizes he should not have sounded it). We ignored the horn. The free thrower bounces the ball a few times and takes his shot and misses. The horn did not sound just as he was getting ready to shoot. The shooter's coach asks for a repeat of the FT. We did not oblige.

If this was to happen again, I think I would blow my whistle as soon as the horn sounds and start the FT over. Is there an official interpretation as to what to do in this situation.

BTW, NCAA rules.

Its true the horn doesn't stop the game. 6 of 1, half dozen of another weather or not you want to blow the whistle before the shot. Use your gut feeling. However, it certainly is not correctable once you let him shoot, thats the end of it.

This situation is very similar to the one where the ball is bounced to the shooter who bobbles the ball. I believe that the best action is to whistle everything dead and re-administer the foul shot. This avoids ANY issue with the coaches or players.

I think it all depends on who was shooting the FT on many levels. If that it was the home team, I would ignore it like you did. If it is the visiting team, I would be more inclined to call it back. But then again, that is if I feel the shooter was really interfered with or disconcerted. If I feel they were not, then let it play. And much of this would depend on if the shooter paused or did something out of the ordinary then what their routine appeared to be.

Peace

As a general guideline...
 

If there is anything "unusual" (the original situation qualifies) you should whistle the play dead and re-administer the FT. Failure to do so opens you to unnecessary challenges by the coach.

Bottom Line: Little to gain, by not re-administering the FT; Lots of grief to deal with if you do not.

Re: As a general guideline...
 

This is not different than any other time in the game. If the horn is blown, you just do not stop play because the horn went off. If everyone continued to play, no need to hold things up. And grief is not the major issue for me. If the home timer is doing it to their own player, I do not have as much simpathy for that horn. But a coach that knows their rules (and that might be very rare of course :D) knows that this does not "automatically" stop the game, then they might give your grief either way. So if grief is your issue, you are not going to automatically avoid it on this case. But if they blew the horn and it was clearly not for a substitution, I would stop play and go to the table to find out what is up.

Peace

I look for the reaction of the players
 

This has happened. If the person with the ball stops his concentration preparing for the shot. I step in and start over. The same is true during other live ball situations. If it is backcourt with no press, I say loudly to play ball. But, if the dribbler stops or other players react. I am inclined to stop the play.

Please Note...
 

I did not say I would ALWAYS blow it dead.

It does depend on the situation. I worked a 4-court tourney this weekend were we had horns going off all the time... I certianly would be less inclined to whistle it dead in this situation than a sole game with a quiet gym.

Tomegun and I know something about this situation! :D