As the half is ending, a player tries a long shot from his own free throw line. The ball is way short and indeed it bounces on the far free throw line as the buzzer sounds ... and bounces into the basket. Does it count?

Fifteen feet doesn't seem like a very long shot. . . :confused:


What?? He threw it the wrong way!!!

He better hope not!

Don't mind my <i>confrere</i>, the Chuckster. He's just a little mad at the whole world this morning, but he'll start getting over it in a coupla months. Maybe.

The point that he was making is that your own free throw line is the one that you shoot free throws from, by rules definition, not the "far" one. It doesn't matter where he throws it from in this particular case though. The shot ended when it bounced(actually as soon as it went below rim level), so the ball now become dead when the buzzer sounds(as it is no longer a shot). You can't score with a dead ball, therefore no basket.

Again, please accept a group apology on behalf of all of us here over the treatment that you received from our grumpy little compatriot. Unfortunately, for Chuck, it's not that time of the month, but it IS that time of the year!

Okay, okay, I take no offense but I really meant he shot from the "far" free throw line and it bounced on "his own" free throw line (even though that's now what I said).

Let me pose a variation, though ... if the buzzer had not sounded until after the ball was back in the air (or above rim level, or had gone in), THEN would it have counted?

We knew what you meant; you just phrased it incorrectly according to the actual standard rule book terminology in use. We get kinda anal about that sometimes.

The answer is still nope, as long as the original shot(try) had ended before the horn sounded. A shot(try) ends when it is certain that the ball can't go in or the ball hits the floor. To count, the original shot(try) must still be in process in the air when the horn sounds.

I'm glad. I wasn't cranky, just making a point, "anal" as it may be. :)

JR gave you the right answer for your variation, but let me pose one of my own. If it's obvious, then please forgive me, but here goes.

If the bounced ball (not really a "try", as JR pointed out) goes in the basket before the horn or a whistle sounds, then it's 2 points. Even though the "try" ended when the ball hit the floor, it's still a live ball, so if it goes in, you'd still credit the team with the two points. And it's only two points, even if the original try came from beyond the 3-point arc.

And in yet another variation, if the ball bounces (so it's not a "try") up onto the rim or in the cylinder and is touched by a player, then that's basket interference -- even tho it's not a shot or "try". If the defense touched it, give 2 points to the offense. If the offense touched it, the ball is dead and no points are scored.

And in yet another variation, if the ball bounces (so it's not a "try") up onto the rim or in the cylinder and is touched by a player, then that's basket interference -- even tho it's not a shot or "try". If the defense touched it, give 2 points to the offense. If the offense touched it, the ball is dead and no points are scored.
[/B][/QUOTE]And in yet another variation, if the ball bounces (so it's not a try) up towards the rim, is on the way down above the rim but is still outside the cone, and looks like it is going to definitely go through the rim, what is the call if a member of the defense now touches it? Or if a member of the offense now touches it? Why in both cases?

Shhhhhh, Chuck. :D

I'll give it a "shot". The try ends when the ball touches the floor. So if the bounce is on the way down but outside the cylinder, the try is over and is no longer a shot.

True, but do you call goaltending or not if the live ball that bounced is on the way down again and has a chance to go in the basket when it is now touched?

While a try touching the floor is indeed one criteria that can end a try, it ends before that....when it is certain that it will be unsucessful. They may even occur at any point after it is released. For example, a full court shot that is clearly going to land several feet before basket is over as soon as that can be determined.

I'll defer on the GT question to not spoil JR's fun.

No. You cannot goaltend if it not a try.

How about if the bounce is over the cylinder when the defense touches it?

Goaltending.

Close but no cigar. I may have already provided the answer to Tony's question earlier in the thread. . .

So...more accurately "basket interference'?

"If the defense touched it, give 2 points to the offense. If the offense touched it, the ball is dead and no points are scored."

Right?