Hi guys and girls.
I am new to the forum and I just started to referee.
I have done 2 HS games going for three tomorrow
I have done 11 town games 4th 5th 6th 7th & 8th grade girls
I have done 4 all start teams tournament games.
all of this in the pass 2 month. So I am very new to this stuff. LOL

Here is my question or case. This is what I did at one of my games.

A1 is dribbling. A2 is in the 3 second paint box. I am counting 1 2 at 2 1/2 sec. A1 go for a try, shoot the ball. I stop the count. A2 still in the paint box. A3 and A4 rebound the ball and shoot again 2 or 3 more time, ball don't go in A3 grab the ball and have control of the ball. A2 still in the paint box. Once A3 got control of the ball I continue the 3 second count and whistles to call the violation 3 second on A2 and give the ball to B team.

Did I make the right call?
When the 3 sec count stop if the ball goes inside the paint box parameter?

I had people telling me I shoulded stop the count after the shoot and when team A took control of the ball, I shoulded start a new 3 sec. count. Is this right or not.?

Your advice is appreciate.
Reyes
New Referee.

Once a shot goes up, the 3 second count will need to be restarted from the beginning. Don't restart it until the rebound has been secured by the offense, though.

Even in rec ball, you will want to give an ample amount of verbal warnings to clear the lane. Sometimes with the youger players, during a dead ball I'll even ask the coach for some help. This is not a call we want to keep making but sometimes they don't learn til their penalized. Keep in mind, if you make the call, fans will let you know you were wrong, and if you don't make the call fans will remind you. My best advice is if you can't ignore the fans you should at least enjoy a good laugh.

Welcome to the board! We love fresh mea... I mean, new refs. Anyone who wants to get better and learn more about officiating is always welcome here.

Your friends were right, and you weren't. Don't despair, though. That was a small mistake and now you'll never make it again.

If you don't have a copy of a rule book, find out which rules you are working under, and buy a rule book. It will help you a lot. There are several different sets of rules, one for high school which is called NFHS, or Fed; two for college ball, which are called NCAAM and NCAAW; there's FIBA which is international ball; and of course the NBA, which we don't discuss much here.

Happy Hoops!

Good one Juulie! :D

Yup, the 3 second count only applies while there is team control, and team control ends on the release of the ball for a try.

IMHO the three second call is one of the worst calls in basketball - often it's used as a bailout call when the official doesn't know what to call. I do call it, because it is the rule, but only after I've tried a verbal "clear the lane" and that warning is ignored.

A little preventive officiating can go a long way towards eliminating unnecessary whistles that do nothing but interrupt the flow of the game. Simple things like "hands off" and "clear the lane" early in the game can work wonders if the players listen - if they don't, then I penalize.

I don't know, Tim. That's a pretty rough statement. I may be the only one in this place who doesn't think the 3-second rule is a stupid rule. I think it makes sense and I will often try and get people out of the lane, but if they don't and they are in an advantageous position, I never have a problem making that call. What does bother me is when veteran officials say it's a bad thing to call it. I don't understand that at all.

I would ask the folks who think the 3-second violation is a terrible rule whether they think the 5-second closely guarded rule is stupid as well? Or the 10-second backcourt violation? What's the difference?

[Edited by Smitty on Feb 2nd, 2005 at 12:05 PM]

Each year we have a "state" meeting, where someone from the association comes down and gives a presentation on the rules. You have to attend to be certified. Each school must also send a coach. At this year and last year's meeting, the same guy did it, and he said if you are calling 3 seconds a lot, you aren't doing a good job. Accding to him, once a player takes possession in the lane, and is working for a shot, don't call 3 seconds. If he is doing the back down, pivoting, etc., just wait. If he then passes it out of the lane, or dribbles out of the lane, then you call it.

He also said a 3 second call shouldn't be made unless its 5 or 6 seconds, and after we having been telling em to get out the lane.

Of course, the coaches also hear this speech, and it goes in one ear and out the other, because they start yelling "three seconds" about the time the guy enters the lane.

Even if there's NO ONE in the lane. I had one game where a coach almost had an aneurysm (I like this new stress-related coach problem) because of 3 seconds, and there was no one in! I finally realized that he thought the top half of the free throw circle was included in the key. Wow.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by TimTaylor

Quote:

Originally posted by Snaqwells IMHO the three second call is one of the worst calls in basketball - often it's used as a bailout call when the official doesn't know what to call.

I honestly have no idea what you're saying here. "I don't know what to call, so I guess it's 3 seconds"? Who has ever called 3 seconds b/c they didn't know what else to call?

What kind of play are you envisioning that would confuse somebody so badly that they just come up with a 3 seconds call? I'm not trying to be adversarial, I just honestly have no idea what kind of situation you're talking about.

You mean in contact situations? There's a lot of contact, so just to get people away from each other, I'll call 3 seconds?

Can you explain a little about what you're trying to describe? :confused:

You misspelled FEEBLE.

As I said in my earlier post, I don't have a problem calling it - did so 3 times in a game last night, as a matter of fact. Big kid, liked to camp out in low post, often with one foot in the paint. When the guards were playing catch outside the arc, I said nothing. When it moved inside the arc he got "clear the lane", which he ignored. If the play continued toward the basket or they attempted an inlet pass to the post, whistle & 3 second call.

I guess my biggest problem is with the inconsistency in the way it is applied. As you noted, some officials will let a player pitch a tent in the lane. Others will blow the whistle at exactly 3 seconds when the kid has one toe in the paint and the ball is in a guards hands above the arc.

frontcourt status
 

Just remember, to have a 3 second count not only does the team need to be in control of the ball, they also have to be in their frontcourt. A player can stand in the lane as long as he wants as long as his team has not made it to the front court yet.

Thank you all for you input. I will not make that mistake again.

I will keep reading this forum to learn more about different cases.


Thank again
Reyes

Snaqwells, How did it get there?