A couple of 3-whistle questions

[Mark Dexter]

Originally posted by rainmaker

1) How far across the floor should trail be standing normally? It seems to be different in different leagues, and I'm not sure if there's a "prescribed" spot on the floor.

Well, it seems like you're the one teaching the mechanics, so you get to decide, based on what works best for you. I've become a fan of the half-moon trail - moving onto or off of the court as much as needed to have a good angle on a drive (it was taught to me by a . . . wait for it . . . SEC official). On TV, I've even seen trails who go over as far as the opposite FT lane line extended (during closely guarded counts, obviously).

4) Is it true in 3-whistle that the ultimate sin is calling across the paint? If there's anything worse, I need to know now, before I get in any more deeply.

I don't know about ultimate sin, but I always teach that if you're looking over there anyways, you might as well rotate over. I think the biggest 'sin' in 3-person is when there's a blatant train wreck and no one calls it.