Does the scorer have the authority . . . ?

[assignmentmaker]

Does the scorer have the authority . . . ?

There's a question from last year's IAABO refresher exam I'd like to hear the answer to, #20.

"The administering official erroneously states two free throws instead of a one and one. A1 misses the first and makes the second. B1 inbounds the ball to B2, who is advancing the ball up the court when the scorer recognizes the error. The scorer sounds the horn to alert the official. Official stops the game to confer with the scorer. Does the scorer have the authority to sound the horn at this time?"

My thought is that the scorer is authorized to sound the horn so long as it doesn't damage the injured party. Since this is a matter of correcting an unmerited free throw, Team B is the injured party. I mean, you could say Team A was injured - if it would have been that they would have rebounded the missed front end of the one and one and put it back, and got fouled, and made the 'and one' . . . but this is fantasy. So, Team B is injured, is it not?

If the scorer sounds the horn and Team B is moving down the court with a good chance to score, then perhaps the scorer should wait until Team B shoots and scores, then have the horn sound during the dead ball after the ball goes through the basket. But what if the ball turns over before Team B can score? Then, after the error is corrected, the ball will go back to Team A, will it not? Team B will have seen the score corrected, but will have lost a possession . . .

I'm dyin' on this one . . .

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally posted by assignmentmaker
Does the scorer have the authority . . . ?

There's a question from last year's IAABO refresher exam I'd like to hear the answer to, #20.

"The administering official erroneously states two free throws instead of a one and one. A1 misses the first and makes the second. B1 inbounds the ball to B2, who is advancing the ball up the court when the scorer recognizes the error. The scorer sounds the horn to alert the official. Official stops the game to confer with the scorer. Does the scorer have the authority to sound the horn at this time?"

Case book play 2.11.3.

The scorer should wait until the ball is dead before signalling. The case play also tells you when the official should stop play too.

[Mark Dexter]

Ugh - what an odd question.

Yes, the scorer should only signal when the ball is dead, or when the "offending team" (team A) has posession. In a situation like this, ideally he waits until the ball is dead.

However, not all scorers are that cognizant of the rules and, whether they are authorized to hit the horn or not, the horn still works. If they call you over, and you acknowledge the signal, you have a dead ball and you fix the error then. You, of course, have the option of waiting until the next dead ball.

[assignmentmaker]

Originally posted by Jurassic Referee

Case book play 2.11.3.

The scorer should wait until the ball is dead before signalling. The case play also tells you when the official should stop play too.

Thanks. That seems like the right reference. As Mark Dexter points out, the scorer may not be on top of this . . . and if s/he waits for the ball to become dead and fails to realize that that means when it goes through the basket . . . the window to correct could easily close. If the horn sounds and the ball blown dead . . . perhaps not the worst possible result.