OK....OK.....I have been involved in enough Keyboard Karate this month. I want to start a Post with minimal personal potential for trouble.

My PET Peave? Lately, at the kids games I Ref....all the Y has are dead balls. Not 100% dead but dead enough that the 5-6 and 7-8 Graders have to slam them down to get them to back up on a dribble.

As an old player, I know that the game balls I played with actually bounced back up. An outside shot, if it hit the rim just right....could bounce up and hit the top of the backboard pretty easy. You could lose a dribble up at your shoulder and in 1969 even be called for high dribble.

So.....I know what the Rulebook says...dropped from 6 feet the top of the ball should return to 49-54" BUT...how the heck can you actually measure it? You'd need a stop action camera.

Is there a Simple Trick for proving that a ball is dead other than plain old experience? C'mon this is a challenge to the scientific minds out there.

I test it by dribbling it and hopefully there is not a dead spot on the floor where I do it. I can judge best by dribbling rather than measuring inches of rebound. In many cases the team does not have a "game ball" and we have to take one off of the rack.

Sure...I'm about 6'1"...I hold the ball head level, and drop...I then hold my arm straight out with a 90 degree angle at the elbow...if the ball comes back up to my elbow...we're good to go.

The air pressure that supposed to be used should be stamped somewhere on the ball. I've carried a small pressure guage in my bag for years- to use both for football or basketball. It's an old coaches trick to over or under-inflate a ball, depending on whether he wants to run or slow down a running opponent. Just test the game ball- takes but a second- and then tell the head coach to either put more air in the ball or get you another one. If the ball has too much air in it, I carry a needle also to deflate the ball until it's OK.

Excellent points JR...On the drop...I've had balls that only come up to my knees (Hmmmmm, that doesn't sound right)...and then again balls that bounce up to my face.(Hmmmm, I better work on my communication skills here) :D

On the drop...I've had balls that only come up to my knees (Hmmmmm, that doesn't sound right)...and then again balls that bounce up to my face.(Hmmmm, I better work on my communication skills here) :D

[/B][/QUOTE]Over-inflate the ball and it helps a fast-break speed-dribble offense. Under-inflate and you'll slow the grayhounds down.

The showtime Lakers of the '80s were notorious for over-inflating balls for Magic Johnson.

Me, too.
 

Gauge & needle & trusty palms. One can get pretty well calibrated squeezing in to check inflation.

1. The 'BOOK' doesn't distinguish between genitally male and genitally female teams, but the latter are, on balance, a lot shorter. Adjust accordingly.

2. Over-inflated = a billion rebounds and a horrible game. It's good when the ball goes in.

3. In the frozen north, if someone goes to get the gameball out of an outside-wall storage closet, make sure it's warmed to room temp before you decide to go with it. If it's cold, and feels fully inflated, wait'll it gets warm . . .

Re: Me, too.
 

There's some kind of weird story or two behind these little gems, but I don't think I want to hear them.

Do you have a tape measure at home? Measure 49-54" from your toes up....

In my area seems like some if not most officials would rather have a ball that is under-inflated. Reason being is there will be no long rebounds that night. I am not for sure if this theory is correct, but it sounds good.

Good tips about carrying the gage & needle!

Re: Me, too.
 

Actually the 'BOOK' does distinguish boys and girls, you can look it up under rule 1-12-1.

Yep, a minimum of 20 ounces to a maximum of 22 ounces for boys competition , a minimum of 18 ounces to a maximum of 20 ounces for high school girls competition.

I bet reading the transcripts of this rules discussion at NFHS was a doozy.

The subject was inflation, not weight.
 

The subject was inflation, not weight.