Questions we want the NFHS to answer

[Texas Aggie]

"Each team consists of five players..."

I agree with Tim and disagree with Jur. The reason? It was an officiating mistake to begin the series with less than 5 players on one team. Hey, mistakes happen, and that's fine. But it isn't necessarily a "legal" advantage for the other team, and you don't "penalize" the other team by making sure all rules are correctly followed. You won't interrupt a layup or shot with a whistle, but you will stop the play as soon as there is the least bit of "lull" in the action and get 5 players on the court for both teams.

We don't, for example, let another player other than the one actually fouled attempt a free throw even if its an innocent mistake by Team A and Team B doesn't notice it. We also tell players to stand still on spot throw ins which in some cases reminds them of the rule and keeps them from violating it. This doesn't give one team or another an advantage -- its doing our jobs on one hand and preventative officiating on the other.