Team ahead fouling to stop the clock?

[Back In The Saddle]

GJV game this week. Good game, close. V team is ahead by 1-2 points during the last 2 minutes of the game. I was surprised when they started fouling. They did it 2 or 3 times, and the coach didn't react in any way that indicated he was surprised. So I can only conclude that this was their plan. I'm just trying to understand why the team that is ahead would deliberately foul. Maybe to keep the other team from getting a good 3 point attempt (they had a couple of girls who could knock down the 3ball)? Ideas?

Only thing that I can think of would be if they weren't in the bonus yet. If not in the bonus and team with good 3pt shooters it allows them to stop the 3pt shots as well as get them into the bonus if they happen to end up trailing.

It they were already in the bonus the only other thing besides the 3pt issue would be that they didn't think the other team could shoot free throws well and they thought they could make theirs.

Just a few thoughts.

[bgtg19]

If the home team was in the bonus, and with that much time left and that score, that doesn't make much sense to me. If the visitors still had fouls to give before the bonus, I can see a little more rationale for taking some fouls in such a way that it takes away what might be developing scoring opportunities.

Edit: Uh, yeah, what Jerry said. That's what I get for taking a telephone call after I opened a reply....

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally posted by Back In The Saddle
GJV game this week. Good game, close. V team is ahead by 1-2 points during the last 2 minutes of the game. I was surprised when they started fouling. They did it 2 or 3 times, and the coach didn't react in any way that indicated he was surprised. So I can only conclude that this was their plan. I'm just trying to understand why the team that is ahead would deliberately foul. Maybe to keep the other team from getting a good 3 point attempt (they had a couple of girls who could knock down the 3ball)? Ideas?

Maybe that's a new way of working the officials? You may want to check with Coach Whatisname in that 46 page thread.

Coaches can just be the funniest little dickens sometimes, can't they?

[rockyroad]

Originally posted by Jurassic Referee

Maybe that's a new way of working the officials? You may want to check with Coach Whatisname in that 46 page thread.

Coaches can just be the funniest little dickens sometimes, can't they?

Yeah, but I got to make up a new word because of that thread...pretty cool. My guess - the other team had a fairly poor free throw shooting percentage and the V coach gambled on them missing free throws rather than having one of their shooters get on a "hot streak" and knock down several three's...

[blindzebra]

You will see from time to time a team in a situation they don't usually find themselves.

A team that normally loses, and has to foul late, might not know how to play with a lead.

A team that normally blows out the other team does not usually play well down the stretch of a tight game.

[jeffpea]

Here's a situation that actually happened to me 2yrs ago that MAY have applied here:

Last game of the regular season. Team A 9-0. Team B 8-1 (their only loss was to Team A earlier in the year). Team A can win the conf. championship tie-breaker if they lose by 6pts or less. Team B wins the tie-breaker only if they win by 7pts or more.

Near the end of the 4th quarter, Team B (ahead by 3) was fouling Team A in order to get the ball back. At one point, Team A was losing by 5pts w/ under 1 minute to go and stalling (yes, the losing team was HOLDING the ball). Team B - the winning team - was trapping and going for the steal; which they got - only to have B4 miss a dunk (instead of attempting a lay-up). Team A recovered the rebound and passed the ball up court where A2 jacked up a missed 3pt shot; Team A fouled Team B going for the rebound, resulting in 2 FT's for Team B....

I never thought I would see a coach whose team was losing by 5pts w/ :10 to play go berserk when his player attempts a 3pt shot and then fouls the opposing player who rebounded the ball...The coach was trying to lose the game, but only by 6pts or less. I will remember that game forever.

BTW the loss of the game and the conference championship affected Team A so much that they got soundly beat by an inferior team the following week in the 1st round of the state tournament

[michligj]

This is the first time ive posted here, but have been a daily reader for the past year. Thanks for all the great insights!!!

As a high school coach (I also officiate lower level games), fouling while ahead is a tactic that I have used successfully. (4 or 5 games ago in fact.) We were ahead by 1 or 2 points with about 15 seconds to go. We had only committed 1 foul that half. Players were told to deny every inbounds pass unless it was backwards (away from their bucket) We would then make a strong play on the ball to get the foul call and not let them advance the ball. We did this 4 times and they ended up inbounding the ball at half court with only 2 seconds left on the clock. It made it impossible for them to set up for a good shot.
The purpose of this was not to stop the clock but rather to disrupt the offense and not let them work for a good final shot.
It may not be the best or most sporting tactic in the world, and some might think it was foolish, but it got the job done. Of course the parents were screaming the whole time, but it was just one more thing for them to be clueless about.

[Back In The Saddle]

Originally posted by michligj
This is the first time ive posted here, but have been a daily reader for the past year. Thanks for all the great insights!!!

As a high school coach (I also officiate lower level games), fouling while ahead is a tactic that I have used successfully. (4 or 5 games ago in fact.) We were ahead by 1 or 2 points with about 15 seconds to go. We had only committed 1 foul that half. Players were told to deny every inbounds pass unless it was backwards (away from their bucket) We would then make a strong play on the ball to get the foul call and not let them advance the ball. We did this 4 times and they ended up inbounding the ball at half court with only 2 seconds left on the clock. It made it impossible for them to set up for a good shot.
The purpose of this was not to stop the clock but rather to disrupt the offense and not let them work for a good final shot.
It may not be the best or most sporting tactic in the world, and some might think it was foolish, but it got the job done. Of course the parents were screaming the whole time, but it was just one more thing for them to be clueless about.

Welcome to the board. It seems we have much common ground when it comes to clueless parents . Thanks for your thoughts from a coaching perspective.