Girls JV, 2 man. B pressing in the backcourt. I am Lead and Referee opposite table in backcourt just inside division line. At approx 5 in the ten second count B1 bats ball causing interrupted dribble which is heading OOB off B1. B2, falling OOB, redirects ball back in bounds. Trail's angle is bad and lined out on this play and thinks B2 batted the ball back in bounds and keeps his count going. A1 recovers the ball and is subsequently whistled for 10 second count. From my angle I observed B2 clearly control the ball and redirect it back onto the court as she was falling OOB. I remember thinking at the time that a TO call is OK. Is there any means by which I could have signaled Trail that the girl had control and to reset his backcourt count?

There's no official signal to do this. What you could do is after your partner makes the 10 second violation call, go over and tell him briefly what you saw and give him a chance to change his call if he wants to, based on the information you give him.

But be sure you saw what you think you saw. If you're not 110% positive, don't say a word. If you are sure, tell your P what you saw and let him make the decision. Tell him quietly so he can decide whether to make the call or not. If you tell him out loud, then you've backed him into a corner. Whether you're the R or not is irrelevant here, as you still cannot overrule him.

Did she "hold" it or "dribble" it? If not, she did not establish player control and therefore team control for A is still intact. Your partner's call was correct.

However, if you feel she "held" it and that's what you refer to as control, she did establish player control and team control switched. If that was the case, you should tell your partner what you saw and ask him to change his call.

As this OOB maneuver was unfolding I remember thinking if she calls TO, its ok, so I believed she established player control while redirecting the ball onto the court. So at his violation whistle and call, I tell my partner what I definetely saw and if he concurs we then give A a throw-in? New 10 second count? Goal is to get it right and it seems fair but it seems that we are changing a judgment call in his area.

Why are you, as the lead, at the division line when the trail is already at 5 in his BC count? :confused:

If he called a travel, are you going to come to him and tell him the player didn't have control the ball?

Mind your own business. Trust your partner.

So you're saying never to say a word, right?

In a press situation, where would you suggest he should be?

How does the elapsed time of the 10 sec count relate to your argument? That should have no bearing on the position that the lead takes in a press situation. Are you suggesting that, as a lead official in a press situation we need to keep track of the trail's count? The location of the players on the floor is what should dictate your position as lead during a press. Are you stating that you go to the endline after 5 seconds of a backcourt count has elapsed? I guess I am as confused as you are.

BktBallRef isn't saying anything close to what you're implying.

If the L is still in the backcourt, as the original post said, then the ball had better still be below the back FT line. That's very unlikely 5 seconds into a 10 second count. The lead moves up court on a press as the ball moves up the court. The lead isn't supposed to be ball-watching either. Even on a double-team of a dribbler, there's 7 other players out there for the lead to keep an eye on. If the play happened on the L's sideline, maybe the L can help out. If it happened on the T's sideline though, especially if it's below the FT line extended, which is the way that it should be if the L is still in the backcourt, then the trail has the call all the way. And the L shouldn't be watching across the floor and deep to second-guess that call either.

It's the trail's call. Trust his judgement. This isn't an OOB call on a tipped ball or anything like that. It's a straight judgement call-- player control vs. no player control. Leave the judgement up to the official responsible for using that judgement.

I disagree 110%.

The L should move back as far as the players dicate. Period.

I see absolutely nothing wrong with the L being just below the division line as the original play was written.

One long pass and he's ****ed.

I'd bet a game few that all 10 players were not in the BC 5 seconds into the count. If the L is 15-20 feet into the FC, he's in a more advantageous position.

If he was behind all the players that long pass would be an easy OOB call.

Again, there is nothing the OP wrote that even hints that he was positioned incorrectly. Or correctly for that matter.

I've only stepped up once as lead on a call in the back court. Ball had come down to the free throw line on my side. A1 throws the ball towards A2 about 3 feet above the three point line at the top. The ball is tipped by
B1 just as A1 lets it fly and it ends up being recovered by A2 in the BC. Partner had his attention temporarily on a coach, so I'd expanded my area briefly to cover. Partner calls BC. Crowd goes crazy, and I start to walk towards him and he asks me if it was tipped. I told him it was, and he changed his call to an IW and we moved on giving the ball back to A.
I only saw it because of an extraordinary circumstance, and I only helped because he asked.

As lead in the play described, it would have to be on my sideline near the division line for me to even consider interfering. And then, I'd have to be 110% sure.

"Never?" That's pretty strong, but probably slightly closer to the mark than "rarely."

It isn't where the ball is, but where the players are. If there are 7 or 8 players in the backcourt, which isn't uncommon, L being around the division line, regardless of where the ball is, may not be out of line. Besides, that sideline is the lead's call and while he may be moving down toward the baseline, he has to be aware of what's going on if there's a pass over to that area.

I have seen traps where the ball is as far out as halfway between the free throw line and old 28 foot line, and there are still at least 6 players in the backcourt or right around the division line. This will typically happen in sub-varsity games or in games where the offense doesn't know how to be a full press or full trap. Keeping a half court distance relative to your partner is the general rule, but there are exceptions.

One long pass to who? I stated that the lead position is dictated by the location of the players on the floor. If there are players in the frontcourt then a lead should be at their level or farther into the frontcourt. If there are no players in the frontcourt during the press situation, then the lead should be positioned to officiate the PLAYERS ON THE FLOOR.

Backcourt officiating during a press is difficult at best and the trail official in that situation is presented with more straight-line looks than anywhere else on the floor. As you probabally know the press situation in a two man often requires alot of help from the lead official. Cover your area as a lead in that situation, but be aware of the trail being straight-lined and totally losing his look at the action on ball.

And you are right, if there are players in position to receive a long outlet pass you need to have the position and the wheels to be able to cover that. But there could also be a steal and a quick shot near the three point arc in the backcourt opposite of the trail that needs to be judged, or a shorter pass and a possible backcourt violation with no official on the division line. The point is, all we can do is be in the best possible position to officiate the players on the floor. We just don't have to run as much in three whistle.