Check in the section as to score keeper's duties. The score keeper shall inform both teams through an official that they are out of time outs. When the scorekeeper tells you that a team is out, you tell the coach. Any other communication before that about time outs is a courtesy.

Good Game Management menas you should know the time outs. If you dont know then ask.

I always verify the number of time outs remaining at a time out near the end of the game. It is a courtesy to let them know but knowing how many time outs a team has left in the last 3-5 minutes of the game helps you officiate.

If it is a close game, (at the end) at almost every time out I make sure we have the score right, the number of time outs, if not in double bonus I verify how many team fouls, and verify arrow.

You can also give this information to an assistant coach standing near the huddle.

Since I can't perform the rule, but I am able to conduct the coinciding mechanic, I suppose that's what I'll continue to do. Thanks for your help though. Actually I think we're saying the same thing in a different way.

I like to tell the coach (head or assistant) when he/she has one and no time-outs. I think its just good game management. However.......

The worst HS game I ever had the displeasure to be a part of involved a "number-of-time-outs-left" fiasco. It involved two horrible, horrible small town girls teams...if we had called every foul and violation we would still be there. Somehow, however, we came down to the last 10 seconds or so with the visitors ahead by 2 points and the home team with the ball. About 2 game minutes earlier, the home team took a timeout, and after conferring with the scorekeeper, I told the home team coach (and my partners) that she no timeouts left. She acknowledged my notfication. Now, with 10 seconds left, home team calls a timeout. One of my partners reports the TO and I'm quietly rejoicing the pending "T" because it means we're finally going to get out of this little corner of hell. But instead he goes to his spot on the floor. I go to the table to confirm with the scorer the home team TO count; the visiting coach is watching my conversation closely because he had heard me tell the other coach earlier that she had no timeouts left. The scorer (she was maybe 15 and this seemed to be perhaps the second b-ball game she had ever seen in her life) in this tiny little backwoods Florida panhandle gym told me that the home team did indeed have a timeout left, that she must have miscounted when I asked earlier. I asked the visitor's scorer what she had, and SHE HAD NO IDEA. My partners and I talked it over and decided we had to go with the official book and granted the TO. Surprisingly, the visiting coach took it pretty well. Amazingly he had his s*** together despite the completely inept team he was cursed to coach. Fortunately the home team held true to form and turned the ball over almost immediately after the ensuing throw in, and by that point it would have taken a coroner's inquest for any of us to even consider calling a foul. BTW, we needed a police escort to the parking lot after this disaster.

Sorry for the long post, but the moral of this story is make sure you can trust the scorekeeper before you pass pertinent data to coaches.

There are a few schools where I work at that have time-outs remaining on the main scoreboard--a huge asset. I always make it a point to tell the visiting coach about that before the game. If the board doesn't have it I usually will wait until half way or so thru the 4th quarter and check with the table and then inform coaches as to how many they have left. Or if it seems they're running out before then I'll let them know. If they still call one with none left then their deaf or dumb

I regularly check the timeouts and inform the coaches when they are out. However, I do find it rather ironic that a lot of the small school/lower level coaches who are constantly whining about "3 seconds" and the five count can't even count to 5 themselves when it comes to timeouts.

Again, this is an issue that doesn't arise in FIBA rules.

Article 18.3.1 states that:
"Only a coach or assistant coach has the right to request a charged time-out. He shall establish visual contact with the scorekeeper or he shall go to the scorer’s table and ask clearly for a time-out, making the proper conventional sign with his hands."

So if a coach requests a time-out and they have no time outs left, the scorebench should inform them of this. Unlike NCAA/NFHS a coach can't "buy" a time-out with a technical foul.

That's an area were FIBA is ahead of the us, the rule of not calling TO's during play is really good, makes life a lot easier for us referees.

In our local kids rec league, we inform a coach when they have used their final allotted timeout that they are out of timeouts. If that team requests another one, they get it with the T. We do not inform them when they have one left, only when they are out.

It is the coach's responsiblity to inform their team of the situation. Two weeks ago, a team was out of timeouts, one of their players was "caught" in a corner with the ball and requested a timeout. My partner had to grant it and assess the T. It's too bad, because otherwise, it was a smart play by an 8th grade kid.

I use the courtesy. In a close game in the last few minutes, when a TO is taken, I check with the scorekeeper as to how many are left for each team. After the TO, I inform both teams as to what they have left. I have never had a TO requested when there were none left.

Where's the fun in that? :confused:

As a matter of course...
 

especially in tight games, the crew starts checking to see how many TOs are left and inform each team (head or asst coach). We do this at the end of each half (there are only 3 schools in our area where remaining TOs are tracked on the scoreboard). We find this policy helps us out tremendously with game management. The coaches appreciate the help and it helps us avoid some ugly situations in tighter games.

Re: As a matter of course...
 

Just curious - have you had situations where the scoreboard was incorrect on the number remaining and, for instance, a coach thought he had one left but didn't? What would you do? I know the proper thing is to check so that doesn't happen, but has it ever happened to you?

Also, is there a reason you inform the coach of timeouts left at the end of the second half as you state above? ;)

Re: Re: As a matter of course...
 

I am following what our association recommends we do, or, does as matter of practice. I believe it is to help with game management: to avoid the problems of inadvertantly taking timeouts and drawing Ts, keep good relations with coaches, etc. The referee does this in all of our games and is welcomed by the teams. I have only had a few games where they keep them on the scoreboard, and we did check to ensure it was consistent with the book. I have never had a discrepancy on timeouts. However, we have had a discrepancy with fouls before.