Bilas on the shot clock/10 second call

[rulesmaven]

Well, let me ask the question a slightly different way.

On the play in question, I believe the ball was inbounded and caught cleanly.

In that circumstance, does the official defer to the shot clock operator to have started the clock properly, or does he simply count it off himself without any regard to the shot clock.

Seems like that situation can put a ref in a pretty tough position. If the clock reads 25 when the whistle is blown, you should expect a pretty harsh comment from the coach, since, if the clock operator pushed the button at the right time, it cannot possibly be 10 seconds. Conversely, if the player doesn't cross until after it reads 24, the other coach seems to have a gripe.

[JRutledge]

This is why your count should be the only count. If you look in the rulebook (which we are supposed to use) and mechanics books, you still give a visual count in these situations. I do not care what the coach says, my count is what matters and that is what I would tell them. I cannot speak for this level of basketball and the people that work them. I can tell you from my lower level college experience we have people that start the clock improperly all the time. So if I go by the shot clock alone, I might find myself in a lot of trouble.

Peace

[rulesmaven]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

This is why your count should be the only count. If you look in the rulebook (which we are supposed to use) and mechanics books, you still give a visual count in these situations. I do not care what the coach says, my count is what matters and that is what I would tell them. I cannot speak for this level of basketball and the people that work them. I can tell you from my lower level college experience we have people that start the clock improperly all the time. So if I go by the shot clock alone, I might find myself in a lot of trouble.

Peace

Seems like the right answer, although at some point at that level I think the ref has to be sensitive to those situations he is certain the announcers and the coaches will misunderstand. I don't think this falls into the "do the expected" thing category, but it's in that neighborhood. Sounds like the NBA guys have settled on a de facto 7.1 second, and trust the shot clock operator, rule to avoid the problem.

Since I can say with absolute confidence that I will never officiate in a league that uses shot clocks, it was mostly a point of curiosity.

[Snake~eyes]

I wouldn't use the shotclock to make thecall but I would certainly take a peak and make sure I'm not calling a 10 second violation when the shot clock reads >26 in most situations.

[tjones1]

I actually enjoy Bilas most time. Certainly beats the heck outta Dukie V and Packer.

[Raymond]

I do JuCo ball, and as you can imagine the shot clock operators are not NBA caliber, so in my particular case I don't use the shot clock. I have many a game where the shot clock operator starts the clock too early (when the ball is still at the disposal of the thrower-in after a made basket) and sometimes really late (which in a lot of cases we have to kill play and have time ticked off the shot clock--using our 10-second count as definite knowledge)