wrong ball
 

This happened last night at Varsity G game- I check the game ball and give okay - same ball used by jv crew, partner checks ball. We start the game, a couple of air balls by visiting team, home team scores a couple of threes and then have a t against visiting team coach, during 2 quarter a visiting team player tells me at free throw line that it is a mens ball.... hmmmm.... I say no, that I checked it and move on.... well we have a intentional foul against home and while we are shooting, visiting coach calls me over to tell me that we are using mens ball... I double check and she is correct. I switch out ball at that point... the first half couldn't have gotten much worse.... In 13 years this is the first time that we used the wrong ball....btw- this was the game of week on the girls side and tensions were high. I think we did a fantastic job as a crew and called a great game. But, I left with a sinking feeling.... :eek:

State Finals
 

I know a guy who was R at a state final 3 years ago. Boys game and they used a 28.5 for the first quarter. They never switched the ball from the previous girls game......so it apparently it happens even to the big dogs...

Happened to me once, a solid outside shooting girls' team was losing at halftime. Coach comes charging out at halftime and rants that his girls say it's a men's ball. They were right, but why did it take until halftime if they knew so much? Second half, with the right ball, they dominated.

My old assigner did this once in a college women's game. I heard about it when I was reffing a small christian school tourney at the college in question. The women caught it early in the game, though.

I have had it happen TWICE. Once on me (I was the R), once on my partner (I was the Umpire). Both times it was corrected. In the situation where I was the R, I checked the ball and said, "it looks to big. Coach, are you sure this is the right ball." Coach looks at the ball and says yes. About 3-4 minutes into the game, girl says, "this is a men's ball." Look at it again, get out another ball, and sure enough . . . men's ball. Changed it out, and continued on. It happens . . .

The smaller ball will have "285" or "28.5" stamped on it.

I know . . . brain cramp on my part.