How Long Can A Defense Stay in a Zone?

[cshs81]

A has the ball leading by 1 with 4 minutes left in the game. B is sitting in a tight 2-3 zone while A1 dribbles near the midcourt line. I know there is a rule that says a team cannot let a game become actionless. Does that apply here in this situation? Do you warn the coach to bring his team out of the zone?

[Texas Aggie]

No rule. Fed lack of action rule ended in or around 1990. The game CAN be an actionless contest.

[BillyMac]

From Texas Aggie: "The game CAN be an actionless contest"

Texas Aggie: Please check out this Forum thread:

http://forum.officiating.com/showthread.php?t=31728

I remember, previous to 1991, when officials had to know which team was ahead or behind and call out to the team to "Playball" or a technical foul for lack of action would result. I believe that if the defensive team was behind, they had ten seconds to move into a closely guarded situation, which back then would result in a jump ball, not a violation, no alternating possession back then, at the nearest jump ball circle, there were three back then. If the offense was behind, after ten seconds, they had to advance the ball over the old, although we still see it in some older gymnasiums, 28-foot hash mark. In 1982 the warning for lack of action was changed from 10 seconds to 5 seconds.

There are still some NFHS rules that deal with an actionless contest. Please see Rule 10-5 and note the words "similar acts". I'm not sure, but the situation described in the thread that I noted above may fall into the category of being a "similiar act" resulting in an "actionless contest". The noted thread would only occur in a real game with revised rules, in this case not allowing a press, however, a similar question was asked on an IAABO refresher exam a few years ago. Maybe one of our Forum members can recall the situation, the question and the answer from that exam.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by cshs81

A has the ball leading by 1 with 4 minutes left in the game. B is sitting in a tight 2-3 zone while A1 dribbles near the midcourt line. I know there is a rule that says a team cannot let a game become actionless. Does that apply here in this situation? Do you warn the coach to bring his team out of the zone?

How is team B preventing team A from taking shots?

[cshs81]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

How is team B preventing team A from taking shots?

Obviously, they're not, thus, the question. If there is a rule that deals with inaction, how is it applied? Is this a situation?

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by cshs81

Obviously, they're not, thus, the question. If there is a rule that deals with inaction, how is it applied? Is this a situation?

The situation that you decribe is not illegal.

The offensvie team can stand in the frontcourt and bounce/hold the ball for an entiure quarter if they choose.

The defense can stand there and watch them for the entire quarter if they so choose.

[deecee]

how the @#$#$ can you warn a coach to bring his team out of a zone?????? why not start calling plays and helping out on defense too...

where is W&S with his obituary on common sense?

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by deecee

how the @#$#$ can you warn a coach to bring his team out of a zone?????? why not start calling plays and helping out on defense too...

where is W&S with his obituary on common sense?

deecee, at one time, you could warn the defense to pressure the ball or you could warn the offense to advance the ball. After a count, it was a technical foul not to comply.

[cmathews]

Originally Posted by deecee

how the @#$#$ can you warn a coach to bring his team out of a zone?????? why not start calling plays and helping out on defense too...

where is W&S with his obituary on common sense?

deecee, man what are you saying, they help us all the time, this is just our turn to help them out LOL

[MJT]

About 7 years ago when I was coaching we had a similar very bizzare ending to a game. Pretty intense conference rivally and we had a 9 point lead with almost four minutes left. The opposing coach was very stubborn and upset with how his team had played, so he had them stay in their zone and not come out. We had our point guard stand and hold the ball for the entire time. It was over 3 1/2 minutes! Oddest ending I've ever seen or been a part of. We just talked about it last week.

[gsf23]

Originally Posted by cshs81

A has the ball leading by 1 with 4 minutes left in the game. B is sitting in a tight 2-3 zone while A1 dribbles near the midcourt line. I know there is a rule that says a team cannot let a game become actionless. Does that apply here in this situation? Do you warn the coach to bring his team out of the zone?

Why are you going to make the defense come out of the zone?? Why don't you tell the offense to run a play?

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by gsf23

Why are you going to make the defense come out of the zone?? Why don't you tell the offense to run a play?

When the rule was in effect, the team behind had to force the action. In the case described, that would be the defense if the rule was still in effect.

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

deecee, at one time, you could warn the defense to pressure the ball or you could warn the offense to advance the ball. After a count, it was a technical foul not to comply.

Don't bother Tony. He knows it all. Even though he is just a young'n.

He obviously has no grasp of the history of the NFHS game.

[SMEngmann]

TWO WORDS: SHOT CLOCK

Fortunately here in CA there is a shot clock and there should be one in the rest of the country. I had a game in the summer in Nevada and a stall offense was used, I think it's an affront to the integrity of the game.

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by SMEngmann

TWO WORDS: SHOT CLOCK

Fortunately here in CA there is a shot clock and there should be one in the rest of the country. I had a game in the summer in Nevada and a stall offense was used, I think it's an affront to the integrity of the game.

Were the games you worked in Reno or Vegas?

Personally, I would like to see a shot clock, but just to take the opposite opinion I have one word: DEFENSE.

Why can't a team play pressure defense and force a turnover?

I have not been impressed with the defense or shot selection of the CA teams that I have seen and I believe that it is a negative consequence of the shot clock. Teams who are used to playing with the shot clock are more willing to take worse shots or the first open look that they get even in games in which there isn't a shot clock. These same teams often fail to maintain their intensity and concentration at the defensive end for more than 30 seconds. These lapses have a way of resulting in easy scores for the opponent.

It can be argued that the shot clock is hurting the fundamentals of the game.