That's allowed only if you switch the whole finger from hand to hand.

I knew there was something wrong with getting married. :D

Peace

Ah yes, the Ron Jeremy method of keeping track of the arrow.

Ron don't need no damn whistle.

Alternating Possession
 

When the alternating possession arrow started in 1985, the members of our local board knew that it would take some time for table crews to adjust to the new rule, so we were all asked to keep an extra whistle in our pocket to help keep track of the arrow. I personally thought that this would be a good idea until the schools got used to the new rule. Well, they're still "getting used to it". 99% of the time the crew at the table has the correct score, time, number of fouls, and bonus light on the scoreboard, yet after more than twenty-years, they only get the arrow at the table switched correctly about 90% of the time, so we're still being advised by our interpreter to keep that extra whistle in our pocket. We all do it, from our rookies to our best tournament officials. Why can't the crew at the table get this right almost all the time. Why should officials have to keep track of the arrow? We don't keep track of fouls. We trust the table crew to inform us when we're in the bonus or double bonus, or when a player fouls out. We don't keep track of time outs. We trust the table crew to inform us when a coach has used his last time out. Why is the alternating possession arrow so difficult, more than twenty years after its introduction?

The only people that seem to be having a lot of problems are people that are knew or younger students who are more concerned with answering their Blackberry rather than paying attention to the game. If you use that logic that the table is still not getting the arrow right, we might as well get rid of the scorebook because I do not see many of that being done correctly either.

Peace

I was watching a big dawg work one night and he was doing this. I was sitting on the first row across from the table. As he came out to start the 2nd half, I asked him how he liked switching the whistle and how did he make sure he knew what each pocket meant. He assured me that it was easy. I, then, asked him whose ball is it to start the 2nd half. He said "blue". I asked him to look at the table and it indicated "white". I thought that he would go over and have them switch the arrow but the ONLY thing he did was switch his whistle.

Every time (for years) I see him I ask him who has the next jump ball.

Or is it Jon Diebler?

Jon Diebler has been re-incarnated as a Ron Jeremy beefstick?:confused:

I have been working on this for years and the only way is to just in my head mentally say whose ball it is.

I usually just use a tube of chap stick it comes in handy throughout the game, you just have to remember which pocket to put it back in....haha... I usually wait until a non discreet time to switch pockets, but it has worked for me for years without any problems and has helped with not having chapped lips......

If you can remember, that is probably your best option if you are concerned with how you look. If you need some assistance like myself, just try to pick something that is as discreet as you can make it. If you are worried about looking silly, you should remember you are going to look even sillier when a situation occurs if you don't have the right information.

At the high school level the timekeepers generally doing a great job, that is what they are getting paid for. I just found out, in our area they are making $27/hour, and they don't have to sweat.

P.S. No rubberbands

Two different partners I have worked with recently offered this advise: When you're inbounding the ball on an AP, look directly at the table and do not hand the ball to the player until you see the time keeper put his/her hand on the switch. Inbound the ball as normal and then when you chop the clock to start, look up to make sure the arrow has changed as well as checking the clock has started.

It's a smart habit that I'm trying to pick up for myself!

Yes - and you can buy those at your local Diebler Farms shop. They're usually located in a mall between The Sharper Diebler and Diebler Shack.

There's also one located near here right next to Dieblers R Us. :p

I once worked with a vet who had a lanyard (looked like a Smitty) with a tiny, clear plastic sleeve on it. I asked him about it and he said he slid it (the tiny sleeve) up and down the lanyard to keep track of posession. I don't know if he bought it or created it himself, but I thought that was pretty clever. No way anyone else in the gym would know he had it...just moved it when he put the whistle in his mouth to inbound the ball. Has anyone else ever seen this?