ODD play any thoughts
 

Had this today. team A to throw in under the basket they are shooting at so 4 members of the team huddle up at the freethrow line ( I mean huddle put arms around each other ect) with the 5th person goes to imbound the ball. The 5th player from a says break and then they all scramble out of the huddle to an assigned place. This just did not seem legal to me however I could not think of a reason to stop it. Am I wrong to think that this is not legal and if so what could I use to stop it.

Perfectly legal. 5 seconds to inbound the ball. That's how you stop it if they take too long. I hear a lot of players say break when I hand them the ball. That's code for I got the ball and the official is counting. In the NBA and women's college, we toot the whistle when we inbound from the base line.

It depends on why they did it. See 10-1-11 (2005-06 reference)

A question in response to the first question...Does leagal guarding position come into play here at all? It seems like teams always try to run the inbounds play "stack", where the 4 offensive players "stack" close together and try not to allow a defender in their "stack". It seems like every time officials tell the offense that they have to allow defenders position in the offensive "stack". Is this correct, or is it tough luck for the defense?

Tough luck for the defense, the only time defensive players can get between offensive players that are stacked is when they are line up side by side of one another. When they are stack defense can get between the thrower in and the stack.

Had a girl try to push her way into one of these this year. We missed it the first time and she ended up fouling right after the inbounds pass was completed. Next time the other team ran a stack, she started shoving her way in before the ball was handed to the thrower. I was T, and the C and I both closed in and told her to knock it off.
Officials should never tell the offense to let them in. First come first serve to the spot on the floor.

Knowing everyone is going to run to the "four winds" in every direction from the stack once the player inbounding the ball says "go" or hits the ball, why would a defensive player try to force their way in to the stack? As a coach too, I find this odd.

Had it happen Friday in a girls game where the defender was trying to keep up with the person she was guarding which meant she had to go thru the stack to do so. I thought it was odd too. My partner called a foul on the defense, though I thought both teams where pushing the heck out of each other on the inbound. I didn't like the stragety, too messy, not enough options for the inbounder.