Traveling philosophies....

So basically, when catching the ball (on the move) it's legal to take two steps w/out a dribble & then pass or shoot?

But catching the ball (while stationary) one needs to make a dribble before taking those two steps to be considered legal?

The travel is one tricky call because of the speed of the game. But the inconsisitency of partners contribute to the bad/good travel calls as well.




I've worked with highly respected HS playoff/championship vets who never make the "replant or step back" travel call, but will use the travel signal for a designated spot violation.... go figure.

I think I'm starting to figure this officiating game out as the off-season progresses though. Basically, the more "trusted & respected" an official is the less his/her calls are scutinized. It seems as though once a certain level is atained, an official can be wrong as two left shoes & get by better than a not so respected official who is completely right.

Example:
I gotta double personal foul in the post, reported it & tried to go POI, w/no shots. The R who I was working with (highly respected by coaches/players/fans/assignors) says no POI & went with a jump ball (ummm yes there was indeed team possession when I blew the whistle).

Later in the SAME game A1 laying on the ground tries to pass to A2 (standing near the Team B bench) the ball goes over A2s head, out of bounds & is caught by a B team member sitting on the bench. I hit the 40, give a verbal & directional signal favoring Team B.
Mr. Championship tells me at halftime that I should've given the ball back to Team A because Team B bench caught the ball. HUH?????

[Mark Dexter]

Originally Posted by just another ref

It is a bad sign when a violation has been committed so much it has its own name. I have made this call many times, and I am aware that others do not call it. I see this much more often at the varsity level than at lower levels, which, to me, means it is conscious, not careless. Also, while it is sometimes a step back to create space from a defender, many times it is done with no defender in the picture. This says to me that it was done either a. for show
or b. for no reason at all. (same thing really) This makes me even less inclined to be "tolerant."

We also have options (c) player doing this to re-adjust his/her balance before shooting or (d) doing this to align him/herself behind the 3-point line. Either way, it DOES give the shooter an advantage.

That said, I don't always call this - more because it happens so quickly that it passes me by. When I'm certain it's happened, though, I have a whistle every time.

[Mark Dexter]

Originally Posted by just another ref

It is a bad sign when a violation has been committed so much it has its own name. I have made this call many times, and I am aware that others do not call it. I see this much more often at the varsity level than at lower levels, which, to me, means it is conscious, not careless. Also, while it is sometimes a step back to create space from a defender, many times it is done with no defender in the picture. This says to me that it was done either a. for show
or b. for no reason at all. (same thing really) This makes me even less inclined to be "tolerant."

We also have options (c) player doing this to re-adjust his/her balance before shooting or (d) doing this to align him/herself behind the 3-point line. Either way, it DOES give the shooter an advantage.

That said, I don't always call this - more because it happens so quickly that it passes me by. When I'm certain it's happened, though, I have a whistle every time.

[btaylor64]

Originally Posted by zebraman

Now I totally understand where those philosophies come from. They come from the assignors that those two refs work for. If you are going to stick around, you darn well better call what your assignor wants. No problem, I can do that. Those two D-1 refs are at the highest levels and can adjust to call the game anyway they are asked.

However, when I look at the "big picture" of basketball, I really think these kinds of philosophies hurt the game overall. Just my two cents. Interested in hearing other thoughts.

You're exactly right. Throw all the philosophies out the window and call the travel, just be 100+% when you make them. You don't want to have any "gotcha" travels, you want the real thing every time.