Official correcting improper Time out call
 

Middle school Team A is driving to basket on fast break at end of second quarter.

Coach A yells to players on bench about proper defensive technique on the last play.

Official interprets the instructions Coach A is yelling as a Time Out call by Coach A. Coach A did not use the words "time" or "out" or anything that rhymes with them.

When Coach A explains that he did not want the time out, especially to stop a fastbreak with 3 seconds remaining, the official charges Team A with a Full time out and says his call is uncorrectable.

Is there an inadvertent whistle rule that would deal with this situation?

Yes. Put the ball back in play at the POI.

If the coach did actually request a time-out at a time when he couldn't have one by rule, then apply this:
5.8.3 SITUATION E: The official erroneously grants Team B a time-out in a situation when Team B cannot have one. What happens now? RULING: Team B is entitled to use the time-out since it was granted. The time-out once granted cannot be revoked and is charged to Team B. All privileges and rights permitted during a charged time-out are available to both teams.

thanks for your reply

Should I have been charged with the timeout??

My player was in control of the ball with a clear path to the basket with 3 seconds left. I did not gain any advantage in the "time out" call.

The official claimed this was uncorrectable.

If he granted the timeout, you're stuck with it.

I don't necessarily like this ruling, but it's there for a reason - so a coach can't claim to have no requested a TO in order to stop the clock but not lose a TO.

If I mess up that badly, then you're getting your time out back.

It's a Rome thing: I was once in a provincial quarter-final and I erroneously granted a timeout. The coach was deer in headlights. I realized that happened, and gave his TO back, explained to both coaches that it was my error. Evaluator said I did the right thing.

IW: go to POI.

So coach A, how did you handle it AFTER all that? Just curious, since there are the really classy coaches who take their TO and don't scream at the official, and the really jerk-y ones who scream at the officials and make total fools of themselves and everyone in the gym, and then there are the rest of us, who would get close to a T, but realize it was hopeless and grumble quietly until we got to the locker room.

And also, have you talked to that official's assignor or supervisor?

I like to think of myself as a classy guy but I was jerk
I refused to take the timeout and left my team on the floor

If my kid was stumbling and ready to travel or turnover the ball I could see that the 'time out" would have benefited my team.

I reminded him that he was the only one in the gym that thought I needed a timeout with my kid unobstructed to the hoop with 3 seconds left.

He could've admitted he heard it wrong and given us the ball.

In the end, we lost a layup and a timeout.

The thing is, the rule says once it's granted, it has to be taken. Some officials see this and assume they have to give it to a coach once they blow their whistle. I'd guess these are your newer ones, for the most part.

My suggestion, try not to yell things that sound like "time out." :)

LOL!! That doesn't sound all that jerk-y by you. Leaving players on the floor, refusing to acknowledge TO isn't bad at all!

And then what happened? Did you end up winning? And did you talk to the ref's supervisor? And what level was it? I'm enjoying this scenario (from the comfort and safety of my sick-bed at home!)

I never said time out. That's what made it so absurd

Last week, one of my partners had a similar situation.

Team A went into a "stall offense," being up 2 points with 0:45 seconds left to play in the game. The gym was very loud. Coach A starts yelling "Five Out, Five Out, Five Out." My partner interperts this to be "Time Out." I see the similarity since we were in a loud gym.

The coach responds with the typical deer-in-the-headlights look and calmly tells my partner that he was calling "five out," the offensive play he wanted his team to execute. My partner explained the situation to the other coach and we resumed play at the POI with an "inadvertent whistle" ruling.

Team B ended up fouling Team A and A1 missed the first shot of the 1-and-1. Team B secures the rebound and goes into a stall offense and end up winning the game on a three-point shot as the horn sounded.

I don't have my book with me, anything in the book about inadvertent whistle situations? I don't think there is...

hope you're feeling better

the problem was that the other coach took the time out, we've been coaching against each other for about twenty yers and I was not happy with him

we won by a point on a bizzare finish that had nothing to do with the coaches or the refs. It's nice to see the kids involved in this.:)

Did it sound like "time out?" "Five out?" "Side out?" "Line out?"

he/she said it didnt.

What level play?

The other coach WAS entitled to take that time out, since the ref had granted it, and you were dinged for it. Would be interesting to know what the ref would have done if your opponent had said, "No, I won't take it if my opponent doesn't want it".