Whacked in the stack

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Back In The Saddle

2 man crew. Throw-in near the division line in front court. Throwing team sets up in a stack, four deep. During the throw-in a defender tries to go around the top of stack (the end away from the sideline) and, according to the coach, gets and elbow to the face while going around a screen. My question is, how do you referee a stack like this. But if there's a better way to handle this situation, I'd like to know.

Tough situation. I don't know of any mechanics that are specifically tailored for this situation, but here's my two cents worth of input:

The administering official should concentrate on the thrower (designated spot, boundary line, etc.), the defender on the thrower (boundary, delay of game, etc.), and, if possible, nobody said this was an easy job, which is why we get paid the "big bucks", the next closest two opponents (fouls, etc.). Yeah, I know that this could be anywhere from two, to four players, but, as I said, this is a tough situation.

The non administering official should be the lead, on the endline, but on the ball side of the court. He, or she, should be observing eight players, that is everyone but the thrower and the defender of the thrower, looking for fouls, etc.

Both officials should open up to get a wide angle look at the play, and yet still be close enough to see the things that they're supposed to be looking for.

Will these mechanics guarantee that the two officials will not miss the elbow, or the push, the illegal screen, etc? No. That's why we have three man mechanics.