Reporting numbers after a foul
 

At camp this last weekend an evaluator corrected me on my verbal communicating of numbers when reporting fouls. I always say “white two – one” or “green one – three” while signaling in unison. He said I should be reporting the number as a whole, i.e. “white twenty one” or “green thirteen”. I guess I’m OK with that. However, when reporting numbers in the teens, it seems awkward. Verbalizing “green thirteen” while signaling a one and then a three doesn’t feel right.
What do you guys do?

I report the player's number. Is the player's number "1-3"? No. It's 13. So I say "thirteen". I used to say "1-3" like you. It was actually Bktballref on this forum who first brought the difference to my attention. It made sense to me and I've been reporting the number as a whole ever since then.

If you say the entire number properly, i.e. "twelve" or "thirteen", there is less chance of the scorer marking the foul down for the wrong player, such as number 1. While I agree that it's not a factor on 14 (the scorer might act on just hearing the first part of the number which is a number itself), since it is a factor on all the other numbers it's best to be consistent.

I say "one-three." I do not like to say "thirteen, fourteen, and fifthteen" because if the scorer (or other table personnel) do not see exactly what you report, when they hear the "teen" part of the number that can cause further confusion. I always have said it this way and only once have been told to say it another way in camp. And that camp was not a big time camp and the clinician that told me to say "thirteen" was really new at his particular level and was repeating what someone had wanted him to do. The veteran clinicians (at the higher college levels) that have been around seem to not care one way or the other what you say as, long as you are clear.

Peace

JRutledge brought up an interesting point. Since we have no way of measuring this, I just want to get a perspective of what you think. Do scorekeepers rely on hand signals or listening to the numbers when recording fouls?

I'll start first by saying I never EVER pay attention to the referee's hand signal when recording fouls. I always look and hear what the ref says. But then most of the time I'm watching the game while score-keeping so I'm usually clear on who committed the foul.

I think they use both. There are times when they probably cannot hear very well. I am sure there are other times they hear part of what you say and personally I want to avoid the people only hearing the end of the number. I also feel that part of this has to do with your signals and how clear they are.

Peace

There have been times when I've said "thirteen", "fourteen", or "fifteen" and the scorer thought they heard "thirty", "forty", or "fifty". Saying the numbers specifically: "one three" can alleviate that confusion.

Seems as though both ways of reporting to the scorer has its pros & cons :confused:

Saying "1-3" for #13 may result in the scorer hearing & recording "1" or "3"...

Saying "thirteen" for #13 may result in the scorer hearing & recording "thirty"...

So what is the preferred method FED/NCAA?

More importantly for me, what's the preferred method for CHSAA?

I don't know that there is a preferred method, but as long as you go to the proper reporting area, stop, speak clearly and slow down your hand motions when reporting, then you should rarely have any problems with communication.

Well that sir depends on who you are, how long you've been calling, what level you have reached & of course who's clique you're in.

I've seen it all, including the two hand college technique. :rolleyes:

I say whole numbers (thirteen/fourteen/twelve). That's how I was taught and is what I prefer. Only time I've had problems with the table not understanding me is when the table is not paying attention.

If I'm in a quiet venue my voice is easily heard. If it's extraordinarily loud then I make sure i'm in a spot where they can see my signals clearly and read my lips if they have to.

I have never had a problem by saying "1, 3" or "1, 4." The only problem I have ever had was the scorer got the colors wrong when I had two 45s guarding each other and the scorer had one of them foul out improperly. But I have never had a problem with the scorers ever figuring out what that meant or never assumed that "1, 3" mean "4" or some other number. ;)

BTW, the NF or the NCAA has never addressed this in their literature as far as I know. It seems like they both leave this up to supervisors and clinics to teach the way it should be.

Peace

I was always taught to use one-handed reporting in HS, while stating the individual digits as they're shown (one, three; not thirteen).

In NCAA-W we use two-handed reporting, and we have been told to say the number (thirteen, forty-two), since we are showing both digits at the same time.

I guess, as always, your mileage may vary based on the preferences of the powers-that-be in your area. For some, this is a big deal. For others, they may not care about how you report the number to the table, but they will make a big deal about exactly where you stand during a FT.

Either way, be careful which finger you use when signaling a one.