Speaking of the two step rule...There seems to be a two "gallop" rule as well. I consider a gallop as two steps, one right after the other. Yet many officials, NBA, NCAA, and even rec, no call those two gallop moves, or the gallop followed by a jump. This seems to occur more and more often. How do you guys feel about these moves and are you calling them travels?
EG

I'm only calling travel on the gallops in donkey basketball games. ;)

Well, I think this all goes back to play selectivity and the flow of the game. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong but I think I might be in the same playing field here.

Traveling, in my opinion, is a very difficult call, especially on drives to the basket. Frankly, I am not good enough to pick up the pivot foot and referee the defense at the same time on drives to the basket. Traveling is a feel you must have. Watching tape helps. You get a feel for what is legal and what is not legal. In college and high school they generally allow for two steps even though it is technically illegal. A player who picks up his dribble with one foot on the floor can only take one more step because if he took two steps his pivot foot would be returned to the floor. In college and high school it is generally not called unless the two steps are big and the play looks too ugly. In pro basketball the players are allowed to have a two count rythm and the play is legal. My supervisor told me a good comment, if it looks illegal at the end of the dribble it probably is not. If it looks illegal at the beginning it probably is (i.e. lifting the pivot before dribbling). I stay away from travels unless obvious because tape seems to prove me wrong a lot when I call them.

eguasch,
The players are in such continuous motion at those higher levels when a "dime" is being dropped; we, with our experience, knowledge and judgement, have to determine: <li>when the player actually has the ball in possession;<li>which foot is, or is not, on the floor at time of actual possession.

If I am not sure of the possession, then I am <u>not going to guess traveling</u>.
mick

Words of wisdom!

What you describe as a gallop is the dribbler ending the dribble, stepping and establishing a pivot, stepping with the non-pivot and lifting the pivot, jumping off the non-pivot. Legal play.

That's right too.
 

Good point, Tony!
The gallop comes into play at the end of the dribble also. In that instance we, again, judge when the player is actually holding the ball.
mick

The gallop I'm refering to is when a player dribble drives to the hoop, picks up the dribble, and then, takes his/her two steps, but the two steps are very close together, one right after the other, both feet then leave the court, a gallop. Technically, this is it, no more steps, either shoot or pass. But more and more I see moves that add an additional jump after both feet come back down, or even a second gallop after the first. Certainly the pros, which I realize play under a different set of written and unwritten rules, do these moves all the time and worst. But these moves naturely trickle down to the college, high school, and lower levels.
Traveling calls for these actions, are rare at the upper levels, and subsequently, cause a lot of confusion at the lower levels. These "galloping plus" moves seem to be less and less a violation under NFHS, for example.
EG

Hmmm, yeah, maybe, but a lot of times you'll see the
jump stop end with the feet apart and the player sorta
"rolls" into the move to the basket, which is what I think
you're saying. Not a distinct 2 steps which you can hear.
Like most guys have already said, give the benefit of the doubt on travels.

What you have described as a "gallop" is the same thing that I've described. However, what you've described as a "gallop plus" is different. I'm really not seeing that very often.