Calling an illegal screen
 

How would you go about doing so...

Team A has the ball (obviously)

A1 sets an illegal pick on B1 around the freethrow area (grey area) you are the trail (in a 2-man crew) what do you do...


just making sure my mechanics i do, are done properly....but i blow my whistle indicating a foul, signal the illegal screen, then point to the spot where the ball is coming back in, then report? is this right?

thanks

This is a team control foul...

Me... I blow the whistle and then punch with the team control foul signal and verbally yell "offense"....

It Seems So Hard When You Write It All Down ...
 

Blow whistle. Fist in air. Step toward player who committed foul. Birddog if necessary. State jersey color and number of player who committed foul. At site of foul, indicate type of foul with proper signal. Indicate the throw in spot. Proceed to reporting area. State jersey color and number of player who fouled, simultaneously using one hand to signal number of player who fouled. Indicate type of foul using proper signal. Switch positions with your partner after reporting the foul.

I'm not sure about a few things regarding signals. Do you give both the blocking foul (illegal screen) signal, and/or, the team control signal at the site of the foul, and/or, the reporting area? NFHS citations, and IAABO citations please.

The correct NFHS mechanic order is:
1. Fist straight up
2. Punch signal in front of body to indicate team-control foul
3. Preliminary signal for the nature of the foul
4. Indicate the throw-in spot

That comes directly from page 5 of last season's NFHS Basketball preseason guide.

...and use the words "illegal screen", NOT "moving screen." Always remember that a moving screen isn't illegal until there's contact, and even then the screen isn't illegal because it is moving. So call it an "illegal screen". When you report you can say, "block" or "illegal screen", or say nothing just signal with no verbal.

I prefer "bad screen" or "illegal". "Illegal screen" is waaaay too long for my limited vocabulary and attention span. :D

Did I See The Mythbusters Searchlight Signal In the Sky ???
 

A moving screen is not in and of itself a foul, contact must occur for a foul to be called. If a blind screen is set on a stationary defender, the defender must be given one normal step to change direction and attempt to avoid contact. If a screen is set on a moving defender, the defender gets a minimum of one step and a maximum of two steps, depending on the speed and distance of the defender.

What page is that on in the mechanics manual? :confused: :)

are you talking about the not raising the fist? or yelling "offense"?

The term offense is accurate because the foul is on the offensive team...

You are right that the mechanics manual calls for the fist up first... (Where I officiate it appears rarely that on a team control foul that we raise a fist and then do team control and then do a prelim signal and then tell the player... ) but I would suggest that in many areas on team or player control rarely is the fist up...

When In Connecticut, Do As Your Evaluators Do ...
 

Our local interpreter, and evaluators, do not want us to yell, "Offense". They want us to state, "Team control foul", or, "Player control foul". I don't believe that it's in any manual, it's just a local thing.

Do you yell "defense" when the foul is on the defensive team?

This is the right way to do it, and it's not that hard to remember. I will say that I point, rather than punch at the spot. At the table, I will give the punch to indicate team-control foul and we're not shooting free throws. I know it's wrong and it's a bad habit, but I can't seem to break it.

I've found that I have to sloooooowww down on this one. Most people/players/coaches don't know the team control foul signal. What I have done is hit the whistle-fist up-point direction and "offense" at the same time-spot the ball- report. What I am TRYING to do is the above HS mechanic, and I'm trying not to look like I'm landing planes...

Problem is, slowing down takes me out of my "flow", which I'm sure equals "not approved mechanics". Makes me look like I'm unsure of the call.

Our board is making an effort to ensure that we young'uns don't point- use an open hand (as in violation and keeping the thumb tucked in the palm)


Question- Making this call as the trail-> what do your local boards want you to do? Is this a "long switch" which, for us, is a no-no?

My mechanics on this are always screwed up. So I make sure I use my voice very loudly for this one with the words "team control" emphasized.

I have found that slowing down almost never looks like you're unsure of the call -- unless you've got lengthy pauses, or something like that. Slowing down usually just looks like calm, relaxed, not my first rodeo, routine call, etc. In other words, what feels like going slow to us, usually does not appear that way to everyone else.

Two suggestions:

First, practice the entire sequence in the mirror. Do this a lot. Make it muscle memory.

Second, and they teach this to volleyball officials, when you've got a series of signals to give, have a rhythm to it, giving each signal the same length of time. It looks better than hurrying one, holding the next, etc.