Pregame Dunks

[just another ref]

Fifteen minutes prior to the game two team members of team A dunk with both the coach and official as witnesses. When coach submits his squad list, he deliberately omits the names of the violators. Official assesses a technical foul for each act of dunking as team fouls and charges the coach with two indirect technical fouls. This ruling is correct.*


We kicked this question around last year, and failed to reach an agreement on the correct answer. Well, the question was on our study guide again, and appeared on the test this time. Our discussion at our meeting last week gave me a different perspective on this question. Last year here the question seemed to center around whether the coach could declare by omission: "These guys are not team members." Some high profile, knowledgeable, forum members said that he could.

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

Smart coaching move. It seems to me that the coach is saying that those kids are not team members for this contest. There should be no technical fouls charged. The rule says that it applies to all "team members."

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

When the players dunked at the 15 minute mark, the calling official by rule was supposed to inform the players and their head coach that they each just got a "T". That's when you find out whether they were actually team members or not. If the coach says they are, give 'em 'T"s, If the coach says they aren't, run 'em off the floor.

Well, as we read the question again, we find that they are team members. It's a given. Is the point of the question how the technical fouls should be charged? If these guys names are not in the book, the fouls obviously cannot be charged to them as individual players. Therefore they are charged only as team fouls, and also as indirects to the head coach. I put true for the question, but with a limited amount of confidence. The only other alternative I see is that the official says these guys must appear in the book, whether the coach likes it or not. I see no rule which gives an official the authority to do this, with the exception of the ever-present 2-3.