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Timing Error - To Correct or Not to Correct
This happened in a Division 2 game yesterday.
Team B (Visitors) is winning by 1 point. Player A1 drives to the basket and the ball goes out of bounds. The clock operator did not stop the clock on time and the Lead determines that 0.5 seconds should be on the game clock. The official tells the timer to put 0.5 seconds on the clock which the timer complies with. The clock shows __:_5 after the timer resets the clock. A1 throws the ball in from the end line into the middle of the paint to A2. A2 catches and shoots very quickly. The officials counted the basket and left the floor. The problem was that the LED lights & horn did not go off right after the shot. The LED lights & horn went off 5 SECONDS after she caught the ball. The timer had put 5 seconds by accident instead of 0.5 seconds! There was NO monitor at the table. I couldn't find an AR ruling specific to this play. The rules for fixing timing errors refer to "the failure to start or stop the game clock properly". It doesn't say failure to put the correct time on the clock. Could this be considered not "starting" the game clock properly? What could the officials do BY RULE to fix this mess? 1) Count the basket and declare the game over. (What they did and what seems to be the correct ruling.) 2) Disallow the basket and declare the game over. 3) Disallow the basket, put 0.5 seconds on the clock and redo the play. (Seems like the fair thing to do but I don't think this is supported by a rule.) Section 6. Officials Duties in games without Replay/ Television Equipment Art. 1. When an obvious timing mistake has occurred because of the failure to start or stop the game clock properly, the mistake shall be corrected only when the referee has definite information relative to the time involved. After the ball is in play, such a mistake, shall be corrected during the first dead ball or during the next live ball before the ball is touched inbounds or out of bounds by a player. When the clock should have been continuously running, the mistake shall be corrected before the second live ball is touched inbounds or out of bounds by a player. |
The key in the rule is "definite information". Any count by an official while the ball is live would be definite. Would there be a count in this situation to have definite knowledge? Game awareness, should official with the clock count when ball becomes live for that definite knowledge?
If you do not have definite knowledge, play is good. If you have definite knowledge, disallow the basket, game over (unless a tie). No do-overs. |
I had a girls varsity game a few weeks back that sounds similar to this. Team A has the ball down 1, 2.1 seconds to go inbounding under their own hoop. A-1 inbounds cleanly, A-2 grabs it, I "chop the clock", A-2 starts to dribble, B-1 knocks it away, ball is loose. A-1 steps in, picks it up, two dribbles. If this seems like a lot for 2.1 seconds, you are correct. The clock didn't start until the ball became loose. My partner blows his whistle, game over.
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There are no redos... Redos are never fair.....It will always give a team an advantage. Why would you ever disallow the basket and declare the game over? Unless it was clearly shot after .5 seconds.... |
I'm with Kelvin, I don't see where there is an obvious timing error in the OP.
If the shooter had missed, would it have been fair to give them another chance? No, and making them take another shot wouldn't be fair, either. |
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It is next to impossible for officials to know if the shot happened in 0.5 or 0.6 seconds with out a clock. In this case where 5 seconds was erroneously put on the game clock I feel that a redo would be the fair thing to do. I'm not saying that I'm justified by rule or that I would do that in the same situation but that I had never seen or heard of this and wanted to talk about the correct way to handle it. |
By NCAA rule, the officials can go to a court side monitor and use a stopwatch to time the catch and shoot. I am surprised by there being no evidence of a court side monitor.
I know it is required at all D1 games but not all d2 and d3 have such devices. |
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The redo takes away from the offense a "scored basket" and gives defense new time to set up etc, etc.... In the play described has two potential outcomes. Score the basket like the officials did, or wipe it off and not count it because it did not get off in time...If there was no monitor officials did what they needed to do... |
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyLRLADclUI |
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By your own measurement, the shot was away in .6 - .7 seconds. You knew exactly what was going to happen with the play. It was still within 1/10 to 2/10s of a second. There is no way that the human eye can decipher the difference between .5 and .6 seconds. The officials knew that there was only 1/2 of one second remaining -- time enough for a catch and shoot, but not enough for a catch, dribble and shoot. The player caught it, the timer started the clock, the shot was released, the shot went in. A very improbable ending -- happening once is rare, enough. To ask the team to redo the play would be grossly unfair to the offensive team. Had the player caught, dribbled and shot or caught, head-n-ball faked and shot, (if you had gotten to say 1.2 to 1.5 seconds prior to the release), I could see waving the shot off. In this case, it was close enough that I am going to count the basket. The ball could not have reasonably been ruled dead before the time would have expired. I believe that I would have ruled as the officials did in this case. Good basket, no time remaining, game over. Of course, the moral in this situation is ALWAYS double check to ensure that the clock is set correctly. When in doubt, have the timer set the clock, start the clock and see if the horn goes off when you expect it. |
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