Over excited coach
 

What would you do for the following?

Team A is mounting a furious comeback from way down (or maybe not way down) and in the waning seconds after a Team A basket, Head Coach of A steps in front of you (on the court) to get your attention for a timeout before B can inbound. B does not have the ball at its disposal so that is clearly not an issue, but HC A has almost obliviously (I guess it's a real word) stepped onto the court to get an official's attention.

A couple of times, I've had a partner grant the TO without incident but I've also had one pull the T from his pocket on this, with justification.

Would it matter to you if the coach was less than a full stride onto the court? Would the level of ball influence your decision? (Speaking realistically -- obviously Coaches can't enter the court, but there are shades of gray on this enforcement. What if you were confronted with a TO request in the same manner, as the new trail as you pass the benches [and the TO caller's team has the ball]?)

Being aware of when a timeout might be requested can prevent situations like the above from occurring. I think calling a T unless he is interfering with players or officials certainly could be justified by the book. Not sure how many would actually make that call, though. I think many would have seen the request before he stepped onto the court if you know what I mean.

In this one, give the TO. Unless he walks to the middle of the court before so much as requesting the TO and you see him the whole time.

This is the key. Have to look over there when you feel they may request a TO. No T warranted here even if you didn't see him until he was a step on the court. Grant the TO and prepare mentally for a good finish.

Mregor

I probably wouldn't T him ......unless, as was stated, it became a spectacle as he was waaay out there.

And I would probably go over to the coach and quietly talk to him for a sec and tell him to just get your attention and stay off the court. Then, the next time, he has no excuse and WHACK!

I've only issued a technical once in this type of situation. (happened a handful of times for me)

After my partner and I finally noticed the coach, he proceeeded to go on a tirade about how we cost him three or four seconds on the clock and now his team had less of a chance to win the game. I explained that we have a lot to look at and pay attention to, and unfortunately neither of us saw or heard him.

Stomp, hands in the air, scream, stomp some more........WHACK....

Bonehead move on his part as it gave the other team (who was up by 2 or 3) two FTs, which they used to get a 2-possession lead, then with the ball for the throw in with only 3 or 4 seconds left, game was over.

But of course, it was me and my partner's fault.

I like this one. In an end of game situation, we need to be aware of when a coach is likely to call a timeout. I can't imagine calling a T if one of us just wasn't paying attention and he had to become animated just to get our attention.