Why FIBA, Why?
 

So I took a few years off both baseball and basketball officiating for a few reasons.

I'm back doing baseball now, and basketball starts with a camp on the 10th of August. I can't wait.

I'm reading up on some rules now specifically FIBA rules since that is what everyone but High School in Ontario uses.

I would have much rather Basketball Canada gone to NCAA rules when they made the switch a few years ago.

At first glace, I can't say I'm a fan of these rules.

Does anyone know the rationale behind a few of their sillier rules-

Only allowing players to wear # 4-15.

Timeouts must be made through the scorers table, and only during a deadball?

Why can't timeouts be shortened if both teams are ready?

Is there anyone here who does both Fed and FIBA who can give me some tips on the rules and mechanics?

I don't do FIBA, but having watched a lot of the FIBA stuff on TV, I can almost say the good reason for this is when reporting, you usually have to indicate 1, 2, or 3 FT's, so doing a jersey number 1-3 and then the number of FT's can get confusing to the scorekeeper. Remember, not all of those folks who work the book are 100% knowledgeable about how we report those fouls. :rolleyes:

Because they did not invent basketball. :D

One of these rules is the reason the 1972 USA Basketball team got screwed (in their mind, not my thinking). I do not understand why the table plays such a role in calling a timeout.

Peace

And here I thought it was because of the do-overs. Are those allowed in FIBA rules?

Do you not do this in FED and CCA as well?

Red

32

Block

2 shots

I guess using FIBA's flawed logic that makes sense, but to those who understand basketball it shouldn't.

I don't think he's right, though, otherwise 11, 12, and 13 would all be prohibited as well.

Also, why can a player get up to 5 technical fouls? I'd think that if people get 2 technical fouls with the same sort of circumstance he'd be getting a MLB umpire style heave-ho ;)

Actually there was a documentary that HBO Sports produced that dealt with the Olympic situation in great detail. FIBA allowed timeouts to only go through the scorer's table, which were not properly handled. This was the reason for the constant tries at the play and the reason the final try was successful. I am not saying that is right, just that if you have such a flawed rule and a major confusion based on that rule, usually you do not keep that rule. Or at the very least you modify or change the rule so you do not have a similar incident as before. It appears that FIBA has similar rules as they did over 30 years ago. I would have thought there was a change, I guess not.

Peace

I'd love to read the rationale behind that, Jeff, thanks for the pointer.

I think Referee magazine had a breakdown of the 72 Olympics too. The article was several years ago.

IIRC, the conclusion was the first attempts were all during a dead ball due to various rules that made the ball dead. As such, the USSR was still due a throwin/possession. If they had made one of the first attempts, the rules should have also canceled that bucket and made them try again. Whether the officials would have rules in such a manner, we'll never know.

So.....if a team honors a player by retiring their number, from that point on they can have only 11 players on their team? ;)

Also, if you report number 6 with one finger on your right hand and five on your left do you also report number 15 the same way? Gee - that's not confusing at all.

OK - it's time for Padgett to jump in with all the metric jokes. :D

That is kind of how the HBO Documentary broke it down as well. It comes on every now and then and I have seen it more than once. It really explained the rules in place and how the final attempt was actually legal and every other situation was a dead ball. I am not saying this was done correctly; it just appeared that there was more to the story and not the USA spin on the circumstances. And we all have heard teams put spin on what happen to them and not take responsibility for their role in a failure. That being said those were/are some dumb rules.

Peace

I figured it had something to do with that, and I agree.

But it's FIBA.

The correct FIBA mechanic for 15 is a closed fist on the right hand and five digits showing on the left hand. The fist indicates the 10 when reporting 11 - 15. It's a metric thing... :D

So if the foul is on number five, you have to signal the five with your right hand alone? What if the scorer is dyslexic? :o

Also - do you guys say "one five" or "fifteen"? What language is used in international matches - Esperanto?

"Dek kvin, puŝo, du ĵetas." :D

Loosely translated means "Coach, enjoy the rest of the game from the parking lot. You're outta here!" :cool:

That's loose even for you. :p

True...but if I'm speaking English, and scorekeeper is speaking Swahili, I can see some kind of confusion. :cool:

I wondered about that till I saw the mechanic explained in a post following yours. There could be very little confusion between 11, 12, and 13, and the number of free throws in that case.

5 technical fouls? Padgett would have a heart attack! :eek:

Don't get started on dyslexic scorers. Watching college ball, where the officials were reporting double digits with both hands, made me wonder about dyslexic officials. :o :eek:

Why do you think I refer to them as FEEBLE. :p

I would have thought he might have an emotional experience rather than a heart attack.

Either way...but he beat me to the punch with his "feeble" response. :)

So should any official.

5 is to much. I would imagine my Fed mindset of 2 and out will apply.

Metrication for Americans...
 

Constable...
I presume you're aware that there would be signal indicating the foul (a block in your example) between the player # and the # of FT's, thus the number of FT's is not confused easily with the player being called for a foul. Also, a blocking foul signalled in Swahili is remarkably similar to a blocking fould signalled in Italian, which is nearly identical to a blocking foul signaled in...

Also, technical fouls are not universally horrific in any rule book; in fact the FIBA book describes them as basically rude or disrespectful (my words), so a player may be stupid at a minor level up to 5 times, including their collection of personal fouls in that count of course. On the other hand, some of the fouls that NCAA and FED call technical in nature are described as 'unsporting' by FIBA, and players can only collect two of those, sometimes fewer.

One thing I really like about FIBA is that technical fouls to bench personnel are automatically given to the coach -- there is no need to even attempt to determine which substitute or ac earned it (that's the hc's problem, not mine).

TO's must be requested through the scorer's table prior to an eligible dead ball period...no players making silly mistakes (I've got a great story on that one), and coaches don't have any of their precious timeouts wasted by anyone but themselves. It took many moons (not mine, Padgett) for HS scorers in my part of Alberta to figure out that they're actually important under FIBA rules, but it's getting better all the time.

All in all, I've found that college games I've worked take approximately 90 minutes from tip to exit, with very few exceptions, and I worked a girls HS game that went 56 minutes from tip to exit (7 minute half time period). As far as game play is concerned, fewer timeouts means fewer longish stoppages and the substitution rules keep the game moving. I've also found that when players are too busy playing, they spend less time doing stupid things during dead ball periods.


***edited 1st sentence for clarity ***

Once Upon A Time, Back In 1993 ...
 

And I've got a great story:

YouTube - Chris Webber TO

Was it a TO error or a missed call?
 

Wow, I'd forgotten about the shuffle-drag step with the left foot. I was always taught slide - together - slide - step. Sometimes called for traveling; always a hit with the ladies.

Is that anything like LeBron's famous crab dribble?