Whistling the "T"

[M&M Guy]

Originally Posted by Scratch85

I agree with all of this. Which means (I think) that we are not required to blow the whistle when we call a T. We do blow the whistle to stop the clock and to cause a live ball to become dead.

Actually, this statement is incorrect, and perhaps the source of part of your confusion. If you look at the back of the rule book, under a page titled, "Basketball Rule Fundamentals", you'll see the statement: "An official's whistle seldom causes the ball to become dead (it is already dead)."

So, you are correct in stating the violation caused the ball to become dead. But think of the whistle more as a signal or communication device. Most of the time the official blows the whistle to let the players know the ball is now dead, so they can stop playing. It also lets the table know to stop the clock, if it is running. The other obvious communication reasons would be to let players know we are ready to start play, such as the beginning of a game or quarter, before a throw-in after a time out, and so on.

That's why there is no definitive direction in the books about when and if to blow the whistle on T's. Camron and others have given some good advice on when to blow it, and when not to. In the case of the original play, the first official correctly blew the whistle to tell the players the ball is now dead and stop playing (because of the goaltending violation). I do think the second whistle might be a little unnecessary, but it also might depend on the situation, crowd noise, player activity, etc. Most of the time, if the ball is not live, players are not playing, and the clock is not running, you would not need to blow the whistle. The exception might be in the case of an unsporting T; and that might've been the reason the second official blew the whistle - out of the simple habit of many years of blowing the whistle and forming the T as one motion.

[Scratch85]

Originally Posted by M&M Guy

Actually, this statement is incorrect, and perhaps the source of part of your confusion. If you look at the back of the rule book, under a page titled, "Basketball Rule Fundamentals", you'll see the statement: "An official's whistle seldom causes the ball to become dead (it is already dead)."

We are in agreement. But to clarify, we do blow our whistles to cause a live ball to be dead. 6-7-5. As you have stated, the ball usually is already dead when we whistle and we are merely acknowledging the violation and stopping the clock. But, if the ball is live and we blow our whistle, it becomes dead.

My confusion actually comes from seeing it done so many different ways. The good thing is, I think my approach is very much like yours and most of the very experienced posters I see here. Therefore, I'm comfortable with my approach.

[M&M Guy]

Originally Posted by Scratch85

We are in agreement. But to clarify, we do blow our whistles to cause a live ball to be dead. 6-7-5. As you have stated, the ball usually is already dead when we whistle and we are merely acknowledging the violation and stopping the clock. But, if the ball is live and we blow our whistle, it becomes dead.

Well, this isn't completely correct either. Think of a foul by a defender on a player in the act of shooting...

Ok, I think you knew that, since you were were the one that brought up 6-7-5. But my point was there are many other instances in 6-7 where the ball becomes dead first, and the whistle is simply the signal to let others know. If you think about it, there are even a few times in 6-7 where the official does not even need to blow the whistle.

6-7-5 by itself doesn't really happen very often, so don't get too hung up on it. A possible example could be a kid from the stands runs out on the floor, so the official blows the whistle to stop play. But, most of the time, the other items in 6-7 occur far more often.

[mbyron]

If the official's whistle kills play, that's almost always a bad thing (something non-basketball is happening, inadvertent whistle, etc.).

[Scratch85]

I'm just sayin' . . .