Disconcertion from bench
 

This happened during the game before mine in a tournament I was at today.

Team A is shooting free throws in the second half. Every time A shoots, bench personnel from Team B gives a friendly reminder to her teammates to "box out and rebound". Thing is, every time, they yell this as A is releasing the shot.

A made most of the free throws I saw while this was going on, so it probably didn't matter much anyways, but I'll take a stab at what could be done, and you all can correct me if I'm wrong.

Based on similar plays from the case book, it's in the official's judgement whether or not the thrower was disconcerted. If she was, then I should award a substitute throw to A, and politely tell B's bench to shut up. Hopefully that would be enough. But what if it isn't?

I'm assuming you would proceed with a T on bench personnel?

What say you? There's a good chance I will be on one of Team B's games later in the tournament, and I'd like to be prepared.

There was an NFHS POE issued several years ago that confirmed that you could call disconcertion on the opponent's bench, and that you could also call a team technical foul if you felt that the disconcertion was unsporting in nature.

Judgment call on both. Not a bad idea imo to warn first.

I agree with you on the warning. Not sure if sophomores know what disconcertion even means

I wouldn't be afraid to call the disconcertion. That should stop it quickly after the cat calls are over with. The only question is do you warn with that one, or give the disconcertion call a chance to work.

Sub-V I will warn the player in the lane or the bench. "Son (or coach) next time that's a violation." Don't recall ever going back and "getting it" later as it stops.

One time during a Wreck League game I actually said, "Alright, who's got the shooter?"

Young man said, "Me."

I said, "Good, now there's no need to talk about it anymore, right?" :rolleyes:

They got the msg.

never given a T for it but I have done a few warnings. The thing is some refs let it go and teams sometimes do it really inconsistently so it usually isn't an issue or they don't even know what they are doing is wrong. Warnings and make sure they are trying to mess up the shooter but yeah for sure let them know because it is something to limit.

So what about the one situation mentioned on here in an earlier posting where an opposing team's player lets out gas while in position as the FT Shooter was shooting? :cool:

You can't really give a warning to mother nature can you? :):p;):D

That's exactly what I feel like doing when I read most of your posts.

Maybe we can call you for disconcertion.:)

I've done this, too. It works well if you can do it early in the game. It lets them know you've got a problem with it, as well as how silly it sounds.

We had a JV double header where, during the girls game, the home boys were sitting on the front row stomping their feet. They were right next to the bench, and dressed, so I had to do a double take.

We simply had them move up into the bleachers to make it easier on us. I may have overstepped, but they complied without issue.

Jmo but I'd tend towards warning first in a similar situation as described in the OP. The next time that I was close to that bench I'd say sumthin' like "Coach, keep your bench quiet when the other team is shooting free throws." If they do it after that, hey, then it's on him and there's no way that he can now complain to you.

Of course, if you feel that the bench did disconcert the FT shooter the first time that they did it, you should call it immediately. You don't warn for something that has already affected the game.

Where's Nevadaref When You Need Him ...
 

Agree. Why can't I find it? Help.

It's 2005-2006 (I don't have a soft copy, sorry).

POE #2 in the 2001/02 rule book---"The committee emphasizes that disconcertion is a violation and may result in a substitute throw. If persistent or deemed unsporting, the TEAM/player may also be penalized with a technical foul."

I do. It's POE 2C. That one refers to "players" only though, which means the 5 legally on the court, by rule. The older POE referred to the whole team, which includes bench personnel by definition(rule 4-34-2 for BillyMac).

Same old problem. The only definitive answer to some of the questions asked here lie only in long-forgotten archives. They are still valid but a lot of officials aren't aware of them.

The Archives King ...
 

Especially young, inexperienced officials, who don't have access to, or realize the importance of, old rule books, and casebooks. Even if they did, they still wouldn't have access to old annual interpretations.

No need to worry, Nevadaref will be along in a few minutes to help us out. He'll find it. I guarantee it.