Using Backboard to Gain An Advantage
 

Saw this a couple of weeks ago in Texas vs. ?? NCAA game. It appeared in rebounding action that I saw players push off the backboard so as to not go underneath/behind the backboard. I think the players tried to time a rebound for a quick put-back. The push off the backboard kept them in position for a subsequent rebound. It is a very athletic play and might not be seen often.

I looked up the rule, Section 6, Art. 1H. It is listed as a technical foul to put your hands on the backboard to gain an advantage. Is this one of those rules that is ignored as the penalty is thought to harsh?

No. My guess is that they didn't see it the way you did / were surprised / missed it.

Usually that rule has been references in relationship to a shot not a rebound. So it would be highly technical in my opinion to give a T for what you describe. I would not advocate giving a T for this unless I saw it for myself and really thought the action mattered.

Peace

Playing devil's advocate here, how would using the backboard for advantage for a rebound (esp. an offensive one) not be "gain[ing] an unfair advantage not intended by rule" in like manner as using same backboard in same manner for a shot?

I guess then you need to explain to me how someone uses it as an advantage on a rebound? I would really have to see it. And if all a player did was touch the backboard then I would need something else to be convinced that was an "advantage." Again all the interpretations of this are based on a shot and slapping the backboard on a shot. Never seen an interpretation that says touching the backboard on a rebound is illegal.

Bottom line, do not be a plumber.

Peace

How is slapping the board on a shot gaining an advantage?

To maintain "hang time" or to alter your own trajectory with the intent of getting a better angle for the shot or outlast an airborne defender. The same benefits apply to rebounders, IMO, but I agree it would have to be pretty clear.

Concerning the play in the OP, I saw an A2 come flying in on a shot from inside the lane. The shot rebounded to the opposite side of the lane from A2. A2 timed it to likely dunk the rebound. A2's hands looked to contact the backboard, and A2's momentum/direction appeared to change. Instead of A2 landing under the backboard or even closer to the endline (and being out of the play for a rebound on the next shot), A2 is now sufficiently in front of the backboard to contend for a rebound on the next shot.

The backboard was not slapped, A2 just put his hands up to meet the backboard and stop his forward momentum.

I thought it a very athletic and smart play. Then I recalled a rule against using the backboard to gain an advantage, looked it up, and here we are.

I don't believe htis is going to happen. They're not going to get ANY hang time improvement out of it unless they grab something and lift themselves up (rim)...pushing on the board will have no effect on hang time unless they have Spiderman's grip. And I've not seen any handles on the backboard for a player to grab onto.

Unless they're so high that thier center of gravity is near the level of the backboard (and that is beyond the height even the best jumpers can reach), a push on the board, if it is firm enough to have any effect, is more than likely going to spin their body out of balance....upper body will rotate away from the board while their lower body will go more towards the board.

If it is not to block a shot legitimately the rules says it is. ;)

I guess you missed that part of the rule?

Peace

Are you saying a player that jumps up and almost hits their head on the backboard and somehow uses their hands to prevent this from happening is doing something illegal? Because that is what is sounds to me. Now if that is what you want to call that is fine. I just think you will have some explaining to do and you better have tape to back it up. Because without a clear example on tape I think this is a stretch.

Peace

After re-reading my post and not seeing any mention of a player about to hit their head on the backboard, I am sure I am not saying A2 was avoiding hitting his head on the backboard. What I am saying is, A2 used the backboard to stop his forward momentum and keep himself in play for a rebound. Additionally, when A2 landed he did not have to regain his balance, he seemed to land and be ready for the next rebound. It was almost as if this was practiced or at least had been done before.

Other than this type of use of the backboard, I can't think of any way to get an advantage from the backboard except to pull yourself up from the lip on the backside.

The rule reads as "placing a hand(s) on the backboard or ring to gain an advantage" is a class B technical foul.

The rules also say that the hit has to be violent enough to shake things up and the shot has to have a chance of going in.

This seems like a move from the matrix. Lucky for me my games still follow the simple laws of physics.

A player using the backboard to alter his landing spot? I'm not sure the advantage is immediately recognizable, but you were there. As rut is saying, though, this is one that you'll probably want to have on tape later due to its unusual nature.

This would not be an issue in the games I officiate. If this is an intentional action and provides an advantage, others players will pick-up on it/copy it, and it will be noticed eventually. If it violates the rule, I presume we will here about it.

Also Known As The Ralph Sampson Rule ...
 

The rule says it is..........what?

I guess I did miss that part of the rule.

Once again, can you show me a ruling of any kind that says what you just described is an acceptable T? Rules always say one thing, the casebook and interpretations tell you how to apply the rules. So until you can show me how someone can gain an advantage by playing their hands on the backboard on a rebound, I might go there with you. And in a college game, I am really not going to just call something that is only discussed on this board. I would actually need some play or situation that is backed by a ruling. If I call a T for this, someone is going to ask for an explanation either at the game or later with the supervisor. I am not going to consider a rebounding situation as an advantage at this time. You are not going to keep me from getting suspended or fired. ;)

Let me make another thing clear, is I only listed what the player might have done because I did not see the play (and neither did you). So it is pure speculation what was the reason for the action or how that action really caused and advantage.

Peace

Yes you did. ;)

Peace

Must be an Illinois thing.

Must be. ;)

Peace

Let me see.......Rutledge........multiple meaningless posts..........yep, sounds familiar........definitely not the first time.

NCAA Rule 10-6-1g says: "Intentionally slapping or striking the backboard or causing either the backboard to ring or vibrate while the ball is in flight during a try or while the ball is touching the backboard, is on the basket ring, in the basket net or in the cylinder."

Now the NF uses basically the exact same language in Rule 10-3-4a.

I guess you need to read the rules in question. ;)

Peace

Let me put it this way. You can worry about my posts; I will worry about my games and what I actually do in officiating. And I must be doing something right as I work when I want to and where I want to. Having the biggest penis on a discussion board does not mean anything to me, but maybe it does for you.

Are you even working varsity on a regular basis yet? :rolleyes:

Peace

Actually, the rule you quoted is 10-3-4b, which is not the rule in question.
You will note that the word advantage does not appear here.

The question in the OP was about placing a hand on the backboard to gain an advantage. This is specifically forbidden in 10-3-4a.

One of us needs to learn to read all right. :rolleyes:

And this is the post you make when you realize you haven't been making sense?


Nah, he doesn't realize it.

If I was not making sense, why are you the only person that seems to be confused? No one else cared or made an issue out of what I said, which goes to show that you are more worried about what I specifically have to say and the specifics then trying to have a discussion. Actually this is just a discussion for me, for you it seems something else for you. So you can go on and keep pointing out what you do not understand, I will not be paying attention anymore. You seem really concerned about things I say when half the time I have no idea you even responded to anything on this board. Oh well, keep up the good work. You really made a wonderful point. :D

Peace

I asked a simple question, based on the first statement you made in this thread.

You chose to be sarcastic, and made references to the rule.

".....based on a shot and slapping the backboard on a shot...."

"......If it is not to block a shot legitimately the rules says it is."

Trouble is, it was the wrong rule.

And as usual, you never admit when you're wrong, but go off on another tangent.

:rolleyes:

But when he finally has nowhere else to go in the thread, he simply disappears.
This has also happened before.

Or he's at work or a game today. Or he realized you guys aren't going to come to a meeting on this one; it says nothing of his opinion of his own position.

There are some people that will never realize that we are not going to change the world by what we discuss here. It really becomes old when people care that much about what someone says or what someone does on this board. I do not even know JAR's name nor even realize (because I do not pay that close attention) where he lives. But for some reason I have to answer to him about some silly issue that he is only making an issue out of. I am just getting older where I am tired of trying to prove something to some guy that if he met me would never talk the way he did as no one I have ever met from this board has ever confronted me or been upset. And I did not disappear; I was traveling 3 hours out of town along and had to pick up someone to take care of some business. I am only responding now because I have a minute and I found your comments interesting. At some point people have to grow up and realize that the world does not revolve around them. Some of us have a life well beyond officiating and this board.

Peace

So you've considered everything and realize you were wrong, then. Good for you.

Just when a thread is about to die, someone picks at the scab, re-opens the wound and it gets infected. (okay, it's a mixed metaphor)

You are funny. Maybe you need to get a life and you will not worry about what I think I realize or not realize. :rolleyes:

Peace

Yeah, I guess that was me.

But he started it.:D

Yes it was.

And no I never responded to anything you had to say in this thread first. You were not even the person I was talking to. ;)

Peace

You can go ahead and lock it now, Bob. The poor guy has embarrassed himself enough.