something I've observed

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by representing

After my Girls JV game today (which went pretty smooth without problems), I stuck around to watch the first half of the Varsity game before I had to leave. Saw something that the officials did that I don't think I've seen done the same way in any other games I've seen in a similar situation:

V dribbles the ball down to the endline and gets under the basket. Stops... then it looks as if she is going up to try and shoot the ball. Get's fouled. Referee points to the OOB spot nearest the foul and says "underneath". Seems like I was the only one to hear this as the gym was pretty quiet still at this moment. He goes to table to report the foul and then points again to OOB spot. Gym erupts and coach is asking "wasn't she shooting?!"

At halftime I go to the locker room with the referees to grab my bag, but I just had to ask. "Why wasn't that a shooting foul?" His response; "She was behind the basket, there's no way she could have shot for an attempt to score points". His partner agreed and I left it at that.

Am I missing something here or does it seem like they messed up that call? The girl definitely went up for a shot, and it did not seem as if she was too far under the basket that she couldn't maybe swing her arm around to get a better angle at a "do-able" shot.

To answer your question, there is no NFHS rule which prevents such a situation from being a foul in the act of shooting. It is up to the discretion of the official to decide if the player was trying for goal when fouled. There is no inbounds area of the court from which a player is not allowed to try for goal.