FT/foul-out admin mess

[Amesman]

Wondering what might have been a better fix for a mess we got in last night when a player fouled out and my partner began administering the 2 FTs before we got the new player in.

In a nutshell: As lead, I call the hack, report to the table, which notifies me it was B1's fifth. I take a few steps to tell B Coach (the far bench), then notify timer to start the 20-second count, then turn to make sure player is notified and to my surprise, see A1 shooting her first FT ... just before I reflexively raised my stop sign and whistle. (She missed.)

We get B1's sub in, I confer with my partner, asking if he was administering a 1-and-1 or what. No, it's 2, he assures, apologizing for getting ahead of himself (he's not a first-year but fairly inexperienced).

All the while, A1's teammates are (all 4) huddled near the sideline, getting instructions from their coach. Partner and I determine the first FTA (a miss) came before my whistle, so it stands and we announce "1 free throw."

Partner hesitates a few moments because A1's teammates are still huddled near the 28-foot line with coach. But we've announced 1 FTA left (both of us signaling "1" from our positions) so I motion to him to administer it.

It was about a five-point game with about a minute to go and it honestly seemed like A's coach was simply taking every moment he could to fill his team with more knowledge, just wanting them to drop back on defense since they were winning.

A1 makes the second FTA and then A Coach realizes B is inbounding. He yells for his team to get back on D and they do so in time. But after a made bucket, Team A requests, and is granted, a TO.

A Coach is somewhat hot and wants either another FTA or even a TF because Team B had an "illegal" player on the court because B1 didn't come out for the first FTA.

I told him it was not a correctable error (all merited FTs had been granted) and that a "retro" TF doesn't happen (if not because it was our error in not getting the fouled-out player off the floor, it also wasn't a "correctable" situation regardless).

He wasn't happy but his team wound up winning by the same margin as when this started. The entire incident, thankfully, was inconsequential toward the outcome.

Other than "not letting that happen," what could we have done differently once we were in this soup? It seemed like A's coach was aware there was just 1 FTA left and chose not to have his players on the lane. Should we have re-shot the first FTA immediately, or any other time?

[Adam]

Seems like you made the best out of a bad situation. You handled it correctly.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

Seems like you made the best out of a bad situation. You handled it correctly.

+1 fwiw

[Nevadaref]

For the proper ruling, let's check the past interps archive.

2004-05 NFHS Basketball Rules Interpretations

SITUATION 3: A1 is fouled by B2 and is awarded two free throws. The foul is B2’s fifth foul. The new trail official reports the fifth foul to Team B’s coach. Before a substitute is made, the lead official incorrectly permits A1 to attempt the first free throw. The officials realize the error and huddle to discuss the situation. RULING: The result of the first attempt shall stand. Team B’s head coach shall be notified of B2’s disqualification. Once B2 has been replaced, A1 shall attempt the second free throw. COMMENT: This is an official’s error and not a correctable-error situation according to Rule 2-10. (2-8-3, 4-14-1, 6-1-2c, 10-5-1d)

So you got the ruling right on the mess. Now as for what you could have done better.
1. As soon as the scorer notifies you of the 5th foul on that player, IMMEDIATELY TURN AND TELL YOUR PARTNER!!! Do that BEFORE going to the coach or starting the clock for the replacement period. That should prevent your partner from carrying on with the game as usual.

2. After the 1st FT was attempted, and you conferred with your partner, I would have had the Trail official, or maybe the R, bring both coaches together at the table and inform them of what happened, what the ruling is, and how things will proceed from that point. This extra communication is what I recommend instead of both of you simply announcing 1 FT and putting a finger in the air. By talking to the coaches you ensure that they are clearly informed. They may not like it, and might complain a bit, but that's what happens when there is an administration mistake. You deal with it and move on. I've found that you can handle just about anything, if you communicate it well.

[Amesman]

Thanks, everybody. Never stop learning in this job, do we.

[jeffpea]

in basketball, as in life, problems happen...the important thing is how you solve them....

the best way to solve the problem in the OP (as Nevada said) was to communicate what happened to the coaches and what you're going to do to resolve it ("coach - here's what happened...by rule, here's how were going to solve it/resume/administer/etc.")

if everybody knows what the problem and the resolution is, then you are better off (btw - oftentimes coaches won't like the outcome, but if you follow the rules you'll be in the clear).