Ugly Timeout Situation - Discussed Before

[Rich]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

If you're looking at the bench to make sure that it is indeed the correct team requesting the timeout, and that it is indeed the head coach who is making the request, then how do you know that the correct team has player control, without looking back at the court, and the player in control?

Your right, we are not following any NFHS rule, or for that matter, any NFHS, or IAABO, mechanics, but the wordng of these references is "fuzzy".

The spirit and purpose of the rule is to ensure that the correct team, the head coach of said team, and a player on said team has player control, all three at the same time. Tough to do if you have to visually observe the team bench, which forces, in some, but not all, cases, the official to turn away from the action on the court.

You know there's player control because you're looking at the court when the request is given. If you're looking to the coach to verify that, then looking back to the court *again*......never mind, JR have covered it quite well already.

Last night we had a nutcutter, my first one this season. This exact thing happened in OT. Player trapped in the corner, I'm in front of the bench, 2-person trail. I hear a timeout request, player clearly has possession, I look to the bench to see the coach trying to get my attention, verifying he was, indeed requesting a timeout. By this time air went into whistle, the ball was knocked loose. I couldn't possibly care -- it's a legally requested (and granted) time out, as far as I'm concerned.

Yes, I took grief. Yes, I told the other coach that the player had the ball when the coach requested the timeout. Yes, the other coach disagreed and was annoyed. No, I don't care. Like I told the other coach, I'd do the same thing if he was the one requesting the timeout. Until they change the rule, I'm going to continue granting the timeout in this situation because that's what I'm supposed to do.