3 seconds?

[Troward]

Team A is on offense with the ball in the front court facing a 2-3 zone by team B. Player A1 flashed from the low blocks to the foul line and recieves the ball. At this point he has been in the lane for 2 seconds that I observed. Upon recieving the ball he reverse pivots and pump fakes on the top zone defender, all within a second and now my count on him as reached 3. He puts the ball on the floor for one dribble past the top defender and drives for a lay up where he is met by the team B's center in the zone who is taller then him. He has now been in the lane 4 second but I have held my whistle to allow him to attack. Now facing the Center defender he upfakes twice, my count in the lane reaches 5. He performs an up and under move as my count reaches 6. Finally he shoots the ball for a lay up at 7 seconds.

At what point, if any, would you have called 3 seconds?

[bard]

As with many of these scenarios, this is a HTBT (Had To Be There).

Two possibilities as I see it. First, my 3-second count may have stopped when the player "flashed" to the foul line. Unless both feet were clearly still in the lane, I may give him credit for getting out of the lane.

However, I'm judging from you post that he's still in the lane. I'm holding my whistle while he drives to the basket on a clear effort to make an attempt. When he hits the big defender and stops, I must judge if he's still making a drive for the basket. If he is, no call. If he hesitates, and I discern he's questioning whether to pass or shoot, I've got 3 seconds.

Looking back over my answer, I'd say that's as clear as mud, but I'm going to hold off on the 3-second call if I can.

[ChuckElias]

If your count is at 6, and he's pump-faking. . . violation.

[just another ref]

Originally posted by Troward
Team A is on offense with the ball in the front court facing a 2-3 zone by team B. Player A1 flashed from the low blocks to the foul line and recieves the ball. At this point he has been in the lane for 2 seconds that I observed. Upon recieving the ball he reverse pivots and pump fakes on the top zone defender, all within a second and now my count on him as reached 3. He puts the ball on the floor for one dribble past the top defender and drives for a lay up where he is met by the team B's center in the zone who is taller then him. He has now been in the lane 4 second but I have held my whistle to allow him to attack. Now facing the Center defender he upfakes twice, my count in the lane reaches 5. He performs an up and under move as my count reaches 6. Finally he shoots the ball for a lay up at 7 seconds.

At what point, if any, would you have called 3 seconds?

I'm probably gonna get toasted for this. Did you really count all the way to 7 on this play? I admire your precision. I rarely count at all on lane violations. To me this is one that is all about gaining an advantage. Basically I see a player who is somehow involved in the play, (posting up, setting a screen, fighting for rebounding position, whatever) not just standing with a toe on the line. I just kinda get the feeling that's long enough. A lot of officials actually tell the player: "Get outa there, 33." But I think a call delivers the message better. In your situation, when the player stopped in front of the 2nd defender and started faking again, I think that was long enough.

[LepTalBldgs]

the instructor was whispering to us that he probably calls two 3-second violations per year. I started snickering so bad that everyone was looking at me. All I was doing was picturing a post on this board where 3-seconds was discussed which went something like this:

1 second

(thinking) "Man I hope this game ends soon"

2 seconds

"I wonder where we're gonna go to eat after the game"

3 seconds

"Look at that blonde in the third row"

4 seconds

"Hey 33 get out of there"

5 seconds

"I wonder if that blonde wants to go out to eat with us afterwards"

6 seconds

"Mmmm, me with a blonde and some brownpop"
(insert Homer Simpson voice here)

7 seconds

Oh well, gotta blow it

Tweet

[ChuckElias]

Since extreme humility prevents me from attributing the post you mention to any particular official , you might want to look at the following thread:

http://www.officialforum.com/showthr...7&pagenumber=1

[Mark Dexter]

Then, shalt thou count to three. No more. No less. Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out!

[rainmaker]

Originally posted by ChuckElias
Since extreme humility prevents me from attributing the post you mention to any particular official , you might want to look at the following thread:

http://www.officialforum.com/showthr...7&pagenumber=1

Your post was a bit of a....let's see what's a tasteful way to say it?... denouement after what Padgett posted.

In fact, if it hadn't been you that put up this URL, I'd never have gotten that far.