hello,
i have volunteered too be the rule interpreter for basketball in my association. im here just too get a few answers on somethings that were asked about at a previous meeting.

a=offense b=defense

question#1 - a is down by 3 points and b is dribbling up the court and is now in their frontcourt with 10 seconds left for some odd reason, b shoots the ball instead of going to a four corner offense to stall, the shot is missed with 3 seconds on the clock, a gets the rebound and throws the the length of the court and it goes in as the buzzer sounds. if im not mistaken 2 years ago i think this would have been a 2 pointer. i know this year its a 3 pointer. we have a few guys saying this has always been a 3 pointer. can anyone tell me when this was changed?

Tim,I don't think that this rule has ever been changed since the NFHS put in the 3point shot.If it was a shot attempt from outside the 3 point arc,it always counted 3 points.The difference used to be that you didn't get 3 on non-shot attempts from outside the arc that went in-only 2 points.In your situation,I think that you would always rule that the full court heave was definitely a shot attempt.

Tim, here's the case you're thinking of (I think):

B1 throws the ball from his backcourt, attempting a "Hail Mary" 3-pointer. The ball falls short and hits the floor, but bounces into the basket. This is only worth 2 points. A live ball went thru the basket, therefore Team B is awarded the score. But the 3-point try ended when the ball hit the floor. Therefore, it's no longer a 3-point try so only 2 points are scored.

Was that what you had in mind?

Chuck

Wasn't that always the rule too,Chuck,since the 3point shot was first put in?I don't think that was ever changed either.Also,the original post said that it went in as the buzzer sounded.In your scenario,as you know,you only award the 2 points if the ball is completely through the hoop when the buzzer sounds because it's not a shot.The original post wasn't that specific,but it did say the throw was in the air before the buzzer.

Tim Harris
Rules Interpreter
& Instructional Chairman
Regional Officials Association
Hampton, Virginia

Check this out! The guy thinks he's MTD Sr. Lose the title Tim, would ya? We're not impressed! :D

Now. let me help my partners out a bit. The rule changed last year. Previously, a ball that was thrown from behind the 3 point line but wasn't considered a try was only good for 2 points. The rule changed last year to make it a 3. I believe that's what you're thinking of.

I think the use of the word "thrown" is probably further confusing this. I'm guessing that the original question is referring to the case usually discussed as an alley-oop. You know, A1, outside the arc, passes to A2. A2 doesn't touch it, and the pass drops through the hoop. Something about to be worth three points, there had to be a three-point "try" and if the official judged it to be a pass and not a try, it would only be worth two. I think the consensus used to be that nobody would actually award two, and now the rule has been changed (?) to make it worth three anyway.

Correct me if I'm wrong. (I'm sure I didn't have to write that to make it happen!)

He must be thinking of the "pass" interp, where if we felt it was not a legit try, we could count it as two.

I am not sure what official in his right mind would have called that, but it was in the book.

Make it in your opponents basket and it is only worth two ... no matter from where the ball is thrown/tossed/shot/tapped/bounced/bumped/patted/kicked

I don't think that's what we're talking about here, DTTB.