Closely Guarded

[Hawks Coach]

On the closely guarded rule, does a dribbling offensive player need to be closely guarded by the same defender to maintain the count? Dribbling on the left side of a zone defense, A1 is closely guarded by B1 who has that area. A1 dribbles to her right, still tightly guarded by B1 until B1 runs into teammate B2. B2 maintains the tight defensive pressure as A1 begins to drive, where potentially B3 picks up the pressure. At all times, a player from B maintains direct pressure on the ball, and sometimes two players from B are on the ball. As team A in this scenario, one of my players did this dribble around the zone maneuver and I watched the ref drop the 5 second count each time she got a new defender, only to resume it about a second later. While we benefited (sort of - it wasn't like we broke down the defense!) from the no call, I thought that it was the wrong interpretation of the rule. If it is right, it kis one more twist that I need to explain to my players.

[Barry C. Morris]

Sounds to me like that ref needs to brush up on the rules. The case book clearly states that there is no requirement for the defensive player to remain the same as long as the offensive player is closely guarded throughout the five seconds.

[Camron Rust]

Under NF rules, the count can be "bridged" across multiple defenders. All the rule says is that it is a violation to be closely guarded for 5 seconds while holding/dribbling.

I do beleive (although not certain) that the NCAA rules are different in that they do restart the count in the above case.

[jackgil]

Coach -

Did you speak to the ref after the game? Is it possible that he was dropping count because defender was more than 6 feet away? It was a zone....closely guarded ...must have been a matchup zone or combination man/zone...Just wondering if you weren't jumping to conclusions.

[TwinSears]

The NF has a case in its casebook with this exact example and the ruling is as everyone else has stated. I will look up the case if you are interested.

[Mark Padgett]

BTW - this point will be a point of emphasis in the new NF rule book.

[Hawks Coach]

Jackgil - To clarify the game situation, our player (A1) was always directly up against a defender, staying in tight to the zone but dribbling on the outer edge. When I run a zone (not much at the younger ages) I never allow the ball to be unguarded anywhere within shooting range. You have to pass the moving dribbler from defender to defender or doubleteam. Otherwise, your zone is broken down or you have just given up an open look.

I did not talk to the ref about it, and rarely do I discuss game calls with an official on the spot (including immediately following a game). I have had good and bad experiences with this, as officials are human too, with their own egos. Some are happy to discuss things, others immediately react as though you have no right to say anything that might call into question their knowledge or judgment. Especially in these tournaments, however, I go right out with my team to talk cause we're playing one game on, one game off with 3-4 games in a day. When I work the table on off games, I do get a little bit of a chance to talk to refs, which is a good chance to ask some questions.

The thought on NCAA rules presents another possibility, that the ref went with something other than NF rules. It is confusing to us coaches with these club tournaments. We are using NCAA women's free throw rules (go on release, foot on the block, five on the lane), but I would have to check on the other rules. We have no shot clock (except in medal rounds of our regional qualifiers!) and I believe that everything except free throws is NF. On the other hand, our leagues usually go straight NF. A lot of changing around for young players, not to mention us coaches and the refs. In the morning games, refs frequently get together with the coaches to make sure we all agree as to what the rules for the day are. Straight NF is a whole lot easier, although I do like the NCAA freethrow rules better!

[steve gillies]

coach, Here in california closely guarded in girls is while holding the ball only not dribbling. or is it a diff. rule at that level ?