Free Throw Violation

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by fiasco

It won't often be called, but should it? It's a clear rules violation.

I just wonder sometimes why we treat some violations as more "sacred" than others. Like stepping over the endline on a throw in. That's going to get called more often, I would think, than barely stepping over the free throw line.

I've heard several times that we should use our judgement on fouls, but violations should be black and white, as written in the rule book. Do I agree with that? I don't know. But it makes sense.

As a general statement, violations are written in the form "act ==> penalty." Fouls are written "Act + advantage ==> penalty". It's the "advantage" part that requires judgment, and that makes violations more black-and-white.

That said, I'm going to be looking more closely in certain situations. So, for your example of stepping over the end line -- if there's pressure, I'll be looking for it, and call it. If there's no pressure, I'll be looking for the next competitive match-up and likely miss (and thus not call) a "small" violation.

Since a FT is, by definition, "no pressure" (at least physically, by the defense), I'm not going to be focussing on the shooter's foot, to the nearest 2" -- I'm going to be getting ready for the rebounding action. IF I know about it, I'll try to talk to the player before the FT, and maybe even mention something to her coach before I call it.

And, frankly, I've never seen anyone at the V level do this consistently, so much of the (or my) discussion it theoretical.