Backcourt Call
 

One of my dreams is to someday arrive at a school which has the following sign posted on the wall:

If you yell about an obvious call made by an official because YOU don't know the rule, you will be asked to leave.

MGMT.

Could have cleared the gym all at once last night. VG Dribbler A1 in the frontcourt near the top of the key. Ball knocked away by B1. A1 chases after the loose ball, has plenty of time, B1 is not close behind. It was like she made a point of touching the ball just before it crossed the line. Then she followed it into the backcourt and resumed the dribble.

violation

The whole building erupted.

I must confess, when I know I'm right, (it happens on occasion) I get a kick out of reactions like this.

I think the backcourt rule as a whole, and this part in particular, is the most widely unknown by everyone. (including some officials)

When that one happens I usually think to myself, "Here comes the screaming in 3...2...1..."

The Origin Of The Most Misunderstood Basketball Rules ...
 

Once upon a time, BillyMac decided to devise a list of high school basketball rules that are often misunderstood by coaches, players, and parents. He developed the list over a periuod of over thirty years, officiating thousands of basketball games, listening to erroneous comments from players, coaches, and mostly from fans, and thinking to himself, "I wish I could stop the game and explain the real rule to them". The list was meant to educate those players, coaches, and fans.

For example. A player is dribbling the ball in the backcourt and a fan is yelling, "Three seconds". Or, a player is inbounding the ball and a parent yells, "He's stepping on the boundary line". How many times have things like this happened to you? Don't you just want to blow the whistle, stop the game, and say, "There can't be a three second violation until the ball is in the frontcourt", or, "The player can step on the line, but not over the line".

just another ref: We are kindred spirits.

Visitor book complained this morning when A1, right after crossing into the FC with the ball, threw it to A2, who let it hit him while airborne from the BC.

Am I missing something? Other than the table running their mouth instead of being neutral, this is a B/C violation.

See my post about a missed backcourt call yesterday and my partner who didn't know the rule. A little later in the game, A1 throws an inbounds pass to A2 who tips the ball in frontcourt and recovers after the ball bounces in backcourt.

Coach yells at me that I have now missed two backcourt violations in the same game, but (at least as I understand it) there was no player control inbounds so I know this is not a violation.

The worst thing is that you cannot point a coach to the rule, because the rule itself is poorly written. I wish NFHS would fix this.

I wholeheartedly agree. Glad you mentioned it.

And I think I join the list of those "missing something" re: Adam's post.

Sorry, I called it and he was complaining about the call.

I would have warned him here that he doesn't get to bring up earlier plays. If he was lucky. I've been known to skip the warning when they yell.