NFHS June 6, 2013 Release ...
 

2013-14 BASKETBALL RULES CHANGES

1-19 New The use of electronic devices is permitted during the game.

3-4-2a A single visible manufacturer's logo/trademark/reference is permitted on the team jersey, not to exceed 2 1/4 square inches with no dimension more than 2 1/4 inches. The manufacturer's logo may be located no more than 5 inches below the shoulder seam on the front of the jersey, or 2 inches from the neckline on the back of the jersey; or in either side insert.

3-5-3 Arm and leg compression sleeves shall: .

10-1-3 A team shall not:
a. Use a megaphone or any electronic communication device at courtside, or electronic equipment for voice communication with players on the court.
b. Use electronic audio and /or video devices to review a decision of the contest officials.

10-4-5 Note The head coach may enter the court in the situation where a fight may break out or has broken out to prevent the situation from escalating.

Signal Chart Added a mechanic of a defensive tip (brushing one hand over the other above the head) to indicate the official has ruled the ball entered the backcourt as a result of contact with a defensive player.

COMMENTS ON THE 2013-14 RULES CHANGE

USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES (1-19 NEW and 10-1-3): The previous rule was difficult to monitor and enforce by the contest officials. This rule allows the coach to take advantage of electronic tools available for use in coaching and gathering statistics. While in use, the coach must be in compliance with the guidelines that specify that electronic devices may not be used to communicate with the players on the playing floor nor can the devise be used to dispute an official's call.

ADDITIONAL OF A SINGLE MANUFACTURER'S LOGO TO THE JERSEY (3-4-2a): This change would bring basketball in compliance with other NFHS sports that allow the use of a single manufacturer's logo on the jersey of the playing uniform.

LEG COMPRESSION SLEEVE REQUIREMENTS (3-5-3): The specifications for leg compression sleeves were added because of the frequent use of these sleeves for non-medical reasons. The specifications match those of arm compression sleeve. They must be white, beige, or a single solid school color. The sleeve must be the same color for each team member and have only a single manufacturer's logo that does not exceed 2 1/4 square inches. The sleeve must be worn for medical reasons only.

HEAD COACH ENTERING THE PLAYING COURT (10-4-5 NOTE): While the head coach and his/her assistants have an obligation to ensure bench personnel comply with Rule 10-4-5, if a situation develops where a fight either has or may break out, the head coach by his/her presence can be instrumental in preventing the situation from escalating and assisting the game officials in controlling the situation. This change will remove the requirement of the head coach being beckoned onto the floor by the officials in this situation which will result in a more expedient resolution of the situation and restoration of order. The change will also allow the officials a greater opportunity to assess appropriate penalties by being able to observe the situation because of the increased assistance the head coach(es) will provide by their presence.

TIP SIGNAL: This signal increases the official's ability to communicate with the players, coaches and fans on critical plays. Immediately communicating whether or not the defense tipped the ball allows the offensive team to immediately know whether or not they can recover the ball without penalty. Having no signal actually gives the defense an unfair advantage as they do not need to know which team caused the ball to enter the backcourt, they can recover the ball without penalty regardless.

2013-14 BASKETBALL EDITORIAL CHANGES

1-13-2 The coaching box shall be outlined outside the side of the court on which the scorer's and timer's table and team benches are located. The area shall be bounded by a line drawn 14 feet from the end line towards the mid-court. At this point a line drawn from the sideline toward the team bench becomes the end of the coaching box going towards the end line. From this line go another 14 feet towards the mid-court, then a line drawn towards the bench becomes the end of the coaching box closest to mid-court. The coaching box is 14 feet long placed in the middle of the regulation 42 feet long half court. These lines shall be located off the court and be 2 inches wide.

3-5-1 Note Each state association may, in keeping with applicable laws, authorize exceptions to NFHS playing rules to provide reasonable accommodations to individual participants with disabilities and/or special needs, as well as those individuals with unique and extenuating circumstances. The accommodations should not fundamentally alter the sport heighten risk to the athlete/others or place opponents at a disadvantage.

2013 Points of Emphasis

Granting Time-Out – Coaches and officials are reminded of the proper procedures in requesting and granting time-out. Coaches are encouraged to give both a visual signal and verbal request when a requesting time-out. Officials need to know the status of the ball and whether it is in player control. Having a full view of the player in control who is requesting the time-out is critical to determining if you may grant a time-out. It’s vital to know the situation of the game, the proper sequence of calling a time-out, then using proper signals to notify the scorer.

Guidelines to Enforce Illegal Contact - When contact occurs that affects the rhythm, speed, quickness and balance of the player, illegal contact has occurred. When illegal contact occurs, fouls must be called. Officials must not refrain from calling these type of actions that create an advantage for the opponent. Illegal contact must be called regardless of time and score.

Intentional Foul - An intentional foul is a personal or technical foul that may or may not be premeditated and is not based solely on the severity of the act. It is contact that:
- Neutralizes an opponent’s obvious advantageous position.
- Contact on an opponent who is clearly not in the play.
- May be excessive contact.
- Contact that is not necessarily premeditated or based solely on the severity of the act.
This type of foul may be strategic to stop the clock or create a situation that may be tactically done for the team taking action. This foul may be innocent in severity, but without any playing of the ball, it becomes an intentional act such as a player wrapping their arms around an opponent. The act may be excessive in its intensity and force of the action. These actions are all intentional fouls and are to be called as such.

2013-15 Basketball Manual Points of Emphasis

Dead Ball Officiating – See the whole play. See the actions of all players. Don’t react too quickly that you do not see the second action or antics of a player that is inciting an opponent to react. Be aware of the whole situation so to penalize the correct player.

Proper Mechanics and Signals - The use of proper mechanics and signals are imperative to the success of the contest and the officiating team. Proper mechanics and signals will assist in communication to your partners and will aid in the effectiveness of all officials’ calls. Officials need to continue to study, emphasize and practice proper mechanics and signals with your partners and reviewing these items in a thorough pre-game conference. This will assist the crew of officials in their game preparation and performing their duties as a cohesive unit. Officials are reminded to use non-verbal cues to communicate with your partners and assist them in their efforts. Use only proper NFHS approved mechanics and signals, enforce the rules of the level being played and call the game accordingly.

Thanks Billy. Gets me back into the mind set and wanting to get back on the court.......

Leg sleeves.....how much longer until they get to the socks????

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice ...
 

Bite your tongue.

They already did that like in 97 or 98, trying to regulate logos and size of the logos. They got rid of that the very next year. I do not see that happening again.

Peace

Ignore The Eight Hundred Pound T-Word In The Room ...
 

Very long socks, any color, or two different colors, that go up past the bottom of the shorts? Very long white, beige, or a single solid school color, leg compression sleeves, same color for each team member, that start under the socks and go up past the bottom of the shorts?

You mean like this in the NCAA Rule Book?

NCAA 3-8-1
A single manufacturer’s or distributor’s normal logo, label or trademark meeting the size restrictions of 3-8.2 is permitted once on the game jersey, once on the game pants and once on all other items of apparel excluding the undershirt.

Yes, that includes socks and yes I've heard of it being enforced (i.e., players being told to roll their socks down so both manufacturers' logos aren't showing). And yes, it's not a well-liked rule.

Sock It To Me ...
 

Wouldn't they have to only roll one sock down?

Head In The Sand ...
 

Why not just allow tights, but put them under color, and logo, restrictions like other commonly worn player equipment?

Talkin to yourself ??????
 

BM - You can't start a thread and then have 80% of the posts.......;););)

How Else Will I Get Enough Posts To Become An Esteemed Forum Member ???
 

Blame grunewar. He got me started.

Sorry guys. I've had my catharsis. I'm alright now. I'm sorry that I had to put all of you through that.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5251/5...ca118730_m.jpg

OK folks. Show's over. Move along. Nothing to see here.

It's A Free Country ...
 

As I used to try to tell my parents, all the time. For some reason, it never worked.

Who says?

That is fundamentally stupid. The offense doesn't deserve the extra help because they are the ones that lost control of the ball...probably through a bad pass. We're supposed to judge the legality of the players' actions, not help them in their actions.

Are we to give the tip when the ball is heading OOB so one team or the other can know they don't have to save the ball?

Are we also going to yell out when the ball handler is getting close to a boundary line so they don't step OOB???

I think the signal is really for your partner, not anyone else. Any signal that gives information IMO is not really a bad thing. It is like the kicked signal we used for years and then the NF finally recognized we had to tell people why we called a violation.

Peace

One Time That I Glad That I Use IAABO Mechanics ...,
 

Not according to the NFHS: "This signal increases the official's ability to communicate with the players, coaches and fans on critical plays".

I know what they said, but that is not the real benefit of the signal and not the reason officials used the signal in the first place. Officials were using this signal long before the NF approved it.

Peace

The rule applies to each item of clothing. Since most socks have two logos both have to be rolled down. That's why those Nike Elite basketball socks started popping up. If you notice, each sock only has one logo so they're legal in the NCAA.

http://i41.tinypic.com/2v8hbh2.jpg

Semantics, Shemantics ???
 

So a single pair of socks is considered to be two items of clothing. Interesting. Sometimes it's good to be just a high school official.

JetMetFan: FYI, spell check changes "JetMetFan" to "Comedian". Also interesting.

9 for 18 ??????
 

You have 50% of the posts on this site....

Kinda like missing a lay up 5 times to pad your rebound your stats.....And then making the 6th shot....

Yeah, but it messes up your shooting percentage! ;)

BM's percentages of good posts is pretty low.......

He is a subscriber to quantity over quality.....

With the teams I support I have to laugh to avoid crying.

This is the least-enforced of the fashion police rules I can think of. My supervisor reminds us to remind the teams again in February, especially those that might advance to the NCAAs. That way they don't get any surprises in March.

That may be the way you're using it but they're pretty much telling us to help the players play.

The kick signal you referred to above was used after the whistle to communicate what the call was. It was not an aide to the player while the ball was still in play.

Originally Posted by BillyMac
2013-14 BASKETBALL RULES CHANGES

TIP SIGNAL: This signal increases the official's ability to communicate with the players, coaches and fans on critical plays. Immediately communicating whether or not the defense tipped the ball allows the offensive team to immediately know whether or not they can recover the ball without penalty. Having no signal actually gives the defense an unfair advantage as they do not need to know which team caused the ball to enter the backcourt, they can recover the ball without penalty regardless.

Why should that matter to the offense? They still need to be the first to recover the ball to prevent an easy score by the opponent regardless of whether the ball was tipped or not.

How does a tip signal help the offense? As stated above, if the ball is loose in the backcourt, the offense will try to go and get it whether it is a violation or not. The main value I see is to keep some partners I could name from calling a violation right in front of me from 60 feet away. It might also keep the 3 knowledgeable fans in the house from yelling for a violation. The other 300 will yell for it anyway.

The offense can choose to get it immediately or to get into a position to either defend if the can or perhaps let the opponent touch it first then try to get it.

I think the signal should NOT be immediate but only upon someone touching it if it wasn't obvious. Any moment before that and we're influencing the actual play.

Getting it immediately gives the offense the opportunity to get all players back to defend. I've never seen a player ignore a chance to touch the ball to hurry back to a defensive position instead.


Not gonna say it never happens, but this is a really bad idea.



In my experience this is the way the signal is used, and probably will continue to be.

I have. I've seen players hover over the ball as it rolled towards the backcourt endline. Only when a defender approached did they grab it. They thought they had touched it last and expected a violation but I'm guessing they wanted to let the clock run just a bit longer. If I were to indicate tip, that would be a signal to them that it was safe to pick up the ball. Is that really fair? Shouldn't they have to play based on what they see and hear instead of looking to us for information?

Hot Potato ...
 

Me too, in little kid's games. They know that it's wrong to touch the ball first, so they hover, waiting for an opportunity to scoop up the ball after it's been touched by an opponent. I've seen this dozens of times, as a young player, a middle school coach, and an official, and I've never, ever, seen it work.

Now that you mention it.....
 

Me neither.

Most likely the O-player will make that decision based on who he thinks has the best possibility to get to the ball and not on our signal/no signal (which he may not even notice anyway.) I'm not totally opposed to the mechanic, I just think the rationale is weak and, that it might encourage some officials to expand its use to other situations (such as blocked shots) which we have always discouraged.

It may be more likely that others in the gym are more likely to see the signal (partners, coaches, fans, and other players) than the one ot two players going after the ball.......

"This signal increases the official's ability to communicate with the players, coaches and fans on critical plays." (period)

Right. What you said and the NFHS statement above is sufficient. To me, the rest of the verbiage is what I felt to be weak.

I've seen it in HS varsity. And to the point of letting the clock run, I've seen it work. Why not get 3-4 more seconds off the clock with a 4 point lead with 30 seconds to go. But if they knew they could pick it up, they would. I don't like that advantage.

A visible count also gives information, so what's the big deal?

IMO - under the pressure of a game situation, I don't think a lot of players are that "basketball smart."

Do you tell them what the count is or yell pass it when you get to 4?

I've seen it too. Either this past season or in '11-12 I had a BV player ask me whether he could touch the ball as he was running into the backcourt. The kid let it keep rolling since I didn't answer him...and let the defender pick up the ball. After his coach yelled at him he said "but the ref didn't tell me whether I could pick it up!" Happily, his coach told him he should have picked it up regardless.

Do you yell out "tipped ball"?

I have never been under the impression that any of the players directly involved in the play even knows what we are signaling or doing. Usually the play happens so fast that if we are going to call a violation there is no time to give this signal in the first place. I have given the signal when I was telling others why I was not calling a violation, but that is rather rare.

Peace

A player chasing a basketball rarely turns his head to see if the official is giving some kind of signal ;)

An offensive player is racing for the ball to prevent an easy basket as well, which is usually the case in these situations.

Peace

Fair enough. Let me rephrase....

When you count, to you indicate the count you are on with your fingers so they can see how far into the count you are?

You make it sound like people are actually paying that close attention to us in the first place. Sorry, they do not. I have called closely guarded violations and my signal is rather deliberate and teams are often surprised when the violation by me is called. You are giving players too much credit for watching what we are doing. Usually a coach is the one yelling out that we started a count (In my experience) and that is when the ball is isolated and not moving near the division line.

Peace

Me, personally, no. But I've met some officials who do. Also some who count out loud.

I think this is a whole bunch ado about nothing. Most times the tip signal is given immediately as information to whomever is looking. It's not like we're continously giving the signal until the ball is recovered or like a player turns to us as the ball is rolling away then we give the signal in response.

I agree...there was no problem that needed fixing. The only thing that I take issue with is the NFHS's stated purpose that it is intended to communicate to the players...not that they'll actually be able to see it and use the info. It just doesn't make sense.

He's Counting ...
 

Sometimes they'll (offense, or defense) take a peek out of the corner of their eye to see if the official is counting for a closely guarded situation.

I think this signal is for the coaches. If a coach is expecting a back-court violation, the tip signal given by one or even two officials lets him know why no call is being made.

That could always have been done after it is picked up.

Bingo.