Fouled called, but number reported incorrectly
 

Described to me by several people who witnessed it, but couldn't definitively say if my interpretation was correct or not.

Situation: NFHS rules. Referee call foul against team and reports number. Table buzzes horn to inform the referee that there is no player on the team by that number. Referees confer as to who the player was, but none of them know who the foul was called on.

So, other than the obvious answer of, "The calling official needs to be a bit more observant", how is it decided as to who is charged the foul?

My answer to these fans was that I thought the foul is charged to the team and counts against their team foul count, but no individual is charged. It seems as if I've heard that in the past, but I couldn't find anything definitive in the rules book, case book, or official's manual. So if anyone knows the answer, a rules citing would be appreciated.

That's how I'd do it. And as much as we can all say "he should have...", the fact is, crap happens. The best way out of this bad situation is simple; just charge it to the team and put a footnote in the book if necessary.

I have two thoughts here, Sometimes after I have reported the foul, It was on 21 and 12 is shooting 2.

I think " Did I say the foul was on 21 or 12"?

I get it right over 99% of the time, but with numbers like that it makes me think.

Same thing happened to a friend in a game, he calls the foul loses the fouler and gets the officials together. No one knows.

He comes to the lane and says, "who committed the foul"? No one replies, he says " I am giving it to 14" 14 says " It wasn't me, it was 21" He got his fouler....

For Bill Mac, Do you remember when home wore even numbers and the road teams wore odd numbers?

The Old Line State ...
 

That must be a Maryland "thing". As a player, coach, and official, I never heard of that system.

the "olden" days
 

Mr Billy Mac may not know of that practice, but back in the olden days in Illinois that was the way things were done in the high school basketball.

Sounds like someone got trained by Stan Rote....LOL

I seem to remember Iowa doing this for girls basketball back in the days when they still played six-on-six for girls.

Had a team a couple of weeks ago where the only numbers on the players jerseys were some combination of 1, 2, and 5: (1, 11, 12, 15, 2, 21, 22, 25, 5, 51, 52, and 55).

Oh, and three of the players on one team had jersey #25. A bit of athletic tape later, and we had #2, #5, and #25.

This happened in a game earlier this year. My partner reported the foul, I'm about to administer the free throws and table buzzes.

Our third partner and the calling official get together. I can tell there is some confusion. Third partner walks into the lane and says "Okay, someone is getting this foul, who did it?" 3 people in the lane pointed at their teammate. And he was the big man. As a former guard, I would have taken the foul all day every day. Made me laugh :D

Waaaay back, in the 60's, in Washington state, as a junior, I wore 10 at home games and 11 on the road. At the end of the season, our coach told me that Scott, a senior, and our #12/13, and I, had both received votes for all-conference, but that the coach was sure they were meant for me, so I accompanied him to the Awards Banquet . . . no free-throws involved . . .

We did it when I played in Iowa. White jerseys were even numbers, dark jerseys were odd numbers.

I like that! There have been a few times I’ve asked the table (they are table officials, after all) if I think they’re competent enough. I’m more inclined to do that when the folks at the table are adults.

I’m not too hot on giving one to the team. I’m definitely going to remember the “I’m giving the foul to…” strategy.

A good table will ask a leading question "Are you sure you didn't mean #15?" ;)

That's the worst feeling for an official….report the foul on who you think called the foul, after going to your partners and the table….and get the ball live a soon as possible and move on.

Memories.....
 

Oh wow, dust off the memory banks
I remember that...back in the mid 70's. I don't know if it was a rule or a "practice". When at home #20 (white jersey) on the road #21 (dark jersey).

When Shorts Really Were
 

Ditto.
Only time I was not #11 in any sport in my not-really-all-that-stellar multi-sport high school career was when light-colored home jersey was #12.
Record here for most hyphens used in one sentence.

How do you handle it if you aren't sure of the shooter. Here is the situation. A1 shoots a three from right in front of T. Me as lead see B2 two hand shove A2 trying to get position for the rebound. I have the foul and went to ask if the basket went. It did so I report the made basket and report the foul. It should have been a one and one and everyone is lined up for a free throw. A1 shoots and makes and then the other team grabs the ball and heads out of bounds for a throw in. Here is where I realize that my partner apparently thought I called a foul on the shooter and not a rebounding foul. I blow it dead and we get together. By this time I have no idea who the real shooter should be. Partner who is a varsity official says "we could have just gone with it and no one would have known." :roll eyes: so we waved off the original. FT and just picked one of the four other players it could have been. Thoughts?

Use your voice when you call the foul "Push on B2 -- A2 is my shooter". This will help you and your partner remember.

(As an aside, depednign a little on the severity of the push -- if there was no rebound, here really wasn't much of an advantage -- so maybe this wasn't really a foul.)

I did think about the possibility of it not being a foul, but I thought a good two handed shove deserved the foul. Thanks for the advice for next time. I will definitely remember for next time. I am going to try and get in the habit of remembering fouler and fouled every time, even on non shooting fouls, just so I am in the habit for when this situation happens again.

And as a second question bob, when would you whistle the foul if it wasn't as severe and obvious as my situation but still provided an advantage after the shot was missed? Could it be a really really late whistle?

What is your opinion on how to handle an unknown shooter?

On rebounding fouls, I'll sometimes wait to see if the right player gets possession of the rebound. Sometimes that results in a late whistle. Occasionally, it's "too late". Had one a couple of seasons ago that looked really bad because by the time I had a whistle on the initial foul, it looked like I was needing some vision work.

As soon as it provides an advantage -- the ball goes over the head of the player who was pushed underneath, for example.

If you don't know the shooter, you can try to get the players to figure it out. You could go to the captain and say "Are you sure you want that guy at the line? Because if the wrong player shoots, it's a T?" (and act like you know for certain who the shooter is supposed to be).

If you don't know who the foul is on, or don't know who the shooter should be:

1. Ask your partners, they should know or at least know who it is not
2. Ask the table, the two scorers should ideally agree
3. Gather the players together and ask them (tell them to be honest or you will find out, generally they will point to the same guy)
4. Pick a random player
5. Ask the coaches (absolute last resort, not a good idea)