Baby Needs A New Pair Of Shoes ...

[BillyMac]

Girls varsity game. Sixty second time out. I'm at the circle. Partner has ball on end line. Home team breaks huddle early, and all five home players come onto the court. Visitors are still in their timeout huddle. Still no warning horn. Home point guard decides to tie her shoe, right in front of home bench, while on the playing court. She struggles with the knot, and ends up sitting on the floor, and taking off her shoe. Warning horn sounds. Visitors are still in the huddle, while she struggles to put on, and tie shoe. Horn sounds to end timeout, and visitors break huddle, and come onto the court, while point guard is still sitting on the floor, struggling to tie the shoe. I figure that she's just a few seconds away from being ready to play, so I hold up my hand to delay my partner putting the ball in play, so he delays. A few seconds turns into several seconds. Home coach, on his own volition, sends substitute for "knot challenged" point guard to table, and I allow substitute in, after the warning horn.

My other choices? Not allowing substitute and continue to wait with no penalty? Not allowing substitute and force the home team to take a timeout? Send "knot challenged" player to the bench (like discovering jewelry, or an untucked jersey, but I don't think that there's a rule for this) and ask for a substitute? Delay of game warning? Let my partner put the ball into play with the point guard still on the floor?

Comments?