6 Players, T or not?
 

A friend called me late Tuesday with this situation:
Girls Varsity -
A1 at the free throw line for 2 shots. After the 1st, team B sends in subs. With the ball in the hands of free thrower A1, officials realize that there are 6 B players on the floor. How do we handle it?

Rule book:

Team Technical assessed to B.

Clear line for A1's 2nd free throw, then any 2 Team A players may shoot the Technical free throws, Team A throw-in at the division line.

So, we hit the whistle immediately, even though the ball is at the disposal of the free thrower?

If she has already started her shooting motion, I am delaying my whistle for the technical. If not, then I am blowing right away. Similar in my opinion to delaying a technical on coach B when team A has a fastbreak opportunity.

Yes, I'm killing it.

While all this is going on I am also bowing my head in shame (as a crew). We screwed up, and they are paying for it. I don’t know of any pre-game I have been a part of where communication wasn't the first and last thing discussed. If the offending coach is going ape, I am offering up the trail as a sacrifice.:D

Since two more FTs are coming it makes practical sense to stop play before A1 shoots her 2nd FT. If she misses the 2nd and there's a rebound you're going to have to blow the play dead anyway and Heaven help you if there's a foul of some sort on that play. The goal is blow the whistle before the shot goes up or - if it's out of her hand - before it hits the rim.

The last part of this, of course, is you get to explain to you assignor why no one wearing stripes was able to count higher than five on each side.

Free throws are the last situation where this should happen. Bringing in the subs involves counting who came in and who went out. You've already got play stopped, do an extra count when you have multiple subs.

That said, it's still on the coach to get his subs out. I'll regret not counting properly, but I won't lose any sleep over it.

+1! The only way this would not be true is if the trail had checked and there were no subs waiting to enter and signaled the lead he/she was "good to go" then someone decided they needed to enter the game and just ran on the floor.

Even at the varsity level this is possible...sadly at some of the schools in this area maybe even probable.