Double dribble
 

I was at a girls basketball game last night as a spectator. A girl dribbled close to foul line, picked up the ball and looked around for someone open and then started a dribble again. There was no call. When a girl picks up her dribble there are lots of things that you have to watch which may take your mind off the fact she had already dribbled. I wondered how often this may have happtened in one of my games. Curious how the veterns keep track.

That's our job.

How do you determine if a defender has LGP? How do you know if a player sets an illegal screen? How do you determine a foul vs incidental contact?

Practice. Seeing plays. Concentration. To name just a few.

Really shouldnt be any reason to loose track. I know a few guys that like to keep talking to themselves mentally during the play to keep track.

The times I've seen where they get away with is 2-man games where the T gets straightlined,of course getting straightlined in 2/3 from any position is a good way to miss a lot of stuff, and is looking through the ball handler's back on a quick pick-up and dribble.

Happens to the best of us:

<iframe width="640" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/uTxb_EJnNFQ?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Nothing special, when the player freezes or starts shuffling around for more than 5 seconds people start to forget whether the guy dribbled, or more frequently which foot was his pivot foot.

It happens. Just like those dog-gone false double vowels. :)

I don't think there's any trick to it, you just have to pay close attention. Anything a player does casually, naturally is much more likely to be missed. In the posted video here, I think the player himself had forgotten, so it's not hard to imagine that the officials did too. Another one I have seen. A player tucks the ball under one arm and stands for an extended length of time to hold for the last shot. Just before time to start the last shot sequence, the ball handler will wipe both shoes clean. oops

Not a travel, no advantage.

Advantage not required.
There certainly is an advantage here, though, in that the player is allowed to fix a traction issue.

I assumed he was kidding.

I was being serious, otherwise I would have thrown in a :p.

I agree, advantage not required by rule but that seems to be the direction in which a lot of high-level (TV) basketball is headed.

I don't do a lot of high level (TV) basketball, do you?

Nope.

New NFHS directive: Regardless of what the rule says, if you see it done at higher levels (on TV) call it that way.


I'm still hoping he's kidding.

So the recent directives on contact with a ball handler needing to be whistled without consideration of any advantage or disadvantage fits into your theory how?