Selling a block/charge no-call
 

Under a minute left in a boys JV game, A has blown a double-digit lead in the second half and now trails by three. A1 makes a steal and goes on the fast break. B1 obtains LGP in front of the basket before A1 goes in for the layup. A1 moves to avoid B1, but still makes some contact and B1 falls hard and awkwardly to the floor. I decided not to call a foul and I'm confident in my decision. If I had called a foul it would've been PC on A1 -- B1 was certainly not guilty of a foul in my mind and A1 made an effort to avoid contact.

A's coach went crazy, yelling that I can't no-call here, that he just wanted a call one way or the other. With as hard as B1 hit the floor, I imagine that my lack of a whistle could come across as indecision. As some of you may know, my background is as a soccer referee, and when we make a big no-call we sometimes give a big NO! signal with the arms to let everyone know that we saw the contact and decided not to call a foul. Obviously this doesn't work so well in basketball, so does anyone have any tips to help sell a no-call in a situation like this?

If it is an obvious call, just call the obvious. It sounds like (without seeing the play) like an easy PC foul. You would have at least shown you were calling the game until the end. No reason IMO to not just call a foul here if it clearly was a foul to everyone. Making other signals just makes it seem like you just do not want to call something most of the time.

I think we get in more trouble by not calling fouls than when we actually call fouls.

Peace

Here was your chance to fix it. :D

Don't overthink it. When a player is setting up to try and draw a charge he wants a call to be made. Give him what he wants. He knows he is taking a risk, but the reward is getting a charge call. Unless the dribbler stops at contact (i.e. he doesn't go "through" the defender) you gotta call something.

Like I said, the contact wasn't really that hard. I think it just looked bad because B1 fell awkwardly and hit the floor hard. In a close game like this I wanted to give A the benefit of the doubt, and with that in mind this just felt like a no-call. I'm just wondering if there's anything I can do differently in the future to let everyone know that I clearly saw the contact and decided not to call a foul rather than not blowing my whistle because I was unsure.

The contact does not have to be hard. But if the players were displaced, then call a foul. It will make your life so much easier even if they disagree with the call. At least you called something. And that is what you could have done differently without seeing a video. Not sure what you can do, because any signal is not going to make everyone happy. You call will make them happy or at least show you care in a kind of a game that is out of hand.

You never make everyone happy with no-calls anyway. ;)

Peace

Flop signal
 

I have seen officials use a one hand palm upward motion to indicate a flop by the defense. In my mind it's a get your butt up off the floor - you ain't getting a PC call on that acting job signal. Personally, I do not use this unapproved signal and never will, it's way to showboatish for me.

There is no approved NFHS signal for a non-call in this situation. No whistle = no call.

If you determined that the defender obtained ILGP and the offensive player initiated contact which displaced the defender, then you should have whistled a PC foul.

This may seem harsh, but I know that you can handle it. The rest of your comments are nothing more than an attempt to rationalize your not making this call. Not really that hard, fell awkwardly, give the player the benefit of the doubt, the game was close, last few seconds remaining, blah, blah, blah. Next time just blow the whistle.

Flip Flop ...
 

Do they follow it up with a technical foul signal?

10-3-6-F: A player shall not: Commit an unsporting foul. This includes, but is not limited to, acts or conduct such as: Faking being fouled

Even If You Have To Guess ...
 

Train wrecks require a whistle.

To the OP:

The defense was in LGP. Offense intitiated contact. Defense was displaced/disadvantaged . . . whatever you want to call it. Unless you though the defender was falling hard on their own not because of the contact just call the PC.

To the quoted section above:

I feel like we've had this conversation before but falling (in my mind) does not equate to faking being fouled. Assuming there was contact. How the defense chooses to protect themselves or deal with that contact is on the defense. Even if a kid falls before contact they are allowed to back up and protect themselves in the case of contact. If them falling or stepping back causes them to avoid the contact all together they've protected themsevles but I can't call a PC because no contact occured.

It seems to me that in a close game you wouldn't want to give either team the benefit of the doubt. In a blowout, you *might* give the losing team the benefit of the doubt.

If A1's contact is what knocked B1 to the floor, you need to call the foul regardless of how hard the contact was.

How exactly would one "sell" any kind of no-call?? Selling a call means to be overly demonstrative with the signal, and/or to be really loud...how can we sell something we don't even call?

Would you have called a charge in the first half?