You are out of line. I didn't add any of the unnecessary and insulting modifers that you did.

My point is merely that a coach shouldn't complain about an official who adheres to the rule. Sadly, that is what you are doing. You want something more than to which you and your team are entitled.

Exactly (Almost) ...
 

Minus the part about a few seconds late, that's exactly when I do it, after the first horn warning, including an oral warning of, "First horn", wait an extra ten seconds, or so, sounding my whistle as loud as I can, yelling, "Blue ball, blue ball", as loud as I can, and seeing blue finally break the huddle, heading toward the court; that's when I put it down, and start my slightly slow, exaggerated, highly visible, five second count signal. The result won't be a five second violation, but it will be a warning that the next time I may put the ball down for real. There usually isn't a next time, not for several years.

I'd recommend following the standard in your area.

some places -- it's second horn, wait 1 second, whistle, ball in play.

some places -- it's second horn, talk to the huddle, clap your hands, if even one player is starting to move toward the floor wait, .....

most places -- it's somewhere in-between.

It should be the first. But, just like the "automatic fouls", until EVERYONE gets on the same page, and the coaches know it's coming, and they accept that it's their "fault" if the team isn't out on time, ... it won't change.

I put the ball down for the first time in probably ten years last week after waiting about 5 seconds with no sign of breaking the huddle at all.

If you show that you're breaking the huddle I'll wait but if you're just ignoring the horn, especially if the opponent has honored it, we're not being fair if we don't set it down.

Exactly. It's one of my favorite moments when I give the ball to a team who is ready at the second horn and they are able to score an easy layup as the other team is sprinting to try and get into position. Usually clears up any problem we have getting them out of the huddle in the future.

In the games I work, it would be the perfect recipe for a technical foul.

If you're serious, this is horrible advice unless everyone does it that way where you live and it's expected.

One time is fine....but consistently doing so is showing direct disrespect to the officials.

I save this technique for the AAU and travel youth ball leagues.

Sorry about that. I thought the sarcastic "true coach" was meant as an insult.

In our area, this is how it is handled 99% of the time: If it's the first time a team is a couple seconds late out of the huddle, and they're hustling out, then the ball isn't set down.

It is rare, but when I do see an official set the ball down under those circumstances, I'm sorry, but I do consider it overly-officious and uppity.

I'm not asking for more than my team is entitled - just consistency.

Its not the "few seconds late" that most of us officials have an issue with. Its the coach who is still drawing on the board when the second horn blows, and then his team isn't on the floor for another 15 seconds while he finishes what he is telling his team, and then throws a huddle break chant on top of it. Its your world Coach, we're just living in it.

No, but if I warned you 5 days straight and every day you increased your speed by a few mph then I would then ticket you. If you kept going 57 I probably wouldn't notice.

If he did get a ticket for going 57, I'm curious what his argument would be in court.
"I was only slightly speeding."
"I wasn't breaking the law by much."
"What I did was illegal, but I still shouldn't be punished."

And, I would add that they then break the huddle followed by a slow walk onto the court. I completely understand your issue with that behavior.

I would argue selective, biased enforcement. Which is what I've been arguing all along.

To be fair, if this happened in an NBA game, the team would be assessed a delay of game warning. So a team is only gonna do this once before being assessed a technical.

Put me in the camp though of doing absolutely everything to avoid the ROP. If they're coming out late enough for you to consider doing this, I can almost guarantee they've done this early in the game. IF you're gonna use the ROP, I'd be using it earlier in the game. I don't want the first time to be in the fourth quarter.