NFHS Closely Guarded Rule History

[bob jenkins]

That has been the FED rule for a long time.

[SC Official]

A coach that felt bad about not knowing the rules and differences between high school and college? There is hope!

But seriously, that's been the rule for awhile. It's not common to have a closely guarded violation on a defensive switch, so most non-officials will not know that rule.

[mutantducky]

I called a CG this week. easy call, no controversy. But, I was thinking after where would you stop the count. So you start it at the top, then the guard dribbles down the side and the defender is right with him on the side. I was just thinking where you would stop? I will always stop if the offensive player gets in front. But is that the whole body, the upper torso?
These kind of calls are usually by feel so probably minor but I wasn't 100% certain if I have a situation like that.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by mutantducky

I called a CG this week. easy call, no controversy. But, I was thinking after where would you stop the count. So you start it at the top, then the guard dribbles down the side and the defender is right with him on the side. I was just thinking where you would stop? I will always stop if the offensive player gets in front. But is that the whole body, the upper torso?
These kind of calls are usually by feel so probably minor but I wasn't 100% certain if I have a situation like that.

The rule gives you some guidance on this, I believe.

[Mark Padgett]

The rule has been around for a long time. I remember discussing it with Dr. Naismith. He put it in as a 5 minute rule because too many teams were taking 7, 8 or even 10 minutes between passes.

Here's one of the first teams to play under that rule. MTD Sr. and I worked some of their games and that rule made a big difference. Teams were now scoring more than 3 points a game!

[jTheUmp]

Originally Posted by Adam

The rule gives you some guidance on this, I believe.

Originally Posted by NFHS 4-10-1

... A closely guarded count shall be terminated when the offensive player in control of the ball gets his/her head and shoulders past the defensive player.

Originally Posted by NFHS 9-10-3

A closely guarded count shall be terminated during an interrupted dribble.

Why they put one of these in the Definitions section and one in Violations and Penalties section is one of Life's Great Mysteries.

[so cal lurker]

Originally Posted by jTheUmp

Why they put one of these in the Definitions section and one in Violations and Penalties section is one of Life's Great Mysteries.

Having recently read the HS rule book for the first time in 30 years, the structure and some of the writing almost seems like they tried to make it hard to figure out what the rules really are . . .

[crosscountry55]

Originally Posted by bob jenkins

That has been the FED rule for a long time.

And I would bet it was an NCAA rule at first, too. Chances are the NCAA changed the rule at some point. Maybe around the same time the shot clock came about, but I'm not sure.

This is where the history lesson most likely lies.