6 on the court
 

Following a Time Out Team A has the ball for a throw-in. They complete the throw-in and A1 is dribbling. Coach B realizes he has 6 on the court. B6 runs off the court. An official observes this but lets play to continue. Team A misses a shot an Team B rebounds the ball. As they are moving the ball up the court. Coach B requests and is granted a Time Out. The officials huddle during the TO. Can they still call a Technical foul for too many players on tge court?

No. It must be called while it is occurring.

Why would an official observe this and let play continue?
The only reason that I can surmise is that a scoring play was in progress by the team with the correct number of team members on the court, so the whistle was temporarily withheld. Of course, it should be blown as soon as the scoring play is over.

This foul is penalized if discovered while being violated. Therefore, when an official discovers that a team is violating this rule, a foul occurs at that moment. Therefore, by 6-7-7, the ball becomes dead at that moment unless a try or tap is in flight or continuous motion applies. Since the only person who knows when exactly the foul occurs is the official who calls the foul, an official could easily hold off on the whistle if it seems like the fouling team's opponent has an obvious advantage, but technically, an official should wave off the basket if he notices there are six players before continuous motion applies.

It seems that technical fouls are a bit different from normal fouls or violations in that the spirit and intent of the rules which demands that a team not unfairly gain an advantage from breaking the rules allows some additional leeway.
Here is the Case Play supporting an official delaying the whistle and the ball remaining live after the commission of an act that warrants a technical foul, even when a try is not taking place.

10.4.1 SITUATION F:

A1 is driving toward the basket for an apparent goal when the official, while trailing the play advancing in the direction in which the ball is being advanced, is cursed by the head coach or bench personnel of Team B. How should the official handle this situation?

RULING: The official shall withhold blowing the whistle until A1 has either made or missed the shot. The official shall then sound the whistle and assess the Team B head coach or bench personnel with a technical foul. If the official judges the act to be flagrant, the offender shall be ejected. If A's coach or bench personnel was the offender, the whistle shall be sounded immediately when the unsporting act occurs. (10-4-1a)

La Ricardo and Nevadaref your points are well taken but they don't seem to apply to my post. A1 is slowly advancing up the court when the extra player was noticed. Plus they allowed Team B to get the rebound and slowly advance the ball to mid court before calling TO.
Case play 10.1.6 is sort of similar. That play states the official notices the extra play but cannot sound the whistle before the game ends. In my post the official does not make any attempt until the time out.

In that case, see post #2

There are quite a few officials that believe a technical for 6 on the court should never or almost never be called because it is the fault of the officials for allowing 6 on the court.

I am just trying to find out if anyone here could find a wrinkle in the rules that would allow the official to call this a technical foul. When I saw the play occure I did not think that a Technical foul could be called. After I looked in the Rule/Case books I still could not find a reason to call a T. And people seem to agree that it was too late to assess a T.
But the crew in the game did call a T.
Thanks for the discussion

Penalized if discovered while being violated.

Are some saying that once the player steps off the court it's too late? Coach B yells, B1 quickly sits down, then officials immediately count 5 still on the court. At this point I think you call it. In the OP significant action occurs after the player leaves, followed by a timeout and a conference. Too late now.

Maybe?
 

Maybe they were thinking it was a substitute and using 10.2.2. If you look at the Casebook, it says you have until the next live ball following the first dead ball to administer the T.

I wouldn't think this applies thought since the situation is "During a live ball and with the clock running, substitute A6 enters the court". I believe you said the sub was on when the ball became live.

I am not saying they were right and this applies to your situation. I am just giving you a scenario where they would be correct if the situation matched.

Edit - This was the justification on the 2014 IAABO refresher exam for question #33 which asked "Substitute B-6 enters the court while the live ball is in control of Team A and the clock is running. The officials are unaware that Team B has 6 players in the game. B-6 returns to the bench after which Team A requests and is granted a time-out. The scorer now informs the officials that Team B had 6 players on the court. The Referee rules the statute of limitations to penalize has expired. Is the official correct? ". I specifically remember this because I was surprised they said we could use the table for more information.

If I see him leave the court and then count 5, I'll call the T. If I see him leave the court and ignore it for 30 seconds, I can't go back and call that any more than I could call the travel I passed on last time up the court.

agree

Too late to call a T but my question is, why wasn't it caught by the official putting the ball into play after the TO?. I always count the number of players to ensure there are only 5 from each team on the floor prior to putting the ball into play. I just thought that was SOP

Robby

It is, but sometimes it happens. I count every time, but I've still had to call the T once. Players move around, sometimes making it hard to count them. Sometimes we miss one because we've counted to 5 so many times we don't really look THAT closely.

It's still on the coach.

Do you know for certain that the official noticed this as it was happening?

You say "An official observes this but lets play to continue", but short of speaking with the official after the fact, how do you know the official saw this? If the officials can miss 6 players enter the courtafter a TO, they can miss 1 leaving the court.

It's More Complex Than Most Think ...
 

I tried writing an article on "too many players" a few years ago. The more I got into the weeds of the rulebook, the more I became confused, and never wrote the article.

Here's are some notes off my hard drive.

I’m having problems fully understanding the administration of the 10-1-6 (more than five team members participating simultaneously) penalty.

Here is the rule that it’s based on: NFHS 10-1-6: A team shall not: Have more than five team members participating simultaneously. If discovered while being violated.

Here’s the only casebook play involving more than five team members participating simultaneously: 10.1.6 SITUATION: With Team A leading 51 to 50, a held ball is called. A6 properly reports and enters the game. Time is then called by Team A. The clock shows two seconds remaining in the game. After play is resumed by a throw-in, the officials: (a) recognize that A has six players competing, but cannot get the clock stopped; or (b) do not notice Team A has six players on the court. Following the throw-in, time expires. Team B now reports to the officials that Team A had six players on the court. RULING: In (a), since one of the officials had knowledge that Team A had six players participating simultaneously and this was detected prior to time expiring, a technical foul is assessed against Team A. In (b), since it was not recognized by either official, but was called to their attention after time had expired, it is too late to assess any penalty.

Here’s my problem. I wish that the NFHS was more definitive about what "participating" means, as well as what "while being violated" means. If there are six team members participating, does it matter whether, or not, the ball is dead, live, clock running, clock not running, or if there is, or isn't, a timeout (not an intermission)? What defines whether, or not, a player is participating? Does it have to be during a live ball, clock running, situation? Can it be during a live ball, clock stopped situation, i.e., ball at disposal of free throw shooter? Can it be during a dead ball, clock running situation, i.e. dead ball immediately after a made field goal? How about during a dead ball, clock stopped situation, i.e during a timeout?

Here are some situations that are confusing me:

A) Head coach of Team B requests, and is granted, a timeout, at which point he immediately complains to the officials that Team A has six team members participating. The sole purpose of his timeout is to call attention to the officials that Team A has six team members participating. Officials, who have been unaware that six team members have been participating up until that point, count six Team A members on the court before they head into their timeout huddle. The ball is dead, and the clock is stopped. What’s the call? Please note that in 10.1.6 SITUATION (b) (above) the officials were not aware of the additional player until after time expires, which, to me, means the same as an intermission, when all team members are bench personnel. The situation that I have described here in not during an intermission, but is during a timeout.

B) Team B head coach yells to nearest official that there are six Team A players participating. Official sounds whistle to stop the action to count the players and discovers that there are six Team A team members on the court during this dead ball, clock stopped, situation. What's the call?

C) Team A has six team members participating, which goes unobserved by the officials. Official calls a travel violation on Team A. There are no substitutions after the whistle. Before administering the throw in, officials observe that Team A has six team members participating. The ball is dead, and the clock is stopped. What’s the call?

D) Team A has six players on the court. Officials are unaware of this infraction. Team A has been awarded two free throws. The first free throw is missed. No substitutions are made. Before bouncing the ball to the free thrower for his second free throw, the officials realize that Team A has six players on the court. The ball is dead, and the clock is stopped. What’s the call?

E) The last Team A free throw attempt is successful. The clock hasn't started. Six team members on Team A are setting up a full court press. Officials become aware of the extra player before the ball is at the disposal of Team B for a run-the-endline throwin. The ball is dead, and the clock is stopped. What’s the call?

F) Team A has six players on the court. Officials are unaware of this infraction. Team A has been awarded two free throws. The first free throw is missed. No substitutions are made. After bouncing the ball to the free thrower, and with the ball at the free thrower's disposal for his second free throw, the officials realize that Team A has six players on the court. The ball is live, and the clock is stopped. What’s the call?

G) Team A scores a field goal. Six team members on Team A are setting up a full court press. Officials become aware of the extra player before the ball is at the disposal of Team B for a run-the-endline throwin. The ball is dead, and the clock is running. What’s the call?

At the very least, this should emphasis why officials must take their time, and do everything that they can possibly do, using good mechanics, to prevent situations like these from happening.

Participating:

It should mean becoming a player, but the NFHS didn't write the rules that way, so it actually means to be on the court during a live ball. Being beckoned in and becoming a player is not enough.

3.5.6 SITUATION A:
Substitute A6 is beckoned and enters the court to replace
A1. A6 is wearing: (a) compression shorts below the game pants which extend
below the knees; (b) cut-off jeans extending below the game pants; or (c) jewelry.
RULING:
The items in (a), (b) and (c) are illegal and A6 will not be allowed to
participate while wearing the items. No penalty is involved. A6 simply cannot
participate until the illegal items are removed. (3-5-7)

3.6.1 SITUATION:
A6 enters the game with an excessive manufacturer’s or
school’s logo on his/her: (a) socks; or (b) wristbands. RULING: Legal in (a). In
(b), A6 may not participate and is directed to return to the bench until legally
equipped. COMMENT: The restriction on visible manufacturer’s or school’s logo
size is in effect on pants/skirts, compression shorts, wristbands and headbands.
The shoes and socks are not considered part of the uniform for purpose of visible
logo size.

4.34.3 SITUATION:
Substitute A6 reports to the scorer to replace player A1 and
awaits entry to the game. The U2 beckons A6 onto the court, and (a) A6 enters
the court to participate; (b) A6 enters the court and commits an unsporting, noncontact
foul; or (c) A1 swears at the official while heading to the bench. RULING:
A6 became a player upon being beckoned by the official and entering the court.
Legal in (a). In (b) A6, now a player, is penalized with a technical foul which is
added to the team foul total. In (c) A1, now bench personnel, is penalized with a
technical foul, which is added to the team foul total and also charged as an indirect
technical foul to the head coach.

10.5.3 SITUATION:
A5 has just received his/her fifth foul of the game. A5 (a) is
erroneously permitted to remain in the game for another two minutes before the
scorer realizes the mistake; or (b) leaves the game after the coach is notified of
the disqualification. At the intermission between the third and fourth quarter, A5
reports as a substitute and subsequently enters the game. RULING: In (a), as
soon as the error is discovered, the player is removed from the game, no penalties
are assessed. In (b), A5 will not actually "participate" until the ball becomes
live. If detected prior to the ball becoming live, A5 would be directed to the bench
and no penalty assessed unless the official deemed it was a deliberate attempt to
circumvent the rules. If detected after the ball becomes live, it is a technical foul
charged directly to the head coach. The player is immediately removed from the
game and Team B is awarded two free throws and the ball. (2-11-5 Note 2)

NCAA bulletin
In a recent game, six players participated in the game for one team. Several officials and administrators asked for clarification and we are releasing the following play situation:

SITUATION: Team A has six players on the playing court when the ball is made live with five seconds remaining in the game. A1’s successful field goal attempt is in the air when the time expires ending the game. Immediately after the expiration of time and before the officials have left the playing court, one of the officials observes that Team A had six players on the court when the basket was scored. What is the correct ruling?

RULING: The field goal shall count because A6 became a player when the ball became alive (Rule 3-4.1.c). However, the game has not ended since the officials have not left the court, which ends their jurisdiction and approves the score. The officials should award Team B two free throws and the game will continue with an overtime period if both free throws are successful (Rule 2-4.4, 5-7.7. and 10-2.6).

Further Comment: Rule 10-2.6 requires that the sixth player participate when the ball is alive. There is no time limit within which the officials have to recognize and penalize this technical foul. However, the officials must see the violation occur or have personal knowledge that it did occur in order to penalize the infraction. A monitor may not be used to obtain such knowledge (Rule 10-2.6, 2-13.2 and 5-7.7).

I Hated This Question ...
 

I was sitting right behind the Scorers Table. 5 rows. The Ball was inbounded right in front of Team B. The 6th player walked off the court right in front of the Official that was putting the ball in play. Coach A put a earful into the official as this was happening.
That is how I know the official knew.
I wanted to go into the locker room after the game. I knew the officials, but I stayed in my seat and waited for the next game.:D