Shooting Foul? (Video)

Originally Posted by JetMetFan

I was waiting for someone else to say that

If the calling official just waits a beat after blowing his whistle he might have gotten it right. It would have given him time to process:

*She stopped dribbling...
*10 feet from the basket...
*With no teammates in sight, therefore...
*What the heck else was she going to do other than shoot?

Also, had he switched after the foul his partner might have been able to give him a nudge in the right direction by gently - and quietly - asking, "Are we counting that?"

If he still was going to (incorrectly) call it a non-shooting foul he really needed to be less nonchalant about waving off the goal. The way he did it tells me he had an "oh crap, that wasn't supposed to happen" moment when the ball went in.

It really is amazing what whistle timing can do for you. I've noticed my call percentages go up as I wait for the play to finish and then decide whether I need a whistle. There are lots of plays that start out as marginal (like the OP play) and develop into something more obvious that needs calling.

I'm not totally sure that suggesting a change to your partner during a switch is a good idea. If you want him to get it as shooting you should get to him before he leaves the area to go report and have a brief chat there. Plus given the narrow-minded view of continuation by most coaches I doubt the opposing coach would be very happy in getting your partner to change his call so late on something that looks like NBA-length continuation.

Lead in the OP does need to sell it better, but perhaps it's perfect for the level of play that he desires to work.