BASKETBALL

Officials working high school games in California, such as Jeff Myles, Los Angeles, are used to doing so with a shot clock, as shown in the background. Starting with the 2022-23 season, a 35-second shot clock is allowed in all NFHS competition by state association adoption.

YOUR TIME STARTS … NOW

NFHS Approves Shot Clock By State Adoption

By Scott Tittrington

One of the most hotly debated topics in high school basketball will now shift from a national debate to one being discussed at the state level.

During its annual April meeting, held virtually for the second consecutive year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the NFHS Basketball Rules Committee voted to allow the use of a 35-second shot clock by state association adoption beginning with the 2022-23 season. That significant rule change, one additional rule change and a modification of one of the official signals used by game officials were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors in May.

Referee thanks Theresia Wynns, NFHS director of sports and officials education and staff liaison to the rules committee, for reviewing this information, which appears in rulebook order.

Shot Clock (2-14 NEW)

Rather than mandate high schools use a shot clock for basketball games, the rules committee opted for a bit of middle ground by choosing the state adoption route.

“We provided the committee with a lot of information regarding the shot clock, including responses to a 46-question survey sent to states currently using a shot clock,” Wynns said.

The new rule states each state association may adopt the use of a shot clock beginning with the 202223 season according to guidelines outlined in the NFHS rulebook. The

shot clock must be 35 seconds in duration, and additional guidelines include displaying two timepieces (clocks) connected to a horn that is distinctive from the game-clock horn; using an alternative timing device, such as a stopwatch at the scorer’s table, in the case of shot clock malfunctions; and allowing for corrections to the shot clock only during the shot clock period in which an error occurred and the officials have definite information relative to the mistake or malfunction.

Another key component is that a state’s adopted procedures for using the shot clock may not violate or invalidate another NFHS rule. For instance, a state may not decide to eliminate the 10-second backcourt violation (rule 9-8) as part of its shot clock adoption. Any state that changes another NFHS rule or uses a shot clock of a different time duration — multiple states currently use a 30-second version — will remain out of compliance with the NFHS.

Play 1: A state association chooses to implement a 35-second shot clock for the 2022-23 season. As part of its procedure, the state (a) eliminates the 10-second backcourt violation, or (b) eliminates the fivesecond closely guarded violation. Ruling 1: Both of these procedures are not allowed according to NFHS rules as they alter a different part of the NFHS rulebook as part of the state’s shot clock adoption. The state would be out of NFHS compliance in both instances.

Play 2: A state association chooses to implement a 35-second shot clock for its boys’ basketball games and (a) a 30-second shot clock for its girls’

basketball games, or (b) no shot clock for its girls’ basketball games. Ruling 2: In (a), the state would be out of NFHS compliance, as the only acceptable duration for the shot clock in either boys’ or girls’ games is 35 seconds. In (b), the state would remain in compliance, as it is simply choosing not to have a shot clock for its girls’ games.

Team Member’s Equipment, Apparel (3-5-4e)

The rule legislating head coverings has been changed so that players wearing them for religious reasons may do so without obtaining state association approval (see PlayPics, below). Previously, an exception to rule 3-5-4e allowed state associations to approve such head coverings with documented evidence that the coverings were for religious reasons. The head covering shall not be made of abrasive or hard materials and must be attached so that it is highly unlikely to come off during play. Basketball is the sixth sport to adopt a rule related to the wearing of head coverings or other equipment for religious reasons, following volleyball, field hockey, soccer, spirit and swimming and diving. Play 3: Game officials notice a player on the home team is warming up with a head covering. The player tells the officials it is a religious head covering, and the officials notice it does not violate any of the provisions of rule 3-5-4e. Ruling 3: The head covering is legal. Play 4: Game officials notice a a 30-second shot clock for its girls’ player on the home team is warming player on the home team is warming

BY THE NUMBERS 11

The number of consecutive NBA playoff games lost by Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul that have been worked by NBA official Scott Foster. Paul negatively alluded to this stat following a May 27 firstround loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

SOURCE: AZCENTRAL.COM

THEY SAID IT

“Taking in the outside stresses of travel, stresses of travel, separation from family, lack of sleep, nutrition, I lack of sleep, nutrition, I don’t think there is a don’t think there is a group in professional group in professional sports that is under sports that is under the same level of the same level of stress that NBA stress that NBA referees are referees are under.” under.” – NBA official Marc Davis

SOURCE: GQ.COM

SIDELINE

NBA Seeks Tech Solutions for Officials Training

The NBA in June announced the unveiling of NBA Launchpad, an initiative to source, evaluate and pilot emerging technologies that advance four top NBA priorities. One of those priorities is to advance referee training and development.

A press release detailing each of the four priorities says the following related to advancing referee training and development: “Officiating an NBA game takes years of preparation and training at the highest level. Every year, the NBA trains and evaluates thousands of amateur referees all over the world. To strengthen these current programs, the NBA is seeking technologies that enhance the training, development and recruitment of referees.”

For more information, visit the NBA Launchpad website at launchpad.nba.com.

SOURCE: NBA.COM

TEST YOURSELF

In each of the following, decide which answer or answers are correct for NFHS, NCAA men’s and NCAA women’s rules, which might vary. Solutions: p. 81.

1. A1 is fouled prior to team A being in the bonus, but A1 is awarded free throws. All of the following are canceled if they occur during A1’s first free throw, except which? a. A technical foul by A3. b. A1’s successful free throw. c. A personal foul by A2. d. A personal foul by B2.

2. A6 reports to the table to substitute into the game and is wearing illegal number 6. All of the following are true, except which? a. A6 cannot play wearing the number 6. b. If A6 enters the game, a technical foul shall be charged. c. If team A’s coach decides not to have A6 enter the game, no technical foul is assessed. d. If additional team members are wearing illegal numbers, an additional technical foul is charged for each team member who enters the game.

3. A1 is shooting the first of two free throws. The try strikes the ring and bounces and rolls around the ring until it ultimately comes to rest on top of the flange. How is play resumed? a. Alternating-possession throw-

in.

b. Throw-in to team B. c. A1 shall get a replacement first free throw. d. The first free throw shall be deemed unsuccessful, and play resumed with A1’s second free throw.

4. Which of these result in a technical foul being assessed to the home team? a. The game clock does not have tenths of a second display. b. The color of the padding on the two backboards does not match. c. A scoreboard does not display team fouls. d. None of these result in a technical foul being assessed to the home team.

5. All of the following result in goaltending if it occurs during a freethrow attempt, except which? a. The ball is touched outside the cylinder while on its upward flight. b. The ball is touched outside the cylinder on its downward flight. c. The ball is touched while it is in the cylinder. up with a head covering that is attached by bobby pins. The player tells the officials it is a religious head covering. Ruling 4: The head covering is legal. However, the bobby pins holding it in place are not, as they violate rule 3-5-4d. In order to wear the head covering, the player is going to have to find a legal way of attaching it so that it is highly unlikely to come off during play.

Officials’ Signals

The official NFHS signals have been modified to use the same hand signal for a player-control foul and a team-control foul. Officials should use signal 36, which is a hand placed on the back of the head, for both types of fouls. Previously, a teamcontrol foul was communicated with signal 37, a punch of the hand. That signal has been eliminated (see PlayPics, above).

“It is redundant to have different signals to communicate that a foul will be charged to a member of the team in control of the ball,” Wynns said. “Officials don’t understand the need to differentiate between a player-control foul and a team-control foul, and many game participants, table personnel and fans don’t know the difference.” Scott Tittrington is an associate editor at Referee. He officiates high school basketball and football, and umpires college and high school baseball. 

Delayed Warnings

By Vlad Figueroa

There are four, and only four, specific warnings for team delays under NFHS rules. Those warnings are spelled out in rule 4-47, while rule 10-2 subsequently states any of the four result in a team technical foul should they occur after a first warning for team delay.

The warnings are as follows: • A defensive team player having any part of his/her body through the inbounds side of the throw-in boundary plane before the ball has been released on a throw-in (4-47-1, 7-6-4, 9-2-10, 9-2-10 Pen. 1 and 2, 10-2-1c). • Contacting the free thrower before the free throw ends or a huddle of two or more players in the lane by either team prior to a free throw (4-47-2, 9-1-3h, 10-2-1d). • Interfering with the ball following a goal (4-47-3, 10-2-1e). • Not having the court ready for play following any timeout (4-47-4, 10-2-1f).

It is important for officials to enforce these situations when they happen.

See “Delays” p.70

Tag, You’re It!

The NFHS felt strongly enough about proper enforcement of intentional fouls to make such rulings a point of emphasis prior to the 2020-21 season.

The activity shown in this photo is a perfect illustration of that point.

Looking at this snapshot in time, we are lacking any true context for what is happening in this particular basketball game. We have no knowledge of the score. We do not know whether the game is in the first quarter or the fourth, or how much time is remaining. We have no idea whether these two teams have played a relatively clean game to this point in this particular contest, or if the two squads are heated rivals who can’t stand each are heated rivals who can’t stand each other and have been taking liberties with other and have been taking liberties with physical play throughout the entire contest. physical play throughout the entire contest.

What we do know is the defensive player, shown in blue, reaches out and places two hands on the ballhandler. The easy way to rule on this play is to invoke rule 10-7-12a, as this is a clear and obvious foul due to illegal contact. But is it the correct way?

The defensive player is making no attempt to legitimately guard the ballhandler in this scenario. Officials would be letting her off the hook by ruling a mere personal foul.

This activity is the textbook definition of an intentional foul as spelled out in 4-19-3c of the NFHS rulebook: “An intentional foul is a personal or technical foul that may or may not be premeditated and is not based solely on the severity of the act. Intentional fouls include, but are not limited to … contact that is not a legitimate attempt to play the ball/player specifically designed to stop the clock or keep it from starting.”

All of those what-ifs listed above — the score, the time, the style of play to that point — are irrelevant. Yes, they can all be strong indicators for officials that these types of fouls may, or may not, be ripe for occurrence, but they are not required. All that’s needed in this scenario is for official Carl Nielsen, of Brigham City, Utah, to blow his whistle, stop the clock with a raised fist, and immediately cross his arms at the wrist above his head (signal No. 38), indicating he is ruling an intentional foul with the offended player to be awarded two free throws, followed by a designated-spot throw-in nearest the infraction for the offended team.

It might not be a popular ruling, but then again, officials don’t take the floor to win any popularity contests. They take the floor to enforce the rules and promote safety and fair play.

NFHS rules are designed to do the same and those rules clearly spell out this is an intentional foul.

CASEPLAYS

Assistant Coach Replacing Head Coach

Play: Team A’s head coach receives a technical foul in the first half for excessively complaining about a call. Later in the game, the coach receives a second technical for again excessively complaining and is ejected. Team A’s assistant replaces the head coach. Is that assistant allowed to perform all normal duties of the head coach? Ruling: A team’s head coach is allowed special privileges that assistant coaches do not have including, but not limited to, being able to stand within the coaching box during live play, call timeouts or make an appeal to correct an error or timing mistake. When a head coach is ejected and is replaced by an assistant, that assistant effectively becomes the new head coach, including many of the privileges and responsibilities that come with being a head coach. That former assistant cannot stand in the coaching box (NFHS), but may request timeouts, appeal correctable errors, etc. (NFHS 5-83, 5-8-4, 10-5, 10-6 Note; NCAAM 5-11.4, 5-11.5, 10-3 Ejection Note; NCAAW 5-11.3, 5-11.5, 10-12.4 Penalty Note, Ejection).

Shot at Wrong Basket

Play: A1 grabs a defensive rebound but becomes confused and shoots the ball at team B’s basket. The ball strikes the backboard and ring but does not enter the basket. A1 grabs the rebound without the ball touching any other player. At this point, A1 realizes the shot was attempted at team B’s basket, and A1 begins to dribble the ball down the court toward team A’s frontcourt. Has a violation or any other infraction occurred by A1’s actions? Ruling: Because A1’s attempt at goal was not at team A’s basket, this is not considered a try. Throwing the ball against an opponent’s backboard is the same as throwing the ball to the floor, which constitutes a dribble. When A1 was the first player to grab the ball after it was thrown against the opponent’s backboard, that ended the dribble. When A1 began to dribble again, A1 has committed a double dribble violation (NFHS 4-5, 4-151, 9-5, 9.5; NCAAM 9-7, A.R. 78; NCAAW 9-7, A.R. 110).

A

B C

DELAYS

continued from p.68

Let’s take a closer look at each of these warnings and the implications if we ignore them or “let them go."

If we don’t issue a warning when an opponent of the throwerin violates the boundary-line plane (PlayPic A), there is a very real possibility the opponent will to do it again. Even more troublesome, the opponent may escalate the behavior and actually touch or dislodge the ball, resulting in a technical foul (9-2 Pen. 3, 10-4-10), or may make contact with the player making the throw-in, resulting in an intentional foul (9-2 Pen. 4), each of which should be ruled whether or not there has been a previous warning for delay.

Assessing a warning on the first occurrence will let the players know you’re watching. Coaches typically respond well to warnings and, in an ideal situation, will let their players know what they did wrong so they don’t repeat it and lead to the escalating penalty that comes with a repeat occurrence.

Some officials think that by just talking to players and telling them, “Hey, don’t do that,” they have done their job, but that’s not correct. Preventive officiating is acceptable to a certain degree, but to prevent, one needs to stave off a problem before, not after, it happens. When you see this situation, call the warning for delay, then talk to the offender and the coach to “prevent” the second occurrence and the technical foul.

The warning for interfering or touching the ball following a goal (PlayPic B) also becomes a strategic advantage should officials choose not to rule in the prescribed manner. What if a crew ignores this situation early in a game and no official rules

a warning for delay? The thinking might be it’s no big deal given the game situation, as just a second or two runs off the clock during a point in the contest where there isn’t as much attention given to clock awareness.

Now, imagine this happening with three seconds on the game clock in the fourth quarter or the second half. Team A scores and is now leading, 63-62, and touches the ball to bat it away from the opponent. By choosing not to rule a warning for delay after the first occurrence, we’ve now allowed team A to manipulate the closing seconds of a tight ballgame with virtually no repercussions. This is especially problematic if it occurs at the high school level, where the clock doesn’t stop after a made goal with less than a minute remaining in the fourth quarter, like it does in NCAAW and the second half in NCAAM.

Delays related to free throws need to be addressed as well. Huddling during this time prevents the game from resuming promptly and might also serve to disconcert the free thrower (PlayPic C). And once the free thrower has the ball and is attempting to shoot a free throw, that player must be protected from contact until the ball touches the ring or the free throw ends.

Think about it this way: If players on the opposing team are allowed to make contact with the free thrower immediately following the release of the throw, that throw is not really "free" anymore. The shooter instead is being subjected to the same type of contact as a regular try.

Finally, let's look at not having the court ready for play following a timeout. How many times have you found yourself ready to resume play, only to have to wait for chairs to be moved off the playing court, or spilled water to have to be cleaned up off the floor? We tend to confuse being professional and polite with ignoring or neglecting the rule. Coaches need to have the court ready for play when the second horn goes off, indicating the timeout is over.

All of these warnings for delay are important, and all of these situations must be addressed. Remember that when they are committed, opponents are taking advantage of a situation, and if the officials do nothing to curb the behavior, they are ignoring a rule. To not use the applicable warnings provided in the rulebook is an invitation to create far worse situations at another point in the game. Vlad Figueroa, Alpharetta, Ga., officiates women’s college and high school basketball, and high school football. He has worked both the Florida High School Athletic Association and Georgia High School Association state tournaments in basketball. 

GO TO THE VIDEO

BLOCK/CHARGE: VIDEO GUIDE

Blocks and Charges require split second judgment and rapid-fi re decision making. The only way to get great at making these tough calls is to see as many plays as possible so your instincts take over. This video guide uses enhanced high school video to deliver a quick and effective focused clinic. In a half hour, you’ll be more competent and confi dent calling blocks and charges.

IT

IT

INTRODUCTION PLAY 1 PLAY 2 PLAY 3 PLAY 4 PLAY 5 PLAY 6 PLAY 7 PLAY 8 PLAY 9

PLAY all

PLAY stop

PLAY 4

FULLSCREEN tAKEAWAYS

• Obtaining legal guarding position is only the fi rst part of the equation on block/charge plays.

• Once a defensive player obtains legal guarding position, the defender must meet all the requirements of maintaining that position.

• Know the game situation and the type of play that led to the ruling (obvious vs. a 50/50 call) and be ready to provide the appropriate “sell” on the ruling.