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AAU Season Questions
QUESTION - Playing an AAU game under NFHS rules....Defensive player B-1 commits a foul against offensive player A-1. Immediately after the call, A-1 "retaliates" by taking a swing at B-1 and the referee calls a technical foul on A-1. The referee then rules that the defensive foul was the point of interruption and that the defensive team would shoot the free throws for the technical but would not get possession of the ball. My understanding was that the offensive player should have gotten a double technical and been ejected and that the defensive team should have gotten possession of the ball. Am I correct?
ANSWER - No. This is a complex question and based on the information you provided, there are a few issues on how this was handled. First, this was not a "double technical" (a term reserved for simultaneous technical fouls by two opponents against each other). You might be thinking of a "flagrant foul" (often for fighting or for dangerously excessive contact). Under high school rules, a flagrant foul is always cause for ejection. But that doesn't sound like what was called. Instead, it simply appears that the two fouls (by B-1 and then by A-1) were considered as independent events (not committed simultaneously) and therefore would be handled "in the order in which they occurred" under NFHS rules. That is, if A-1 is entitled to shoot free throws, he would shoot them with no one on the foul lane. This would be followed by a player from Team B shooting the two free throws for the technical foul on player A-1, again with no one on the foul lane. Lastly, Team B would get possession of the ball at mid-court for a throw in. That seems to me how this whole thing should have been handled.
Second, since this was played under NFHS rules, there was no "point of interruption" situation. In high school, the "point of interruption" is only used when there is a "double foul" - two fouls (personal or technical) by opponents against each other at approximately the same time. That's not what was described in this case. If there had been a double foul, there would have been no free throws taken and the ball would simply be returned to the team that was in control at the time of the foul calls. If this had been played under college (NCAA) rules, then the free throws for the technical would have been shot first and then the game would have been resumed from the "point of interruption" which was the original foul by B-1 against A-1. If A-1 was entitled to free throws, he would shoot them. If not, the ball would simply be returned to Team A out of bounds at the spot nearest the foul by B-1.
Third, I'm a little uncertain about what you described as "swinging." Was this an attempt by A-1 to punch B-1? Or, might it have been an over-reaction by A-1, where A-1 got frustrated by the contact? A-1 lets his emotions get the better of him and he turns and shoves B-1. I'm not sure, but if the referee saw the action as simply an unnecessary over-reaction by A-1 (after all, the referee had already made the first call for A-1, so what more could be done??) and deemed A-1's reaction as "unsportsmanlike" he could have called the technical for that. Proceed as in the first paragraph. But if the referee saw the action as an attempt by A-1 to retaliate by punching his opponent, that's a much more serious situation. That would be cause for a "flagrant" foul (technical) whether or not the attempted punch landed. The referee is never responsible for the accuracy of the attempted punch so he needs to be careful to read the situation correctly. If he thought there was an attempt to punch, player A-1 would automatically be ejected. Everything else would be as in the first paragraph with the exception that the substitute for player A-1 would shoot any free throws he might have been entitled to.
QUESTION - I played in a game earlier today. Both teams were chasing a ball that was going out of bounds. Let's say player A-1 jumped from in bounds and, while going out of bounds in the air, caught the ball, turned and threw the ball at the opponent, B-1. The ball then hit B-1 in the head and went out of bounds. What would be the correct call in this situation? Thank you, Chris
ANSWER - OK, Chris.....good question. The ball is not out of bounds until it touches the floor, or an object or a person that is out of bounds. In this case, the ball remained in bounds until it was "deemed to have been caused to go out of bounds" by the player that was hit in the head, B-1. The correct call would be to give the ball to Team A, not Team B, even though it was player A-1 who threw the ball against the head of B-1. Sounds like a "heads up" play to me!
QUESTION - Hi there! Just wondering whether a dribbling player could dribble the ball out ahead of him and recover his dribble after a few steps and a few bounces and why or why not? Does it matter if it was intentional or not? Thank you.
ANSWER - Yes, it's legal whether it was intentional or not. But let's review. If the ball is bouncing out ahead of the dribbler and he simply runs up to it and continues dribbling WITHOUT CATCHING THE BALL, it's no problem. He is simply continuing a dribble he had already started, even if there are several steps and several bounces of the ball between the times when the dribbler makes contact with the ball. But if the dribbler runs up and catches the ball and then starts dribbling, his catch would signal the "end of the first dribble" and the next bounce would signal the "start of a new dribble." In that case it would be a "double dribble" violation. Always remember.....a dribble cannot end until the dribbler catches (and controls.....) the ball, no matter how awkward and awful it may look, and no matter how many steps or how many bounces occur. Just because it "looks bad" doesn't mean it's not legal.
Do you have a question? Have you seen a play you didn't understand? Was there a controversy you'd like clarified? Send your questions in and I'll do my best to get you an answer.
Skip Yutzler
IAABO Board 127
39 Years High School and Junior College Official
5 Times NY State HS Championships - Glens Falls
# 65
Ask The Ref !
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