Basketball
Officiating Loose-Ball Action
There are a few rulings you can make that can affect possession. Rulings such as traveling, three seconds, loose ball fouls and illegal dribble are...
How to Keep Your Head From Spinning
The athletic spin move is often one that players, coaches and fans love to see during a game and also one that makes officials...
No Autosave On Out-of-Bounds
One of the great things about being a basketball official is having to make quick and instantaneous decisions on many different types of plays that are happening at...
Prevent Timing Errors
There are three seconds to play in the game. The score is tied and team A must go the length of the court to...
No Substitute for Awareness
There is more to know than just foul or violation. Commonly astute officials might have heard once to have an awareness to what type...
For Basketball Officials, the Journey is the Destination
To achieve maximum personal success and productivity as a basketball official, one has to be highly motivated and have a positive attitude. Furthermore, to reach and...
Free-Throw Mechanics Deserve Pregame Attention
W
hen thinking about the mechanics you use as a basketball official, where do you put the bulk of your study and practice? Proper location...
See The Call, Be The Call
Whenever you work a basketball game, it’s always a good practice to be thinking — but not for too long.
Yes, it’s important to keep yourself mentally ahead...
Active ‘C’ Creates a Successful Crew
The center official on a three-person crew is the straw that stirs the drink. When “C” is active, things go more smoothly and games are apt to be...
Team Officiating Beyond Out-of-Bounds Plays
Officials who are looking for a way to distinguish themselves should look no further than the topic of team officiating. The best officials at all levels have...
Second Nature
The first thing most of us do in the morning is look at our alarm clock, watch or phone. When we look at our...
Cue on Defender to Officiate 3-Pointers
With the game transitioning more and more to outside jump shots and three-point attempts, officials need to focus on three separate but similar areas:
Monitoring defensive players as they...
Listen to Everything You Hear
When was the last time you heard someone say, “Consider the source”? That saying has been around for as long as one can remember, but what is the...
Let’s Meet Up
There are times in a game when officials should get together as a crew. There are times when officials shouldn’t get together.
During warmups is...
Don’t Sell Your Halftime Short
Basketball officials have been instructed time and again about the importance of pregame discussions as a crew. The 60 minutes prior to tip are a crucial window for an...
New York’s Rucker League: Where Basketball Officials Hone Their Craft
Basketball players at every level use the summer months to improve their skills on the court. They often do so by playing in as...
Bench Conduct Warning Proves Worth
R ecently, the NFHS Basketball Rules Committee approved a rule change to add a coach/bench personnel conduct warning (4-48). The committee’s goal was to...
The Shot
As an exhausted Tom Clark settled back into the aisle seat of his Delta Airlines flight the morning of March 29, 1992, a slight...
Big-Small Match-up Awareness
The ballhandler dribbles up the court and, as the lead official, you are working to find the best possible position along the endline to officiate the play. Some...
Stay on Script With Signals
Like it or not, we officials are on a stage of sorts, playing a role and contributing to the production. By that standard, we...
Multiple Whistle Blasts Effective in Certain Situations
If you watch a basketball game closely on TV, you are bound to hear multiple whistle blasts several times. Multiple tweets are not disallowed by rule, but they...
Keys to Cutting Down Correctable Errors
During any game, a mistake by an official or scorer can be made. For officials marked by inattentiveness and indifference, change “can” to “will likely.” For officials working with...
Honesty Starts with Yourself
If you’re not being honest with your partners, you’re lying to yourself, too.
All too often, basketball officials attempt to leave the impression that every...
Held Balls a Haven for Off-Ball Harms
How many officials does it take to rule a held ball? No, this isn’t some type of comedic riff on the well-worn “How many (insert insult here) does...
