December 7 , 2005 TO: Basketball Officials SUBJECT: Basketball Memorandum #2 The 05-06 season is well under way and seemingly off to a great start. Many close and competitive games have already been played and many more are yet to come. Several situations and questions have surfaced which will be addressed in this memo. SCRIMMAGES- Each school is allowed three scrimmages against other Iowa member schools at any time during the season. This rule covers girls’ teams in grades 7-12. Make certain that no player or team participates in more than three scrimmages from the start of the season until the end of the state tournament. INDIVIDUAL QUARTER LIMITATION---In high school , if a girl plays in two quarter or less on a calendar day---it counts as no game; if she plays in 3-6 quarters on a calendar day—it counts as one game; and if she plays in 7-8 quarters on a calendar day, it counts as two games. In junior high, a girl is limited to playing in no more than five quarters on a calendar day. TIME OUT SITUATIONS—The first horn is sounded as a warning to coaches and players. On the second horn, PLAYERS ARE EXPECTED TO BE ON THE COURT READY TO PLAY! Coaches seem to be extremely slow in getting the players out of the huddle and back ready to play. This might be a good item to mention during the pre-game meeting. Officials need to use good judgment---if the players are headed back and only a few feet away, then wait for them. However if they are not even out of the huddle yet or are walking out slowly, then go ahead and either give the ball to the offensive team or lay the ball down and begin your five second count. It will probably only take a couple times to get everyone’s attention and get them ready to play in a timely fashion. REPORTING FOULS---All fouls shall be signaled using one hand only. I have observed several officials already this season using two hands simultaneously. It is simply too confusing whether the foul is on 15 or 51. I know this mechanic is acceptable in college but not in Iowa girls’ high school or junior high! LEAVING THE COURT FOR AN UNAUTHORIZED REASON---This rule has been changed this year so the penalty is now a violation being called with the opposing team being given the ball out of bounds. Remember, this pertains to a player voluntarily choosing to leave the floor and not for a player stepping out of bounds after shooting a lay-up or sliding out of bounds while diving for a loose ball. There will be times a player may be legally out of bounds without violating this rule. However if the player runs out of bounds to get around or use a screen being set or intentionally positions one foot out of bounds in order to take away the side-line or baseline while on defense, then they have committed a violation. TEAM CONTROL FOUL---Probably the two most common situations this will include are: While a Team A player is dribbling, her teammate gets called for setting an illegal screen or a teammate gets called for a foul away from the ball (post player backs in or pushes off). In either case, the opposing team will be awarded the ball out of bounds and no free throws will be shot regardless whether they are in the bonus or not. ROUGH PLAY---There continues to be far too much physical contact which is not being called. If a defensive player is allowed to hand-check, then she has gained an advantage by altering the direction of the offensive player or slowing her down in order to be able to keep up. Physical contact in the post area for pushing, shoving, holding, etc. needs to be called as fouls regardless whether done by the offense or the defense. If both girls are equally guilty, then call a double foul. We must get this cleaned up---set the tone early and keep the game under control. CLOCK CONTROVERSY---Please visit with the bench personnel who are running the clock for your games. There have been several instances already this season where a clock did not get started properly near the end of a quarter resulting in a controversial ending to a game or quarter. Remind them to watch the covering official and get the clock properly started when the official chops the clock in. SUBSTITUTES---Coaches, please remind your substitutes to slow down and get properly checked in before going into a game. Many times I am seeing a player just wave as she goes by the scorer’s table or only get within 6-8 feet of the scorer’s bench and think she has checked in. A substitute is only required to give her number when reporting in. Between quarters, the substitute must report herself in while between halves the substitution can be made by the player or team attendant. TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS/SITES---Our goal is to announce the tournament pairings sometime during Christmas vacation. Coaches---if your school wishes to be considered to host any of the tournament games, check our web site to make sure your school is listed on the site availability list. If you wish to host but are not listed, have your Athletic Director get this filed immediately as we are currently working on games and sites. If you have any questions, call Jason Eslinger in our office (515-288-9741). EJECTIONS---We have had one coach ejection (Junior High) and no player ejections reported to this point. Have a great holiday season!
Mike Dick |