Basketball Rules Myths

One of the things I love the most about umpiring and refereeing is the tremendous free advice and wonderful feedback you get from the fans, parents and coaches in the stands. I don't mind most of it, it beats having them roll coins on the floor or ragging opponents, I just wish some of them would stick their noses in a rule book more often before they come out in public and stick their nose in my business.

Here are some of the more misunderstood "rule myths" I hear coming from the sidelines most often:

"Over the Back!!!"
There is no such foul. If there is no contact between two players going for a rebound, there is no foul. When a short player has inside position, but a taller player is able to reach over the head of the player and secure a rebound without contact, you cannot penalize a player for being tall.

"He carried the ball!!!"
A high dribble is not always a carry. If the dribbler keeps his hand above the ball and the ball does not come to rest in his hand during the dribble, there is no illegal dribble violation. It may be a high dribble, but it is not a violation.

"He's reaching in!!!"
That's nice, but I need contact of some sort to call a foul. Many times, you have a defender make an attempt at a steal and the dribbler turns away or evades the defender and there is no contact. No illegal contact, no foul.

"He traveled!!!"
A player cannot travel with the ball unless they have legal possession first. A fumble and recovery of the ball is not a travel. Steps taken before possession of the ball is secured is not a travel. The rules do not penalize the dribbler for being clumsy.

"Three seconds!!!"
If the offensive player with the ball is making a move to the basket the count is suspended during the offensive move(s). If a shot goes up the count is over and begins anew if the team secures an offensive rebound. It is not a continuous, cumulative count. And the count does not begin until the ball is thrown in on an out of bounds play.

Other than those, the habitual cries to "call it both ways" and the obligatory jeers from the disadvantaged side after the block/charge call are the biggest head shakers for me and most of the guys I work with. I guess I prefer the fans trying to help us out over having fans "ragging" opponents. It seems like every high school now has a section that tries to prove they are the high school version of the "Cameron Crazies".