Common Misconceptions Pt. 1

As an official, I often hear coaches or parents giving instructions to players that is often wrong. This was one of the reasons I wanted to start this blog, to dispel some of these misconceptions about the rules of basketball.

Foot on the baseline

Here is a common example. A coach instructs a player on defense to put his/her foot on the baseline to prevent the offensive player from driving the baseline.

But let’s think back to what makes a legal defender:

Remember in the NFHS Rule Book it's Rule 4 Section 23

 To obtain an initial legal guarding position:

            a. Both of the guard's feet must be touching the court

            

 After initial legal guarding position is obtained:

           a. As long as the guard has inbound status the guard may have one or both feet on the court or be in the air.

By putting a foot on the line the defensive player is now standing out of bounds.

So now looking at it, the coach is directing his/her player to become an illegal defender so if any contact is made between the ball handler and the defender, regardless if the offensive player is initiating the contact, the foul will be called on the defensive player because the defender cannot establish legal guarding position.

Kick Ball

This is a rule that can get complicated for some people, including officials. A lot of the time when an offensive player goes to pass the ball and it accidentally goes off of a defensive player’s leg, the official will call a kick ball. Or the coaches from the bench will be yelling that it should be ruled a kick ball.

The rule:

Intentionally striking the ball with any part of your leg or your foot. Again, kicking the ball is a violation only when it is considered intentional. If contacting the ball with your foot or leg is accidental it is not considered a violation. 

The kick ball rule can be found in the NFHS Rule Book under Rule 4 Section 29 and Rule 9 Section 4

So if the ball just so happens to hit someone’s leg the play should not be stopped, but if the defensive player makes an attempt to purposely use his leg or foot to stop the ball then it should be called as a kick ball violation.

Another important thing to note is the words used in the rule. The use of “leg or foot” means that if the ball goes off the player’s thigh when they are intentionally trying to stop the ball it should be called as a kick ball violation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dORMJbNE7C8