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Refereeing the Rim: Identifying Offensive Basket Interference
In this clip, the crew is well-positioned for a front-court set as a drive develops toward the basket with 15 seconds on the shot clock. As the play reaches the rim, the Trail official stays connected to the action, maintaining an open angle on a contested finish. After the initial shot, the ball lingers on the ring; at this critical moment, the offensive player touches the ball while it is still within the cylinder. Despite the crew being in "dependable positions," the Offensive Basket Interference (OBI) violation is missed. This play serves as a reminder that being in the right spot is only half the battle—officials must possess the mental processing speed to recognize the violation in real-time and the decisiveness to whistle the play immediately. Failing to make this "gut-check" call on an obvious rim violation significantly impacts the crew’s credibility.
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Play BreakDown
On this clip we have a front court set with 15 seconds left on the shot clock. Each position is in a dependable position for what is being shown on the floor. As we work through this drive to the basket, the trail follows the play to try to stay connected. We have a contested finish at the rim where the ball then stays on the tim as it rolls out. The offensive player touches the ball as it’s still on the rim. The crew is still in dependable positions and Trail seems to have the best look at this. Though we are in a good position we fail to make the Offensive Basket Interference call which hurts our credibility. Be ready to referee the plays at the rim and process these plays faster as we only have a split second to make the ruling.
Rule 9-15 Article 2.a
Take Aways:
- Dependable positions are mandatory
- Maintain open looks to help the crew
- Process the play AND make the call
- Listen to your gut
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