Greeting from the IGHSAU office as snow flakes fall outside my window…must be basketball season in Iowa! A few reminders and notes as we near the end of the second week of the season:

PLAYER GAME LIMITATIONS

Each individual high school player has a 21-game season limitation. A student who plays in 0-2 quarters in a day is charged with 0 games against this limitation. A student who plays in 3-6 quarters in a day is charged with 1 game against this limitation. A student who plays in 7-8 quarters in a day is charged with two games against this limitation.

On a given day, if a high school student plays in 2 quarters of the freshman game, 2 quarters of the JV game, and 2 quarters of the varsity game, she has participated in 6 total quarters for the day and is charged with 1 game against the 21-game season limitation.

Junior high students have a 12-game season limitation. Junior high students may play in no more than six quarters in a day. Participation in 1-6 quarters in a day constitutes participation in a game, and junior high students are limited to one game per day on a school day. No junior high jamborees or tournaments are permitted. A junior high team will be allowed to play in two games on a non-school day. The player limit will be eight quarters for that day.

UNIFORMS

Remember that we no longer have the uniform adaptation requiring home jerseys to have even numbers and visiting jerseys to have odd numbers. Rule 3-4-1c requires the torso of home jerseys to be white and the torso of visiting jerseys to be a contrasting dark color. It is recommended that the dark color for the visiting team be the darker of the school’s color scheme or black. Undershirts, if worn, shall be a single solid color similar to the torso of the jersey. Long sleeve, short sleeve, and sleeveless undershirts are permissible, but the sleeves must be the same length. Manufacturer’s logos are not permissible on jerseys or undershirts.

USE OF COMPUTERS/IPADS/FLIP VIDEO/CELL PHONES/ETC.

Use of television monitoring, replay equipment, computers, cell phones, etc. for coaching purposes during the game or any intermission is strictly prohibited. Computers may be used to keep stats during the game. Each violation of this rule is penalized by a team technical foul. Officials, let me know if you see this rule being violated, and coaches, let me know if you have questions regarding the specifics of this rule.

TEAM CONTROL ON THROW-INS

I have received a number of questions about various situations now that there is team control during throw-ins. Probably the most asked question has been is it a violation if Team A makes a throw-in from their frontcourt, the ball deflects off A2 who is standing in the frontcourt, and the ball is then recovered in the backcourt by A2 or A3. This is NOT a violation. In order to have a backcourt violation, both player and team control must be established in the frontcourt, and a player from the team in control must be the last to touch the ball in the frontcourt and the first to touch the ball in the backcourt. In the throw-in situation discussed above, there is team control during the throw-in. Team control continues after the throw-in ends when the throw-in pass touches A2. Team control is maintained and player control is established when A2 or A3 recovers the ball in the backcourt. It is important to note that PLAYER control was not established until the ball was recovered in the backcourt. As such, there is no backcourt violation because both player and team control had not been established in the frontcourt prior to a member of Team A recovering the ball in the backcourt.

MANAGING SUBSTITUTIONS

I’ve had a couple calls already this year about how to handle situations when we have six players on the court during a live ball. The best way to handle this is to not let it happen in the first place. Whenever we have a foul with free throws or anytime we have a frontcourt throw-in by the Lead, the Trail official is responsible for managing substitutions. The Trail should blow his/her whistle, put up his/her arm nearest to the administering official and give the stop sign, and beckon the sub(s) with the other arm. It is then the Trail’s responsibility to ensure that one player came off the court for each substitute that entered, count that five players for each team are on the court, and then drop his/her arm to indicate to the Lead that he/she may administer the throw-in or free throws. For a backcourt throw-in (always by Trail) or a frontcourt throw-in by the Trail bench-side, the Center follows the same procedure as above. The Trail should not handle substitutions in these two situations, as he/she is the administering official administering the ensuing throw-in.

If we do get in a situation where we find ourselves with six players participating during a live ball, a technical foul is charged to the offending team. All action that occurred (points, fouls, etc.) while six players were on the court stands.

If officials take their time in managing substitution situations, hopefully we’ll never put the ball in play with six players for a team on the court.

MERCY RULE

A reminder that there is no mercy rule in girls’ basketball. The Basketball Advisory Committee and the IGHSAU Board of Directors discussed the possibility of adopting a mercy rule, and both groups are not in favor of a mercy rule for girls’ basketball at this time.

3-POINT GOALS IN JUNIOR HIGH BASKETBALL

If 3-point lines are marked on the floor in junior high basketball, they must be used. Coaches’ mutual consent is no longer required. There is no option to not count 3-point goals if the lines are on the floor.

DEFENSIVE MATCH-UP

If three or more substitutes from the same team enter during an opportunity to substitute, a captain may request a defensive match-up by simply requesting one of the nearest official. The officials should then allow a reasonable amount of time (10-15 seconds) for the players to match-up before resuming play.

USE OF UNLICENSED COACHES

Coaches, please remember that unlicensed coaches may not fill any coaching duties at your practices, scrimmages, or games. Recently graduated players that do not have their coaching license may not participate in practices with your high school team over the holiday break. Athletic directors and coaches, if you have any doubt about the status of one of your coaches – especially “volunteer” coaches – please be sure to verify their status on the Board of Educational Examiners website - https://www.iowaonline.state.ia.us/boee/controller.aspx.

USE OF UNLICENSED OFFICIALS

Athletic directors and officials, please check the listing of registered basketball officials on the “Basketball” page of our website or by clicking the following link http://www.ighsau.org/hoops/2012/bbofficials.htm. If an official’s name is not listed, he/she either has not completed the rules meeting or exam, did not pass the exam, or has not paid his/her annual dues. NEW basketball officials have until Dec. 12 to meet these requirements, so new officials’ names may not yet appear on the list. Any other official that WAS registered last year and whose name does not appear on the list is not licensed to work basketball for the 2011-12 school year. Officials, if you have completed your requirements (paid, passed exam, viewed or attended rules meeting) and your name is not listed, please contact me immediately so we can verify and update your record. Athletic directors/assigners/coaches, be sure you are using licensed officials for your all your contests. For all games involving high school students, ALL officials must be licensed. For junior high games, at least one official must be licensed. Use of unlicensed officials will result in forfeiture of contests, so PLEASE be sure your officials are properly licensed! If you have any doubt, please give Sherry, Joyce, or me a call.

I hope your season is off to a great start, and feel free to contact me if you need anything.

Joel Oswald

Assistant Director