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Basketball Referee Signals
There are “Fouls” and there are “Violations”
Fouls are caused by physical contact (holding, pushing), or actions (acting out like you
are going to hit another player but you don’t) or even extreme abusive yelling or cussing
(technical foul).
Violations are actions by players that break a basketball rule – such as traveling, stepping on the line, and back court. Foul (Closed Fist) Violation (Open Fist)
Types of Personal Fouls:
Holding Foul – A “Holding Foul” occurs when a defender holds, grabs, or pulls an offensive player (it doesn’t matter if the offensive player has possession of the ball or not). Pushing Foul – A “Pushing Foul” occurs when a defender pushes an offensive player or bumps into the body of an offensive player.
Illegal Use of Hands Foul – This is a foul called when a defender slaps, hacks, or smacks an offensive player with the ball. Blocking Foul – A “Blocking Foul” occurs when a defender uses their body and makes contact with an offensive player with the ball (could be in the form of running into the player, or setting an illegal screen, etc). Charging Foul (Charge) / Player Control Foul – A “Charging Foul” occurs when an offensive player runs into (or over) a defensive player who already has position (the defender must first establish position). Other types of player control fouls are when a dribbler uses an elbow and hits a defender, or excessive physical contact by an offensive post player trying to gain position.
When a team reaches 10 (or more) fouls, their opponent will automatically get to shoot 2 free throws. At half time the team fouls from the first half of the game are “zeroed” out, and team fouls are totaled all over again during the second half of the game. Important Note: Offensive fouls do not count towards team fouls (so when an offensive player happens to commit an offensive foul, the defense will not get to shoot free throws).
Types of Violations:
Traveling (also called Walking or Walk) – If a ball handler takes too many steps while dribbling the referee can call a violation (considered a turnover by the player and the possession of the ball goes to the other team). Also if a player has stopped dribbling and moves their pivot foot – this is also considered a traveling (or walking) violation. Violation / Traveling, Walking
Double Dribble (Illegal Dribble) – A dribbling violation occurs when a player stops dribbling
and then attempts to dribble again or if a player attempts to dribble the ball with 2
hands.
Violation / Double Dribble
Backcourt (Backcourt violation) – Once the Offensive team has passed the half court line, they cannot: a) dribble and/or b) pass back over the half court line. If this occurs, a “Backcourt” violation will be called by the referee and possession of the ball will go to the other team. Backcourt Violation Signal Inbound Pass Violation (5-Second Violation) – There are time restrictions that a player has when the ref hands them the ball to pass the ball into play. The player passing in the ball has five seconds to pass the ball in to another player. If the player fails to pass the ball in within 5 seconds, the ref will blow the whistle (5-second violation), and the ball is awarded to the other team. 5 - Second Violation Signal 10 Second Violation – When your opponent makes a basket, your team has 10 seconds to get the ball in play and past the half court line – if your team fails to do this within 10 seconds, the ball is awarded to the other team.
Out of Bounds Designation – When the ball goes out of bounds (for any reason), or a player with possession of the ball steps out of bounds – the referee will designate the spot where the ball went out of bounds.
A Few Misunderstood Rules:
a) Players can “recover” a fumbled ball, traveling does not occur during the time it takes the player to recover. A player must have control of the ball in order to travel, and a “fumbled“ ball is not considered having control of the ball. b) Players cannot travel while dribbling the basketball, traveling is considered taking one or more steps without dribbling. c) If a player attempts to set a screen and is moving, it is not considered a foul unless contact is made. d) The ball is not “out of bounds” if it rolls along the top edge of the backboard without touching the supports.
Some Myths Regarding Common Basketball Rules:
- “Reaching In” Foul – There is no foul called “reaching in” found in the rulebook. The act of simply “reaching in” is allowed unless contact is made. The referee can call a pushing or holding foul, but there is no “reaching in” violation.
- A player dribbles the ball above their head – Dribbling the Ball above a players head line is not a violation as long as dribblers hand stays on top of the ball.
- “Over the Back” – Players are allowed to reach over the back of another player as long as no contact is made. A taller player simply reaching over the back of another player for the rebound (without making contact) has not committed a foul. Again, the referee can call pushing, holding, or illegal contact fouls, but there is no violation called “Over the Back” in the rule book.
Referees should focus on 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16 Information Starting (^) and (^) stopping clock Shooting/scoring
®^ OFFICIAL^ NFHS BASKETBALL^ SIGNALS
Start clock (^) Stop clock
Stop clock for jump/held ball Stop clock for foul
Stop clock for foul (optional bird dog)
Directional signal
Designated spot Visible counts Beckoning^ substitutes^60 - second time-out 30 - second time-out (^) Not closely guarded
13 14 15 3 - point field goal 16 17 18
No score (^) Goal counts Point(s) scored use 1 or 2 fingers after signal 14 Attempt (^) and if successful Bonus free throw for 2nd throw, drop one arm – for 2 throws, use 1 arm with 2 fingers – for three throws, use 1 arm with 3 fingers Delayed lane violation
