Bonus Situation and Team Control Foul Mistake

 In this final play, a team control foul was misidentified, leading to an incorrect bonus free throw attempt. There was no change in possession, meaning a throw-in should have been awarded instead of free throws. This mistake underscores the importance of consistently identifying team control fouls to prevent incorrect free throw attempts during crucial moments in the game.

With the new 2023-2024 rule updates regarding throw-ins, officials must also be aware of the correct spot for administering throw-ins after a foul. Failure to properly identify fouls or administer throw-ins can lead to significant errors in the game, especially in high-pressure situations.

LINK TO THE FULL EPISODE

Actionable Tips for Basketball Officials:

1. Identify Team Control Foul Early: Ensure team control fouls are properly identified, particularly late in the game.
2. Understand Throw-In Administration: Use the new rule to determine the correct throw-in spot.
3. Prevent Free Throw Errors: Avoid incorrect free throw attempts by correctly identifying team control fouls.

Video Transcript:

Ashin C works around the screen inside. Ma C now working with 10 seconds on the shot clock. There's Nagle at the top of the key, and that one inside is tipped away by Wsor. Now a push from behind — let's see who this foul is on.

That was a bad pass, and just like that, Wagner on that offensive set seems out of sorts. Wadsworth is four for six at the free-throw line today, with 12 points. She toes the line, with some big free throws coming up to try to push this to a two-possession game.

Here, we're talking about the exact situation we discussed earlier: a tight playoff game, two minutes to go, and the team has just entered the bonus. Last year, this situation would have led us directly to free throws. Red has six fouls, and we’ve probably just communicated as a crew that we’re in the bonus down here.

This year, with the adoption of the five-team-foul rule per period, it’s going to take some getting used to. The pressure is on, the shot clock is winding down, and the officials are handling a very physical matchup between two players in the post.

But, ultimately, we have a team control foul, and that has not changed — there is no change of possession. This is a team control foul, and we should not be shooting bonus free throws.

If we’re in the habit of identifying team control fouls in all instances, we will get this play right. If we don’t make it a habit, we run the risk of getting it wrong. This is a crew mistake, and our crew needs to identify that there was no change in possession, and we should not be shooting free throws.

This is a huge mistake on a big stage — a three-point game with two minutes to go — and we’re erroneously attempting free throws. Now, obviously, this would be a correctable error scenario, but the key takeaway is we have to identify these situations properly.

Is this a common situation, like an illegal screen, or is this something more unique? I refer to this as the “Twilight Zone” of officiating, where things aren’t always clear. To me, this situation is pretty obvious, but we must identify team control fouls in every scenario.

In this instance, the game is telling us, "Let's shoot free throws," but we need to be the ones to step up and say, "Wait a minute, was there a change of possession?" If not, then it’s a team control foul, and the correct ruling is a sideline throw-in.

We must be aware, but if the crew has just communicated about the bonus situation, the rush to enforce it can sometimes lead to mistakes. This is the ramification of not identifying team control fouls properly — it leads to crew mistakes, and we must get these plays right by rule every single time, especially when the game is on the line.