Andres Torres
Sports Officiating
Coach Meech
04/22/2013
Sports Officiating
Basketball has been around since the late 19th century. The sport was created by James Naismith in the early 1890’s. In 1891, Naismith published the first 13 rules of the game. There were many rules added and adjusted over time and the game now consists of over 100 rules. Basketball is now one of the most popular sports in the world and is played in over 200 countries.
In my experience watching and playing the game, the most common rules violated in the game of basketball are; shot clock violation, traveling violation, charging foul, and a defensive foul. A shot clock violation is when the time in a possession is over a certain time limit, (that is assessed accordingly by the league or level of play) this rule is designed to keep the pace of the game consistent and fair to both teams. A traveling violation occurs when the ball handler stops his dribble and lifts his pivot foot. It also occurs when running after discontinuing his dribble and takes more than two steps. In my opinion, traveling violation is the most missed call by officials in the NBA. A charging foul, also known as an offensive foul, may be the most controversial call made by officials at any level. It occurs when an offensive player aggressively moves forward and charges a defensive player’s torso when the defensive player is not in motion and has both feet planted on the ground. In some levels of play, charging a defensive player is allowed when they are in the restriction zone under the basket. A ball handler using his forearm or shoulder to push the defender away in order to create spacewhile dribbling or before taking a shot can also be considered an offensive foul. If It doesn’t result in an offensive foul being called, it will usually result in a blocking foul call. A blocking foul occurs when a defensive player impedes the progress or movement of any offensive player regardless whether they are the...