First off, I'll say that besides technical fouls, 3 in the key is the last thing I want to call in a basketball game. This year, the NCAA has out an emphasis on calling 3 in the key. They showed us video clips of some pretty obscene abuses of that rule that were not called. I have even had questions regarding what the actual rule is. Here are some absolutes:
1. 3 in the Key starts when the players enters the key, period.
2. 3 in the Key resets on a shot attempt. 10 offensive rebounds? No 3 in the Key!
3. 3 in the Key does not reset on loose balls. Post player fumbles ball? Should be called per rulebook.
4. Player has 1 foot on the lane line or barely in the key? Rule book says that counts as 3 in the key.
Now, here is my philosophy on 3 in the key:
1. If you call 3 in the Key, everyone in the gym should know that the offensive player visibly camped out for a period longer than a second, got a huge advantage, and/or made a series of slow moves after being posted for a while. Grandma in the top row should be saying, Yep, he was in there for 3!" if you call it.
2. Anyone who calls a 3 in the key when the offending player is not posting for the ball or setting a screen to free someone up to flash to the ball is a bonafide idiot who will never, ever get it.
3. I'm fine with someone calling 3 in the key during a fumbled ball. Shows good game awareness.
4. I don't like the 3 in the key call to avoid calling an offensive foul on a player trying to post up.
5. The best call is to tell the player to get out of the key. Then when you have to call 3, the player won't complain.
Coaches yelling at me to call 3 in the key generally get ignored. If they have a point, everyone knows it, and I won't let it happen again. I'd say 95% of the time, the coach doesn't really have a valid point about 3 in the key, unless they want calls made verbatim with the rule book. I'm guessing the T it would cost them for questioning the 3 in the key in the first place, per the rulebook, would end that desire very quickly.
And then I'd really be pissy because I'd rather call anything other than a T.
2 comments:
Does it matter if the shot attempt hits the rim or not with regards to three in the key? I don't think it does but a ref in my league thinks that the shot has to hit the rim for 3 in the key to reset.
No, it makes no difference. Once a legitimate shot attempt is made, there is no team control, so you cannot have 3-in-the-key. The only relevancy to hitting the rim is a shot clock violation. Unless it is Southridge at Richland.
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