At a college basketball game I attended recently, I noticed the scoreboard showed the home team leading 2-0 right after the opening tip when nobody had scored yet. The home team scored the first basket and it went to 4-0. They never took the two points away.
At the first stoppage of play, the PA announcer said very briefly that there was a technical foul assessed against the visiting team during pre-game warmups and the home team had made both free throws.
In the articles the next day they said the T was for dunking and hanging on the goal during warmups (http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=303160239). Does anybody know the origin of this rule? Is it a holdover from the olden days when you weren’t supposed to dunk at all? Or is it some kind of sports etiquette breach like putting the puck in the opposing team’s net after warmups in a hockey game?
I’ve never heard of a tech assessed during warmups, but the “hanging on the rim” rule exists at least in part to avoid damage/breakage of the basketball goal.
I vividly remember the 1996 NCAA Sweet 16 game where a Texas Tech player broke the backboard. It caused a very long delay while the goal was repaired/replaced.
Don’t know whether new backboard/rim technology has made this rule obsolete. I have seen two players hang on the rim at once without breaking anything.
In practice, a technical foul is almost never called if you hang with your arms extended. Especially if there are players on the floor, you can hang this way indefinitely. Performing any sort of “pull-up” on the rim will usually result in a technical being called, so players know to avoid this.
Yes. Dunking was against the rules at all times beginning in 1967-68. When the ban was lifted in 1976, it was lifted for live balls only. Ever since it has been a technical to dunk a dead ball, either before or during the game. (Although you can get away with it during the game if you dunk right after the whistle because you didn’t have time to stop.) You very rarely see it called because players know it’s against the rules and usually don’t do it.
Why does it remain against the rules? I imagine that easing strain on rims and backboards and prevention of show-boating and taunting both play a part.
This has happened several times, but I also remember the incident you’re referring to. It was Darvin Ham of TT.
I always wondered why you didn’t see more highlight reel dunks during warm-ups. I’ve certainly never seen that called. And when did the team shoot the technical free throws? Also during warm-ups? I would think they’d have to stop the action on the court and turn off the warm-up music for the FTs.
I remember a broadcast about twenty-five years ago on which a “highlight” of the officials standing around during pregame warmups was shown. Dick Vitale (who seemed to think the rule was silly) explained that the referee and umpires had to get to the arena by an hour before tipoff to make sure that no players got away with dunking the ball during the shootaround.
Half an hour, to be precise. But yeah, “warmup dunk patrol” must be one of the most boring parts of the job, because it isn’t one time in a hundred that anything happens.
Very interesting. I’ve wondered why they never seem to dunk during warm-ups, but I always assumed it was just considered bad form to show-boat when you’re undefended.
I’ve seen dunks during warmups, but it does seem like they are usually a very soft two-hand variety. Rules issues aside, it seems like dunking would throw off the rhythm of the layup line.