Old thread I know, but the fact is, there are several ways an offensive team can gain an advantage by being able to take more than 3 seconds in the offensive keyway, and that is why the rule was introduce.
HOWEVER, there is a way that the defensive team can gain an unfair advantage if the officials are not given the ability to judge advantage/disadvantage and must call ever 3 second infraction - that is why the advantage/disadvantage rule was introduced - for that specific reason - to not DISADVANTAGE the offense,.
why am I re-raising this thread ??
- because I was told today that Nathan Wieland, in running their referee accreditation program, told the referees on my junior game, that they should ONLY call 3 seconds on a player when that players' team has DIRECTLY thrown that player the ball.
I simply cannot believe that this is the advice that young referees are given, talk about being set up for some serious sideline abuse.
but first - how offensive teams will gain advantage if 3 seconds are not called.
1) establish an advantageous rebounding position, and remain there until the shot is taken.
Many years ago a pair of WA referee at the Geralton easter carnival, told me that unless the ball was passed to the player, it was not a 3 second violation. So as the captain coach of the SA team, I subbed on one guard and all 4 bigs, played zone in def and had all 4 bigs take up as much time as they liked to box up around our offensive ring before having the single guard threw up a "shot" to be rebounded . After 8 straight points from 4 consecutive offensive putbacks, I called a time out and asked the refs if they wanted to start calling 3 seconds the old fashioned way - they did, and so did the opposition coach and team.
2) by being in the key for more than 3 seconds , the usual man to man "help" defence or Zone is PERMANENTLY deformed, and in a way that absolutely no defensive drill is designed to include/cover.
Instead of the offensive player needing to reset their count by moving out of the key ( as the rule explains), and thus giving the defence a chance to gain a better defensive position on that player, the entire defensive group have to adjust for the CONSTANT possibility of
a) a shot going up with a 210CM giant inside
b) a pass going to the same Giant, and the referee not having noticed the 3 count ( this does happen)
in both situations noting that the offensive player has been able ( by the other rules of basketball) to fully and totally "own" the space that they have occupied under the ring for the ENTIRE time of their teams possession.- ie they cannot be physically moved by the defence,
3) IF you could remain in the keyway for longer than 3 seconds , as long as you did not get passed the ball,, then there would be a great number of plays being run using multiple screens being set by a single player in , or around, the keyway. They would not have to receive the ball or even rebound , for this to be very effective. Instead all in keyway screen plays incorporate timing that allow players to re-set their feet outside the keyway to avoid a 3 second count.
4) IF you could remain in the keyway for longer than 3 seconds, as long as you did not get passed the ball, then you could run players inside the keyway whose only job was to block the best defensive re bounders out of rebounding position, and don't try to tell me that "wasting" an offensive player or two to keep a defensive rebounding monster player like Mark Davis off the boards would not be effective. You could use a far smaller player who would just constantly deny the taller defensive player position for a rebound, allowing your own big to dominate
FINALLY - The rule itself says that advantage is possible.
Thus it is reasonable to argue that if it was the intention of the rule to recognise that the ONLY advantage that an offensive player had in being in the keyway was the possibility of receiving a pass, then the rule could simply state that any player remaining in the keyway past 3 seconds who received a pass will cause a turnover of possession.That is a nice and simple rule with no great enforcement problems IF that was the only advantage to be gained by being in the key way, but it is not. The simple fact that the rule STATES that there is advantages to be gained means that there are more than one situation (ie catching a pass) where such an advantage can be gained.
The ACTUAL reason that the advantage/disadvantaged rule was applied to the 3 second count over 20 years ago - was to enable officials the choice to NOT call a 3 second count on an offensive player whose ONLY intention and action is to exit the keyway, but who is NOT going to do it within 3 seconds, for reasons other than their own intent.
IE to call 3 seconds on a player who has turned to exit the keyway but is having their exit blocked by other players, and who is neither attempting to receive the ball, or set a screen, or establish a rebounding position is CLEARLY disadvantaging the offensive team, and that call will provide an ADVANTAGE to the defensive team that is not within the spirit of the game.
( for the ancient historians amongst you, can you name the European coach/team, who drilled his team to "box in" offensive players in this way to make the officials call the 3 second violation (hint 1973)? - THAT is why advantage/disadvantage was originally introduced to the 3 sec violation