NFHS/NCAA Three-Second Violation Rules - Philly Ref

The 3-second violation is on the basketball rules hot list for the 2009/10 season. Both the NFHS and NCAA rules committees have focused on 3-seconds (see NFHS and NCAA emphasis). This offensive violation is not to be confused with defensive 3-seconds included only in the NBA rules.

The basic NFHS, NCAA, FIFA, NBA and WNBA rules are the same. A player of a team with control in the front court shall not touch or be in the restricted area for more than 3 consecutive seconds. The restricted area is the free throw lane including boundary lines.* *The WNBA restricted area includes an extension of the free throw lane from the endline to four feet off the court. An allowance is made to continue a count but suspend a violation ruling when, before 3 seconds, an offensive player starts to attempt to score (including dribbling to the basket). If the move is directly completed, no violation can occur. However, if the move is aborted (e.g. by a pass or fake), no exception applies. NCAA FIBA and NBA rules also make allowance for a player who, before 3 seconds, attempts to leave the restricted (NCAA and FIBA) or passes and immediately moves out of the lane (NBA).

Rationale The impetus for 3 second violation emphasis is inconsistent enforcement. As noted by the NCAA rules committee, 3-second “uncalled infractions provide a distinct advantage for the offensive team.” The NFHS committee “maintains that correct enforcement goes a long way to decreasing rough post play.”

Officials may shy away from calling 3-second violations. A common argument is that such calls disturb the flow of the game -- they are game interrupters -- with little benefit. Sadly, this has become a self-fulfilling prophesy. When 3-seconds is called inconsistently (or not all),