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Saturday, August 31, 2024

Angel Reese- Etiquette in Basketball


This week Angel Reese tied or broke a rookie record for double-doubles. The controversy is that with the Fever leading by 25, both the Fever and the Sky subbed out their starters, except Reese. In last three minutes, Reese got 4 rebounds and 5 points to get a double-double in a totally meaningless situation. 

I have witnessed in a high school game when one team was leading late and still pressing, the other coach rolled up his shirt sleeves, yelling, “Do you want a pint of blood too?”

In another situation when a team was up 20 and kept their star in so he could get an individual scoring record, an assistant coach screamed at other coach, “We’re going outside after this game.” 


So is there such a thing as definitive rules of etiquette in sports. In baseball you are not to steal late in the game if up by 5 runs. And if you are down late and the other team allows a player to steal, it is statistically not counted as a steal- it is labeled as “indifference.” 

What do you think is the proper etiquette in the following situations?

1- Team A is ahead by 30 with 4 minutes to go and subs out all their starters. Team B does not sub. Team B has not pressed the entire game, but they now put their press on vs. Team A’s reserves.


2- A player has scored 40 points after three quarters and their team is ahead 25 points. The school’s scoring record is 48 points. The coach keeps the player in the fourth quarter and every play is designed for the player to get a shot. 

3- Team A is up 25 points with 4 minutes to go. Team B has subbed. Team A goes into a delay offense vs Team B. Team A does not take a shot the last four minutes.


4- In the middle of the game, a player has a breakaway layup. They see a teammate coming and instead of shooting, they toss it up off the board for their teammate to jump and dunk it. 

5- Team A is up 92-72 with one minute to go. They have not scored 100 points before. Team A starts intentionally fouling Team B every time they get it so Team B shoots FT’s and Team immediately gets the ball back so they can try to score 100 points. 

6- Team A’s defensive style is to press full court. Team A is up 80-50 with four minutes to go. Team A puts their subs in. The subs only get to play once every 4-5 games. They work on the press in practice, so the coach has them press the last four minutes of the game, even though they are up 30. 

7- Grinnell purposely went into a game to have David Arseneault set a game assist record. He handled the ball every possession and they ran things to get people open for him to pass to him. He passed up shots. He got 34 assists in the game.


8- It is last home game and it is for the conference championship. The team has worked hard all year to get to this point. Only two seniors start normally. The coach starts five seniors in this game. 

9- The school record for threes made in a game is 15. Team A has 13 threes with 4 minutes to go and are up 20. Everytime down the floor, they shoot threes. 

10- A player tore their ACL at the beginning of the season. The two coaches agree in a game to let her start. The other team lets her score, then they are allowed to score. It is 2-2, a time out is called and the ACL injured player is subbed out. 

11- A player on Team A has made 10 threes, the state record is 13. Team A is up at the start of the fourth quarter by 17 points. Everytime down the floor, Team A sets up the player to shoot a three. Team B decides that with five minutes to go when she makes her 12th three and they are down 20 that they are not going to let her get the record. Everytime Team A gets the ball, Team B immediately fouls another player so the player never can even touch the ball.


12- Last game of the year, Team A is up 20 with 3 minutes to go. A senior post player has never made a three in their career. Team A sets up the player to shoot threes every possession.

13- On college level, the subs only get in about every 7-8 games. They enter the game with their team up 15 with 40 seconds to go. They have the ball but the coach tells them to let the shot clock run out and don’t shoot. 

14- A player is going for a record double-doubles. Her team is down 25 points with three minutes to go. Both teams clear their benches and leave no starters on the floor except the one player. She only has 5 points and 7 rebounds with three minutes to go. She finishes with 10 points and 11 rebounds to get her record. 

I would appreciate your feedback on any of these. Just put your comments in the comment box below. You need to at the end of your comments, type in your name.

With some of these, I feel strongly about what is right and wrong- with others not so strongly. Here are my thoughts- 

1- Team A is ahead by 30 with 4 minutes to go and subs out all their starters. Team B does not sub. Team B has not pressed the entire game, but they now put their press on vs. Team A’s reserves. 

I feel strongly when one team clears their bench, the other team does not press. Team B's coach should not be using this time to show up Team A's subs and trying to make the score look closer than the game actually was. 

2- A player has scored 40 points after three quarters and their team is ahead 25 points. The school’s scoring record is 48 points. The coach keeps the player in the fourth quarter and every play is designed for the player to get a shot.

I really struggle with this one. I believe in getting records within the "flow of the game." If you get the record with 2 minutes to go vs. subs, it loses some of its meaning. If the player is a senior, I would keep them in but if they don't have 44 points with 6 to go, they come out. Mom and Dad will love me then.  

3- Team A is up 25 points with 4 minutes to go. Team B has subbed. Team A goes into a delay offense vs Team B. Team A does not take a shot the last four minutes.

This falls under the category of just plain stupid. When Team B has subbed, Team A should sub (during tourney time, maybe a beat slower). If Team B does not sub, then why practice all week but not allow the team to "play ball" the last four minutes. If Team B needs work on their delay game- do it in practice. 


4- In the middle of the game, a player has a breakaway layup. They see a teammate coming and instead of shooting, they toss it up off the board for their teammate to jump and dunk it. 

In girls bb, I never let any of my girls do this. But if I coached boys bb, I would be ok with this if they have done it in practice. Fun is ok. 

5- Team A is up 92-72 with one minute to go. They have not scored 100 points before. Team A starts intentionally fouling Team B every time they get it so Team B shoots FT’s and Team immediately gets the ball back so they can try to score 100 points. 

Absolutely not- disagree with this strategy.

6- Team A’s defensive style is to press full court. Team A is up 80-50 with four minutes to go. Team A puts their subs in. The subs only get to play once every 4-5 games. They work on the press in practice, so the coach has them press the last four minutes of the game, even though they are up 30. 

Nope, when ahead that much, you do not press. Even if it is your subs vs their starters. My subs can still have success playing good half-court man to man. Offensively you can remain aggressive but defensively shut it off.

7- Grinnell purposely went into a game to have David Arseneault set a game assist record. He handled the ball every possession and they ran things to get people open for him to pass to him. He passed up shots. He got 34 assists in the game.

I would feel more comfortable seeing what happens in the "flow of the game." The player gets 8 assists early, then just keeping working to get more. 

8- It is last home game and it is for the conference championship. The team has worked hard all year to get to this point. Only two seniors start normally. The coach starts five seniors in this game. 

I may be alone but I feel it is "Team First," the TEAM has worked to get into this spot. The ceremony before the game is to honor the seniors, the game is for the TEAM. No, seniors don't start. 

9- The school record for threes made in a game is 15. Team A has 13 threes with 4 minutes to go and are up 20. Every time down the floor, they shoot threes. 

To have 15 threes, I am guessing shooting threes is the team's offense. Go for it- keep shooting. I believe you can continue to run your offense when up. 

10- A player tore their ACL at the beginning of the season. The two coaches agree in a game to let her start. The other team lets her score, then they are allowed to score. It is 2-2, a time out is called and the ACL injured player is subbed out. 

The coaches are agreeing to shorten the game by probably 30 seconds. Not to be cold hearted, but I would do it for a senior but not an underclassman. I would be surprised if many players would really want to do this if they were hurt.  

11- A player on Team A has made 10 threes, the state record is 13. Team A is up at the start of the fourth quarter by 17 points. Everytime down the floor, Team A sets up the player to shoot a three. Team B decides that with five minutes to go when she makes her 12th three and they are down 20 that they are not going to let her get the record. Every time Team A gets the ball, Team B immediately fouls another player so the player never can even touch the ball.

I don't like this strategy. Just play better defense. With five minutes to go maybe you can cut the lead. 

12- Last game of the year, Team A is up 20 with 3 minutes to go. A senior post player has never made a three in their career. Team A sets up the player to shoot threes every possession.

The player gets one or two tries, and they are done. 

13- On college level, the subs only get in about every 7-8 games. They enter the game with their team up 15 with 40 seconds to go. They have the ball but the coach tells them to let the shot clock run out and don’t shoot. 

I don't get this- let them run and offense. Why put them in and have them all stand and hold the ball. 

14- A player is going for a record double-doubles. Her team is down 25 points with three minutes to go. Both teams clear their benches and leave no starters on the floor except the one player. She only has 5 points and 7 rebounds with three minutes to go. She finishes with 10 points and 11 rebounds to get her record. 

I would not keep the player in, I would be too unhappy to be down by 25 to come up with a strategy to honor a player with 5 points and 7 rebounds. In the long run, I think it diminishes other accomplishments. 

Man, these were tough. Tomorrow I might argue differently. In general, I am more comfortable going for team records vs individual records, and I am more comfortable by continuing to be aggressive offensively vs being aggressive defensively. 

Leave your feedback in the comments.  


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