The Rules For A Technical Foul In Basketball

The technical foul is one of the more controversial foul calls in all of basketball. With it comes a stigma of getting on an official's bad side, but not all technical fouls are created equal. That's even more true in college basketball, where some technical fouls carry stiffer penalties than others. Understanding the basics behind technical fouls can help you avoid them during your game whether you're a player or a coach.

Administrative Technical Foul

One type of technical foul is the administrative technical foul. This is used to penalize certain technical aspects of the game. For example, in high school basketball, if a coach does not supply the official scorer with the names and numbers of his players, along with the designated starters, by 10 minutes before the game is scheduled to start, the penalty is a technical foul. Other administrative technical fouls include players being added to the official scorer's book after the game has started, players entering the playing court without being beckoned by an official and a player changing jersey numbers during the game.

Unsportsmanlike Technical Foul

The other main type of technical foul in basketball is an unsportsmanlike technical foul. As its name implies, the unsportsmanlike technical foul is issued to players and coaches who demonstrate behavior that is not in line with sporting behavior, at the discretion and according to the judgment of the referees. Examples of unsportsmanlike technical fouls include disparaging or belittling an official, removing a jersey while on the playing court as a sign of disrespect or disgust, or taunting or baiting an opponent.

Loss of Coaching Box

In high school basketball, the coach is given a coaching box, in which he is allowed to stand to give instructions to his team. Upon receiving a direct or indirect technical foul, the coach loses the privilege of using the coaching box, and must remain seated for the rest of the game, except to call a time out. Examples of indirect technical fouls include a bench technical, or a pre-game technical on a player for dunking or hanging on the rim during warmups.

Penalties

In high school basketball, the penalty for a technical foul is always the same -- two free throws and the ball out of bounds at the division line for the opposing team. In college basketball, unsportsmanlike technical fouls are penalized the same as in high school. For administrative technical fouls, the opposing team is awarded two free throws and the ball is placed at the point of interruption. In the National Basketball Association, the opposing team is awarded one free throw and the ball is placed at the point of interruption for all technical fouls.