I have been a basketball official in Martin County for more than 15 years. I have worked games across the Tri-State area and have also officiated semi-pro women’s basketball.

No matter where I go, there is one thing I still hear from the stands almost every game.

“That’s over the back, ref!”

From the stands, it can look like a player just climbed right over someone to get the rebound. Fans are watching their team battle for every possession, emotions are high, and when the ball comes off the rim, everybody in the gym suddenly becomes a rebounding expert.

But here is the thing.

“Over the back” is not actually a rule in high school basketball.

The actual call is a push in the back or a foul for illegal contact while rebounding. There is a difference.

Under Section 37, Article 2 of the high school basketball rulebook, a player trying to obtain or maintain legal rebounding position may not displace, charge or push an opponent. A player also cannot extend the shoulders, hips, knees, arms or elbows in a way that hinders an opponent’s freedom of movement. They cannot bend their body in an abnormal position to hold or displace an opponent, and they cannot violate the principle of verticality.

In simpler terms, the keyword is displacement.

A player is allowed to be taller. A player is allowed to jump higher. And a player is allowed to have a longer wingspan. That part is not illegal. That is just how the good Lord made them.

Think about it this way.

If Anthony Davis is standing behind Tyler Ulis on a rebound, Davis is naturally going to be able to reach over him. Ulis, meanwhile, could have perfect inside position and box out exactly the way every coach teaches it.

If Davis jumps straight up, reaches over the top and grabs the ball without pushing, leaning or knocking Ulis out of position, that is a legal rebound.

It may not look fair.

It may not feel fair.

But being tall is not a foul.

Now, if Davis puts a forearm in Ulis’ back, pushes him forward, knocks him off balance or uses his body to move him out of the way, then we have a foul.

But that foul is not “over the back.”

That foul is a push.

That is where officials are looking. Did the player create illegal contact? Did they move the opponent out of position? Also, did they gain an advantage by pushing, holding or displacing the player in front of them?

If the answer is yes, the whistle should blow.

If the answer is no, play on.

Rebounding can be tough to officiate because so much happens at once. Players are boxing out, jumping, reaching and fighting for position, and officials have to make that decision in a split second.

There is no slow-motion replay, no pause button and no chance to ask everyone in the stands what they saw, although I know plenty of people would be ready with an answer.

And honestly, that is part of what makes basketball fun. The gym is loud. The fans are passionate. Everybody sees the game from a different angle.

Again, this is one rule worth clearing up.

There is no “over the back” call.

There is legal rebounding position, verticality, displacement, a push. But simply reaching over someone to grab a rebound is not automatically a foul.

So the next time a taller player reaches over a shorter player and pulls down a clean rebound, remember this before giving the official too hard a time.

It is not about whether they went over the back.

It is about whether they moved the player out of the way.

Hope you enjoyed my Referee Ted Talk.

I would be willing to bet that I will hear “over the back” in the first and last games of the season.

Brittni McCoy is the sports editor at the Mountain Citizen.