Are You Really Ready?

Maybe I'm getting a little older and more aware of things, but people need to show up to officiate ready to work. It's no different than playing.

Officiating whatever game you have been assigned needs your complete focus from the time you leave the house to the time you leave the gym.

Showing up late due to other commitments, being preoccupied with post-game activities, or just not being there 100% mentally does a complete disservice to your partners, the teams, and the game. Also, if you are hurt, and cannot physically do your best, you're also hurting your crew, the players, and the game.

If you cannot give 100% mentally or physically for whatever reason, you should be a man and turn the game in. If you played in a game under those circumstances, you'd have your lunch handed to you. If you don't think your partners, the players, the coaches, and the paying attendees don't realize it, you are only fooling yourself.

Blizzard '08

Anyone else not really crying about having a bunch of game getting canceled because of the weather? This is probably the first time in my career that it doesn't bother me at all. Maybe I'm losing my passion....or maybe we all need to keep a better perspective that there is a little more to life than basketball during December.

A First Time For Everything

I had a game this past week with a coach that is notorious, in a good way, for riding the officials during his games. He is the master mindgame guy, and is quite capable of manipulating a lot of insecure or inexperienced officials. He is also a heck of a coach and motivator of his kids. I will also say that in officiating probably a half dozen of their games over the years, I have never gotten so much as a comment from a player from East Valley High School. As classy a program as you can find.

We went the entire game, and not one comment was made to any of the three officials regarding a call. We had one request to monitor and manage leaving the ball alone after a made basket to prevent delay in retrieving and inbounding, but other than that not one critical question, comment or request from either coach.

Never happened to me before. Will probably never happen again. Made the night a lot of fun though. It does happen, folks. When you get teams that play basketball using good fundamentals and the correct attitude, and your crew is competent in your calls and in communicating with everyone, things can go very, very smoothly.

Early Observations

1. Lots of non-basketball stuff not being seen or called. I've seen a broken nose/cut on face be penalized with a regular foul, had to throw a kid out for punching an opponent in the stomach after wrestling for a loose ball (first player ejection ever), and seen a dirty play on an inbounds screen that I had to call despite being 40 feet away from the play because it was so blatant. The #1 rule as a basketball official has to be prevent non-basketball activities!

2. I have seen a lot of freedom for offensive post players to use their hands and arms to hold defenders off and get the ball in advantageous positions. If it would be a foul for the defender to do it, it has to be a foul for the offensive player to do it. We always say "Don't screw the defense!" Allowing offensive players to get overly physical in the post, especially with extended arms or grabby hands is screwing the defense.

3. Lots of obscure rulebook calls. Yeah, we know people like to show how they know the book inside and out, but when you get that technical, how do you distinguish when to go to that detail or not? By the rule book definitions, almost all coach comments should be T'd up, but we don;t see that. The rulebook is there as a framework to work within, not a reason to show everyone you're the beat cop who knows the letter of the law regarding jaywalking on an empty street. Know what I'm sayin'?

Have fun.