Judgment/Position Relationship

For years, my opinion was that the best officials have the best judgment. Mechanics are flashy, most refs are nice guys, but judgment is what separates the great officials from the mirages. However, the last year or two, I had become acutely aware of how most of us are somewhat lax on positioning, and that has a huge impact on our performance. You must be strong on positioning, or you will not make the right calls, period.

No matter how good your judgment is, if you are not in position to see the play, you miss a foul. Therefore, mistakes that are made are a function of both judgment and positioning. This really hit home to me last week when a couple of guys asked me to watch their game and provide feedback. One young official had phenomenal judgment., When he saw a play, he made the right decision just about every time. Problem was, he was tied to the sideline at the FT line extended as the C, and did not move much as the T to get the angles he needed. So he missed some fouls. I am convinced that with better positioning, he would have aced the game. The other guy was in position A almost every time, he just needs to refine his judgment. That will come with reps, self-awareness, and experience.

Having great positioning also eliminates the need to be very rigid on whose area calls are in. The better officials understand that primaries are guidelines. On drives to the basket, the whole crew should be getting a look, but you give the first crack at the play to the guy who has the best look at it. When your positioning is very good, and you are not guessing, all of a sudden you've become a very valuable teammate. Great positioning gives you more chances at good looks. That will make you better.

What happens with guys who have average judgment and average positioning? They guess. Guessing means phantom calls or incorrect calls. Nothing worse than phantom calls.

So the lesson here is, really, really focus on your positioning. Move as the T and C to get angles to see the plays. If you are not in position, don't guess, and hope that one of your partners had a good look and can help you out. Otherwise, track when you have no-calls, and go back to really figure out if you had good positioning or not.