[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

But I agree with JRutledge regarding basketball officials becoming a bunch of robots. Officiating should leave some room for different personalities and mannerisms.

However, regarding such seemingly insignificant things as fist/open hands, finger point/open palm point, etc., it's important that rookies get off to a good start and are initially taught the "correct way" by instructors, maybe with a few reminders from mentors during early career observations (fix it early, it is difficult to teach old dogs new tricks, thus my fist blocks), but always noting that these are minor issues compared to the stuff that really matters, stuff like calling and managing the game, and being a good partner.

If an instructor has three choices, the right way, the wrong way, or don't teach either way, why would an instructor chose anything but the right way?

Who is the best to work a state final? JRutledge with fist blocks and finger points? Or the exact same JRutledge but with open hand blocks and open palm points? Who will be the best role model for young officials who are looking for a top notch official to emulate?

Who is the best to work a state final? An official who can quote verbatim all the rules, mechanics, and signals but doesn't know if the basketball is stuffed, or inflated? Or an official, maybe with some warts, who actually knows the game, and can call and manage a game, any game, no matter how difficult, getting almost all, if not all, of the calls right, and who is a good partner?

Simple answer. The one that gets the plays right. I do not know anyone that cares about what your hand looks like if you cannot handle situations that come up in games and get plays right. That is what I have seen officials be judged ultimately on, not how straight your arm is or how many fingers you show compared to the diagram. I will tell you, I got there by being a good official and having the trust of many players. In my final game at the very last State Final that the IHSA held, there was a coach that did not say a word to me the entire game because he trusted the crew from past experience (and he lost). We had the winning coach who had the best player in the state on his team with 2 fouls early in that game. He ranted about how much "The best player in the state" was being treated and when he was finished on his rant during a timeout, I said to him, "Well I must have respect for you because I am over here while you are yelling at me." He said, "You are right and thank you" and we had no other issues the rest of the game. The best player in the state went on to get two more fouls and nearly fouled out during a run to get back in the game that they should have lost honestly. That was their second state title in two years and no one said a word to me about any conflict in that game. That interaction was caught on TV and no one even knew what took place.

There is more to what we do than how we signal we have to be the calm in the storm and many people are not capable to do that in those moments. My experience and understanding of the coach in that situation was an asset. And like it or not, that means more than how your hands look compared to the signal. Not tooting my horn, but that is what I learned by guys more experienced than me years ago before that opportunity. And again, the powers that be who could have pointed this out during the weekend, did not say a word. That should tell us all something.

If you also look at the Final Four and the officials that worked the Championship game, none of them have "textbook" mechanics on every situation. Not even close. And I work for one of them at the college level and we have those conversations as a staff.

Peace