[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

This thread started as a discussion about an unusual throw-in play and has shifted to a discussion of the how and when to give a rules interpretation to a coach. And before I go any further I will reiterate my support for Jacky Loube’s position on this matter.

I have officiated boys’/girls’ high school basketball for thirty years and women’s college for 27 years and I can honestly say that I have seen many changes in how coaches conduct themselves and the vast majority of these changes have not been for the good of basketball.

My high school basketball coach was also my next door neighbor. In 21 years as a head coach he won 378 games and lost 122, all at the same high school. Included in those 378 wins were fifteen league championships and I had the good fortune to play on two of them. Many people in our community thought that of all his players I was the one most likely to become a basketball coach, instead I became an engineer and put on the stripe shirt of a basketball official. The amazing thing about my head coach was that he was also an OhioHSAA registered basketball official. In 1948 he was a charter member of the Trumbull Co. Bkb. Off. Assn., an association in which I am still a member. When asked why he was also a basketball official even though he coached and did not officiate was that one could not teach a sport or game unless he knew the rules.

I can count on one hand the number of high school basketball coaches that I know are also basketball officials. When I first started officiating women’s college basketball (the good old NAGWS days) a good number of the women’s college basketball coaches were also NAGWS basketball officials. These coaches knew that if you are going to teach the game you must know the rules. With very few exceptions, today’s coaches are completely ignorant of the rules of the game. And what is worse in many states (Ohio and Michigan included)
coaches determine who officiates at the jr. varsity and varsity level.

I consider myself an educator of basketball officials (as well as players, coaches, fans, and the press). I will gladly sit down with anybody and answer his/her questions about the rules and mechanics of the game. But sitting in the stands watching the game before your game is not the time or place to be discussing anything with one of the coaches in your game. If you are officiating the second game of a tournament doubleheader, stay in your dressing room until it is time for you to take the court to start your pre-game duties. Limit your conversation with the coaches to good morning/afternoon/evening and good luck, as well as the other NFHS required questions. If the coach wants to ask a rules question just tell him to see you at a later date when you can give him your undivided attention. If the coach persists, just tell him politely that this is not the time or place to have a rules discussion.

To some people how I have suggested to handle a coaches request may seem rude but it is not. Officiating is an avocation but it is also a profession. There is a time and place for everything and before a game is not the time or place for a rules interpretation. The coach may or may not be trying to set you up for a later problem but the best way to avoid the problem is to limit your contact to what your duties require you to do. Once again this is going to sound cynical but it is true: The only friends that you have on the court are your partner(s). Coaches do not know the rules, casebook plays, and mechanics and they will use their lack of knowledge to their advantage every time.

What is the solution to this problem. First, every high school coach should be required to be a registered official and meet all of the same meetings, testing, and educational requirements that “real” officials have to meet. Second, in states (such as Ohio and Michigan, where I officiate basketball) where coaches and/or athletic directors chose the officials, the assigning of officials should be taken away from them. In many states (such as California and Florida, where I have officiated high school basketball in the past), coaches and athletic directors have no say so in who officiates. This is also true for the most part in IAABO states. In some states the State Assn. does the hiring and in other states it is the officials association that does the assigning. Coaches have an interest in the outcome of the game And in states where coaches chose the officials there will always be the appearance of improper conduct by the officials. It is a no win situation for the officials. Officials are like judges and we must always be above suspicion.