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Originally posted by Rich Fronheiser
Quote:
Originally posted by Dan_ref
Quote:
Originally posted by JRutledge
If you cannot see the basket from the lead, you probably are too close to the lane. When a shot goes up, I back away from the basket. Now I do not look up at the rim for the purposes to call a BI or GT call, but I might have to look up there or need to look up there to see contact. I work a lot of boy's basketball that is near or above the rim. I cannot afford to work that type of game and not have the ability to look up around the rim. If I do not look there, I am going to miss the contact with the arm and head and parts of the upper body if I do not have an angle close to the rim. Maybe if someone is working girl's basketball or JH boy's (and many of them can leap pretty high) games you cannot afford not to look up. But working with talent that can dunk or the big men in the lane that are well over 6'5 makes it difficult to not look near the rim.
Peace
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This is good advice.
When they say "don't look at the rim" they do not mean "do not be aware of what's going on around the rim". I will add there are times when the L does need to focus in on what's going on in the paint under the rim completely but generally you should have an idea of what's going on above you to anticipate where the next action will be.
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I worked a game last season where one of the teams had a 6'10" center. 2-whistle. Center went up to block a shot CLEARLY on it's way down. From the trail position it didn't look like the ball was touched, but I had a better angle and saw the GT. I made the call as the lead and nobody said a word. Imagine if I had passed on it....
While I agree that the trail needs to work hard to get goaltending/BI and it's his primary responsibility, the more important thing in this situation is that SOMEONE gets it if it happens. The game will self-destruct quickly if we worry more about how it looks for the lead to make such a call and NOBODY calls it.
Something similar happened to me about 10 years ago -- ball brushed a support wire above the basket and (as the trail) I missed it -- I was watching some rough rebounding play and wasn't watching the ball closely enough to make the call. Partner called nothing. I ended up swallowing a bunch of crap and then had my partner tell me in the locker room he saw the ball hit the wire.
Now part of my pregame is that we discuss goaltend/BI/support wires and we agree that someone will get it, even if it happens to be the lead seeing it via peripheral vision. The game is more important than being accused once a year of fishing outside your pond.
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I don't buy that. I'm all for "getting it right" but I think that the lead looking up is more risk than it's worth. It's far more important for the lead to be watching the rebounding action than helping the lead on a goaltend or support wire call (by the way, the support wire is WAY up there and I can't think of a time when the lead should
ever see that). Even in a 2-person game, most of the time the trail should be able to stay with shooter and still release in time to see goaltend or basket interference (and support wire issues) in time.
Even in an athletic boys game, how many goaltends or basket interference calls are there? But there is potential for overagressive rebounding action (that can lead to trouble) almost every shot right? As lead, just back out as wide as you can. Maybe in a 2-person game, you can get wide enough to help the trail on a real obvious call just through your peripheral vision, but you shouldn't look up (besides, the trail shouldn't need any help on the obvious ones).
I was sitting next to a buddy of mine who is a state tournament evaluator watching a game last year and the trail didn't notice that the ball bounced up and hit the support wire. His only comment was, "the officials are both doing a good job of watching off ball aren't they?."
Z