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Mark T. DeNucci, Sr. · #38 (**permalink**) Tue Jan 22, 2002, 09:02am

Quote:

Originally posted by JRutledge

Quote:

Originally posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

This is not a case of common sense. Common sense when the coach strays out of his coaching box towards the endline to coach his team in violation of the rules and instead of calling a technical foul on him which is what is required by the rules you quitely remind him to step back into the coaching box as you go by him.

But when officials start using the phrase "common sense" to explain why they will not enforce a rule is because the do not know the rule or understand the rule. I do not buy the "common sense" explaination for not calling a foul in this situation.

I had two officials tell me just last week that everybody knows from "common sense" the when a player who is dribbling down the lane is fouled anytime after he stops his dribble and before he releases the ball should never be considered to be fouled in the act of shooting unless the foul occured while he was releasing the ball because coaches do not know the rule and "common sense" tells the coaches that is when the shooter is "really" in the act of shooting.

We do not apply the rules by the way non-professionals, who do not know the rules, think the rules should be applied but by the ways the rules are supposed to be applied because we are the rules professionals not the coaches.

Mark, you have to use common sense if the rules or rule leaves it up to the official to make a decision one way or another. I can think off all kinds of calls where common sense comes into play. If it did not, then we would be calling T's for every single time a kid flops to try to draw a charge. Or we would call a T every single time a kid slaps the backboard. You have to be thinking through what happen and make a conclusion. And sometimes that conclusion takes common sense to make a decision. Especially when we witness something that was not clear. Even when officials say, "call the obvious," that statement in itself means we must use some kind of common sense. Do we call multiple fouls all the time? Is there probably once a game where we could? I know I do not call multiple fouls mainly because of all the problems it would cause. I might be right on based on what the rule is, but I would rather pick one player, and call it on them. Why go looking for crap, because the rule says call it that way and call it that way only. I sure as hell know that I have not called a T on one coach this year and have not seen a T on a coach for stepping out of his or her box and coaching their players. I know the rule wants us to give Ts the minute they step foot out of the box, but if we did that every time, there would be no coaches to coach the game. We always need to use some kind of common sense thinking.

Peace

I never said that we should not use common sense. Your example of the slapping the backboard is a good example as well as a casebook play telling us when not to issue the technical foul for slapping the backboard. The coach straying out of the coaching box while coaching his team is the example that I used for not issuing a technical foul (just gently remind the coach where he is and where he needs to be). The multiple foul is another good example of commong sense officiating.

But not to call a foul because the defender is doing his job (please read my posting immediately preceding this one) because common sense tells us not to is nonsense.