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Originally Posted by lpneck
If I work HS varsity and D3 college games, and I am in attendance at a Big 10 game and one of the officials goes down, do you think Tom Izzo and Steve Alford are going to mind if I come down and help finish the game, or do you think they would rather have Ed Hightower and Steve Welmer finish it themselves? It would clearly be an incredible learning experience for my career.
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Actually, this exact scenario happened here at the U of I, I'm wanting to say sometime back around '83 or '84, when Kentucky was scheduled to play on Dec. 24. There was a pretty good snowstorm that morning, and the scheduled referees could not make it down from Chicago that day due to the roads being closed. The Kentucky team had made it in a day or two earlier. It just so happened 3 local high school referees (one of whom I know personally) were at the game, and were asked to fill in. They went to the game with their stuff in the car, knowing there might be that possibility. They did work D3, so they knew NCAA rules, and they were also known to the U of I Athletic Dept. because they had done scrimmages.
It just so happened Illinois lost a close game, but Lou Henson made it a point to say it was not the officials' fault - they did a commendable job given the circumstances.
And it was a great experience for those guys. You just never know how you'll get your break.