[JRutledge]

You need to know who the stars are.

You need to know who shoots three's.

You need to know who goes to the basket everytime they have the ball.

You need to know who has several fouls on them (3 or 4).

You need to know who plays out of control.

Basically you need to know as much about your game as possible. This will keep you out of trouble, help you control the game. The more you know, the better you will handle situations. Nothing will happen and you were not perpared for it.

If you know who the star is on a team, and that star makes several fouls in half or quarter, who do you think you are going to take the heat for fouling? It does not mean that you not call fouls, but if you foul out the one player that gives their team a chance to win, you might have to keep the coach off of you and deal with the frustration of the players if they feel their chances just went down the tubes. I would never say change your game, but be aware of what the future might hold, because then you can deal with or handle it before the bottom falls out.

Most T situations that I have ever seen are usually because the officials did not handle the situation earlier. I am not saying that you control this, but you can be aware and make it know that you are aware to the appropriate parties so they are aware. When players and coaches are aware that you see things going too far, if they cross the line, they do it with the full knowledge of the circumstances of their actions. And in the end that covers your a$$ and they cannot say you did not warn them.

This to me is no different then understanding the kind of offenses or defenses that teams run. A motion offense is going to have more screening so as an official, you have to be prepared for illegal contact by both teams. If a team runs a post up offense with a big center, where do you think the defense is going to be at?

All this does is prepare you before the situation blows up in your face. It does not mean it will, but if you are prepared for the worst, you might be able to stop it.

Peace