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Originally Posted by Terrapins Fan
So, back to my point, if you didn't play the game, can you understand it the way an official who did play it understands it?
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I'll preface all this by saying that I've played rec ball and intramural ball, and enjoy playing a game of pickup every now and again, but never played any high school (or even middle school) ball.
That being said, I think that coming in, having played a little bit of basketball helps you, if for no other reason than having some more intimate exposure to the game. As things progress, however, and certainly by the time one is refereeing JV or Varsity games, the fact that someone did or did not play organized basketball doesn't make any difference at all.
For example, why does it matter if the coach did or did not want the T? The fact of the matter is his actions dictated that he should get one, so he did. I think that one of the dangers of having played basketball is believing that you know what the team is or is not trying to accomplish by doing a certain thing. Where do I see this all the time? Fouling to stop the clock. Some officials, who get into the mindset of thinking "okay, this team is trying to foul" get quick on the whistle, and will call fouls before they happen IMO.
Coaches are coaches, players are players, and officials are officials. At one point or another, we all may have been one of the others, but come game time, we're each our own seperate entity. We should stick to the job we have, because only the coaches know why they do what they do (and sometimes, even that is debatable).
Just my 2 cent.