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thanks for your feedback. I have my team line up for freethrows a certain way because we are undersized. The 2 players on the side with the opponents best rebounder are to pinch down to help each other out. On the other side, our inside guy boxes out 1 vs 1, usually giving up several inches and pounds, and the top guy goes to box out the shooter (waiting for the ball to hit the rim of course). So with this method to try to combat our lack of height, there is a "pocket" that is unoccupied. If our 5th guy is not in a good position to retrieve any loose balls, we are very susceptible to long rebounds. As a team philosophy, on defense we always rebound 5. On freethrows, we cannot afford to take any shots for granted.
We were lining up thusly the entire game and nothing was said. With so little time left, I do not have the luxury of pulling my team to the sideline and "re-teaching" them how we want to rebound on freethrows. I teach my players to know what their job is and to do it.
I was not "trotting around with a rulebook" distracting my players. My players were doing what they were supposed to be doing (well, the defensive rotations for the first 3 quarters was horrible, but thats not what we are discussing). Its kinda funny how you want to stick up for an official and throw out snide remarks. I take that as just a side-effect of the internet and do not take it to heart. I am not teaching my players "defiance". I am teaching them they need to do whatever they can within the rules to do their job. As an extreme example, what if during the state championship game, an official tells my player he is not allowed to set screens on smaller players because its "unfair and against the spirit of competition"??? Know the rules, know the game, play hard.
When you say to "focus on playing the game within the context of whatever the officials dictate", there is a trust that the official is officiating the game within the bounds of the rules. I did not speak directly to the official until he told me 3 times that "i need to know the rules". What part of officiating is that? I was focused on the "context" of the game, that is why i did not burn a Timeout to discuss the rule. We are trying to win a game. We are doing what we are permitted to do within the rules.
Again, thanks for your input
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