Quote:
Originally posted by DrakeM
Mark.
You can quote rules all you want.
Sometimes common sense HAS to kick in.
The best officials I know, have the ablility to
balance the two. Great rules knowledge, and the ability
to use common sense when applying them.
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This has nothing to do with common sense. A.R. 26(a) specifically states that B1 does not have to be in contact with the ball at the time that A1 returns to the court.
For those who do not have the NCAA rules book in front of you, A.R. 26(a) is as follows: A1 goes airborne to attempt a field goal. While A1 is airborne the ball is still in his/her hands, B1 places his/her hands on the ball preventing A1 from releasing the ball. B1 then removes his/her hand from the ball and A1 returns to the court having never released the ball. The ruling is that a held ball has occured as soon as A1 returned to the court. This is what happened in the Pitt-Kent State game.
Going off on a tangent or a rant, whichever you prefer. Some of you will notice I do not use the phrase common sense. It has been my experience in basketball officiating, that every time an official or coach uses the phrase common sense to justify a ruling that is contridictory to the rules and casebook plays it is because that person does not either understand or know the rule involved.
When we, as officials, make ruling, we have to use the rules and casebook plays to determine the correct ruling. Granted, there are times that there is not much help in the rules and casebooks, but that is where logic and experience must be applied to come to a fair solution to the problem.
A good example of how common sense can get us into trouble is the following play:
A1 is dribbling toward his basket. A1 stops his dribble while both feet are off the floor. After he stops his dribble and while still airborne he is fouled by B1. A1 then lands on his right foot, then jumps off that foot, then lands on his left foot, then jumps off that foot and releases the ball on a field goal attempt. Clear cut case of continuous motion. This play was discussed by me, the Bowling Green (Ohio) H.S. boys' varsity coach and two other veteran officials. All three of them told me that now matter what the rules book and casebook said, common sense tells us that A1 was not fouled in the act of shooting. All three of them told me that they really did not care what the rules book and casebook said, that to make that call defies common sense and that coaches do not want that foul called that way. One also has to remember that in Ohio, the coaches determine who officiates regular season varsity (and sometimes jr. varsity) games and all tournament games.
This same coach lost a game because officials he approved used common sense (and not the rules) and reversed a judgement call (and thereby wiping two points off the board), because the officials did not know how to apply the correctable error rule (in this case the correctable error rule did not have anything to to with the play at all).
Just leave common sense out of it. Know the rules, and apply the rules and logic instead.