[Back In The Saddle]

Other than indicating that we are shooting, or identifying the OOB spot, there isn't too much emphasis on prelims here. But I have made it a PPOE this season to do a better job of this. I still rarely give the fouler's color/number. I will communicate number of shots and number of my shooter (along with pointing to him/her), or identify the throw-in spot. If there is some confusion I will identify the fouler and perhaps the type of foul. If the situation warrants, I may do a little "selling" at the spot.

My yardstick on this is whether anybody on the floor has to ask me questions. If a player has to ask, "Was that on me?" or "Who was that on?" then I didn't communicate clearly enough (I overestimated how obvious the call was). If, heaven forbid, my partner has to ask whether we are shooting, etc., then I didn't do a good enough job communicating with him/her.

I will say there is an official here who does a much more thorough prelim on most fouls, and I think it adds a lot to the credibility of his calls. So I'm slowly working on doing what he does to see if it works for me.