Quote:
Originally posted by zebraman
Oh Rut, you just couldn't resist could you?
Incredible official: Good rule knowledge, good mechanics, good presence, good game management.
Great official: Good rule knowledge, good mechanics and great presence.
Good official: Good rule knowledge and good mechanics.
Fair official: Good rule knowledge.
Poor offical: Poor rule knowledge, great mechanics and great presence.
Horrible official: None of the above.
Obviously, I left out many possible combinations. But the point is that you could become a decent official without that "presence" that you so highly prize yet you aren't going to get past horrible without good rule knowledge.
Z
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I don't know if I totally agree. I guess it depends on what you rate as "poor rule knowledge". I know, personally, a couple of final four officials and they have told me stories about how they have screwed up rules because they haven't known them. These stories involve situations in the NCAA tournament. These officials have great presence and credibility, but some of them have terrible mechanics and I would think that rules knowledge is somewhat suspect, due to the stories they tell about themselves. Does that make them "poor" officials? I don't think so.
I think that rules knowledge is very important--we have to know them to administer them, but rules knowledge is not nearly enough. Too many officials, IMO, are like cops--they think they have to know everything and bust every infraction they see. Realistically, there are too many infractions at any given time to get them all. Understanding what to call and what to leave alone is much more important, IMO, than what a false double foule is and how to administer it. Personally, I would rather have a partner with great presence and management skills than a guy that could quote rules and book locations. I am convinced that a partner who understands the game can help me figure out what the right thing to do is, but a guy who might know the rule will rarely, if ever, get you out of trouble with a coach.
JMO, take it for what it is worth (not much!!!
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[Edited by stripes on Jun 11th, 2002 at 04:44 PM]