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Originally Posted by Gimlet25id
If Jay Bilas is such a expert on what, when, & how to call the game then he should put on the stripes, strap on a whistle, & blow!!! That guy is a horses Azz. Its to easy for him to pin the mistake on the official and not the player.
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At the risk of being a Bilas apologist, I think out of all the analysts and columnists, he has always exhibited the most understanding of officials and our craft, even defending them at times against the consipracy theorists (read: whiners). What I like about him is he gives me (as an official) a coach's and player's perspective having been there himself, and he doesn't scapegoat.
His point is often that officials (and questionable calls) are part of the game and always have been. In this technological age of triple slo-mo reverse angle replay, mistakes are more public and the media (youtube, too) further perpetuates the public's low tolerance for less than perfect officiating. Coaches and players who blame refs on last second calls or no-calls need to get over it and look at how their teams performance in the previous 39 minutes of play determined the outcome. (still trying to find that article he wrote on ESPN.com a few years ago)
What I heard him say in the post-game is consistent with what my supervisors and other veteran officials in my area would say. Game awareness of the score (tied) and situation (75 feet from hoop) is tantamount and this is a perfect example of why.
Bilas says that for a veteran crew, they should know better, and I agree.
Rafferty said (paraphrasing) "a foul at the beginning of the game should be a foul at the end of the game, right?"
Bilas: "not for the good officials".
Color guy: "looks like because he stepped OOB he felt he needed to make the call"
Bilas: "you can rationalize it however you want, but for the game to have been decided that way is unfortunate."
This is what I took away from it....and what I will apply to my game. The debate of whether this is a foul or not (or OOB or not) in the context of this single play is missing the big picture.