Every aspiring basketball official has learned one of the golden rules of
officiating -- stay in your primary. An official that constantly makes calls
in front of his partner will undoubtedly suffer negative consequences.

Veterans, for instance, will immediately reject a young official that makes
calls in from of them. Calling a long distance foul, however, is not always
a bad thing. Officials must learn to pick and choose the opportunity to reach for a call.

The Non-Basketball Play

A non-basketball play is generally one that involves physical contact beyond the scope allowed by the rules. For example, an elbow, punch, or kick directed at an opponent can be labeled as a non-basketball play. Any
official that witnesses any of these actions must have the guts to make the call, even if he is 94 feet away from the incident. The consequences of not making the call are too great.

Non-basketball plays, therefore, can never be ignored. In other words, an official cannot get away with saying to his partner, "Well, it was right in front of you. I thought you let it go." This is a terrible explanation that has zero merit. Make the call!

The Right Angle

It is also okay to make a call when you have the right angle and can see a play where your partner might be straight-lined. For example, if you are working the Center position and can see that the defensive player shoves an offensive player with a forearm in the middle of the back, you can reach outside of your primary and make the call. There are times when you are in
the only person in the gym that can see such a play. The key, however, is to
ensure that you let the play develop. In other words, wait a split second to
see if the forearm did indeed impact the shot. If the player is able to put
the ball in the hole, you might be seeing things. There are times when your
judgment fails.

When making a call outside of your primary it is a good idea to close the gap between where you are when the whistle was blown and where the play occurred. You must sprint to the play and sell the call. Unless there is a
kid on the floor bleeding from the malicious contact, it is imperative that
you let everyone know what happened. Plus, if physical play is involved, you
must get to the scene and prevent any further problems from occurring.

Non-basketball plays can ruin a game. While some of these plays are spontaneous, most of them develop over the course of a game. It is important that we enforce the rough play guidelines. Also, preventive officiating can
help a crew avoid ugly situations.

In short, never be afraid to reach out of your primary to make a game-saving call. If someone on your crew does not see it or call it, the game will spiral out of control.