[JugglingReferee]

Originally Posted by M&M Guy

Regarding a), if you remember, this is one of those Points of Emphasis from the IHSA rules meeting. An official should be sure a team is making a proper TO request, iow, that it is the head coach or player making the request if the ball is dead, or, if the ball is live, that the requesting team has both team and player-control as well. Coaches were reminded that our focus should be on the game, not necessarily paying attention to them, so we may occasionally miss proper requests due to our attention being focused on the floor. So, in your case, if you're not sure the head coach was making the request at the proper time, you were right in not granting it. That said, as you gain more experience you will learn to be more aware of situations where a coach may be ready to ask for a TO - did the other team just go on 10-point run, for example, or was it a close, end-of-game situation?

In b), I know it always rubs me the wrong way to make a call while a coach is asking for it. But, if it's the right call, then it's the call to make, period. As for the coach "yelling" for the travel, remember you could make 2 calls here - travel, followed by a T.

Re (b): I've done this before, but you have to be really careful where/when to do it:

Skip the travel call and reply to the coach, "Coach, when you yell so loudly about a call, my mind focuses on you and I forget where I was looking."