Sorry Trotwood-Madison but as I read a very biased article and watch tape of this play I too think your guy fouled him! I am reminded about the first words of every pre-game coaches meeting-"Coaches, sportsmanship starts with you.Coach your kids and not us!" This school should be ashamed of their behavior. Think about this question:"Was it the officials who made your kids miss shots or free throws in this game?Was it the officials who could not come up with a defensive stop late to force the overtime?"No, it was your kids,all they had to do was play straight up fundamental defense and not go for the block. They didn't, your opponent made the free throw, so move on!
Here's an article about a regional game in Southern California where the losing coach did the same thing!
King coach blames refs
12:13 AM PDT on Sunday, March 15, 2009
By JIM ALEXANDER
The Press-Enterprise
LOS ANGELES - It is customary, after being defeated in a big game, to congratulate your opponents, bemoan your own mistakes and downplay any disagreements you might have with the officials.
That may be because in most leagues and associations, when you criticize the refs it costs you money.
Evidently, however, high school basketball coaches aren't subject to getting fined. Or if they are, Riverside King coach Tim Sweeney Jr. has a rainy-day fund he can dip into.
In the wake of his team's 53-39 pasting by LA Westchester in Saturday night's Southern California Division 1 regional final at Pauley Pavilion, Sweeney laid the ultimate responsibility on the officiating crew.
Those three officials, whose names were not listed in the official box score, actually called more fouls on Westchester than they did on King, and the Wolves shot almost twice as many free throws (and missed 10 of 23).
The officials did, however, call a technical foul before the game began, citing sophomore Adam Smith for dunking in warmups.
And as the game wore on and his team slipped further behind, Sweeney received a technical two minutes into the second quarter, and then was ejected before the start of the fourth for what he said was a private conversation involving two of his assistant coaches.
"It's a travesty to play in an event like this and have that happen," Sweeney said afterward, knowing full well his words would be printed.
"Some people should be fired for assigning referees. Why did we even go play these (regional) games this week, is what I ask the state of California. Why did we play the games? We were better off ending it at Mater Dei, if you're not gonna give kids a fair shot. Period."
Sweeney was asked if he'd had problems with those officials before.
"Never," he said. "I want to know who assigns them. I think I know who but I'm not going to say anything.
"First off, they started with a phantom technical foul, on a slam dunk that did not happen. My coach was just standing there. Their guys are down there doing the same layup drill that we are, OK?
"The last technical, on which I got thrown out, my dad (Tim Sweeney Sr.) and Dr. Powers (assistant coach Fred Powers) are standing towards the huddle, and the guy (the official) is standing outside, and they're talking to each other, and they called a technical on them for talking to each other.
"They never gave our kids a chance from the get-go. They never let us play against Westchester. This game was decided before the ball was tipped up tonight, and that's a shame. I never, ever, in my whole career, said a thing in the newspaper about officials. But everybody in here saw it tonight. There was something wrong. There's something wrong with that."
With the naked eye, King's 11-for-43 shooting seemed more of a factor. Or their dismal foul shooting. Or the fact that besides forward Kawhi Leonard (16 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks, three steals), no one else in a white jersey stepped up against a longer, quicker, more athletic Westchester team.
"I don't want to take anything away from Westchester," Sweeney said. "Westchester is a great team and will represent well. Coach (Ed) Azzam and his players should be very proud. But it was not allowed to be decided on the floor tonight."
And just how did the officiating lead to what -- again to the naked eye -- seemed like a woeful effort by King?
"I could not stand up and coach my team because of the (early) technical foul," Sweeney said. "Talk about an unbelievable advantage, communicating to your ballclub. I cannot even begin to explain. I can't call the plays, I can't get up, I can't get them in helpside defense, I can't instruct from sitting from the bench.
"That factor alone, my team knew. The communication factor right from the beginning was just (missing), and then just the whole rhythm and flow of the ballgame was affected before it even went up. Questionable calls to say the least ... not the same on the other end.
"And that's not to take away from Westchester. They did what they needed to do. My team was not tired. It was not fatigue. This was completely a ballclub being taken out of their rhythm of being able to play basketball like they're supposed to be able to play."
But Sweeney's words, while powerful, were also hollow. The scoreboard, after all, never lies.
Reach Jim Alexander at 951-368-9543 or
[email protected]