Quote:
Originally Posted by Cobra
What exactly does any that have to do with the vast majority them being ignorant of the rules?
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You have already stated that many officials are "ignorant" because they don't use the word "officials", but rather use the word "referee." This makes many of your partners "ignorant." Because basketball coaches don't know EVERY rule and case, you consider them to be "ignorant."
My point is that the RULES and CASES of the game that officials are expected to know are but a subset of the overall game of basketball. There are a plethora of topics concerning the coaching of a team in basketball that, while they must be played within the RULES of the game, WE as OFFICIALS are NOT required to know.
As an official, it HELPS to know the movements in a flex offense, what the particular "rules" are within a team's motion offense, how frequently skip passes are made, whether a team likes to "pin" when reversing the ball, what types of screens teams like to set, what cuts teams like to make off of those screens, what the screeners do after they set those screens, whether the defense is jump switching screens, prefers to hedge/recover on screens, how a team rotates in their man defense, who a team uses to double down if the ball is in the post, etc., etc. etc.
As officials, we are NOT required to know these aspects of basketball -- we ARE required to know as many of the RULES as we possibly can -- almost NONE of us actually know EVERY RULE AND CASE that can possibly happen in a game, we do our best, but we cannot be perfect as there can be a scenario that is not covered in the RULES or with a CASE. At times, we make the wrong decision. I don't think this necessarily makes us "ignorant", it makes us human.
Similarly, coaches need to understand the nuances of the game of basketball from a tactical and strategic standpoint, be able to make adjustments to the opponents tactics, strategies, etc. The vast majority of coaches know the vast majority of the RULES of the game. Just like officials are NOT required to know the nuances of the tactics and strategies, coaches do NOT go through the same level of training on the RULES and CASES of the game (one meeting vs. the FIVE required by officials every year, in Ohio, for example). Just because a coach yells "he tipped it" on a last-touch-first-touch backcourt violation ("ignorant" RULE, in my opinion, by the way), I don't assume the coach to be "ignorant." I will explain that I saw the touch, unfortunately for his team it is still a backcourt violation since his team was the last to touch in the frontcourt and the last to touch in the backcourt.
My point to you is that OTHERS may perceive your apparent arrogance -- officials are "ignorant", coaches are "ignorant" -- in a negative light. You may be just as "ignorant" of other things WITHIN the game of basketball outside of the RULES and CASES.
Successful referees (done with intent) tend to manage to have a good, professional and respecting relationship with fellow officials and coaches alike. If you find that at some point (not now, but at some point) in your officiating career, your career is going slower than you would like, you might want to consider this. On the other hand, you could just consider the assignors and ADs to be "ignorant" as well.
