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Having a "patient whistle" and "seeing the play start, develop, & finish" are concepts that should be used at all levels......HOWEVER, it seems that too many people are confused about HOW to apply these principles.
IT IS NOT to wait and see if the contact caused an advantage/disadvantage situation (that was called the Tower Philosophy of officiating - which was used by officials previously). The classic example is, B1 contacts/bumps A1 during a shot attempt and the calling official waits to see if the shot is missed BEFORE deciding to blow the whistle. In essence, it's only called a foul IF the shot is missed. Or, the illegal screen is only called IF the ball handler gets a clear scoring opportunity because of the illegal contact.
The Tower Philosophy gave rise to the "a foul is a foul" concept. Call the foul when it occurs regardless of whether the shot is made or not. IMHO, officials moved too quickly in calling fouls (with the "foul is a foul" concept in mind) BEFORE they saw the whole play or saw the impact of the contact.
The concept of "start, develop, finish" (which has NBA roots) allows an official to see the contact that occurs in a play and categorize it into 1 of 3 areas: incidental contact; marginal contact; contact that warrants a foul. Obviously, incidental contact is nothing....contact that warrants a foul gets a whistle. It's the marginal contact area where tougher decisions are made (and the real crux of what we're talking about).
At the NCAA-M level, officials are to assess if contact hinders the rythm, speed, balance, & quickness of a player (shooter, dribbler, cutter, defender, etc) - then that contact is deemed to be a foul.
You can only accurately assess the play when you see the WHOLE play. That doesn't mean you wait until a shot is missed - if the contact interrupts the shooters RSBQ (rythm, speed, etc....), then you have a foul whether the shot goes in or not.
In conclusion, it's not the philosophy of "start, develop, finish" or "patient whistle" that is ruining the game. The incorrect practical application of these concepts (i.e. think they're supposed to wait and see if the shot is missed before they call a foul) by some officials that is leading to a more physical game. The solution is to see the whole play, categorize the contact, and officiate accordingly.
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