Originally Posted by crosscountry55

It's an NBA-ish philosophy (which all college officials will get to know and love if Joe DeRosa takes over for John Adams). Watch what Joe does, particularly once he becomes the C.

The philosophy starts with ball lines. Stay outside the ball lines; always be on the outside looking in.

As for L rotations, don't go simply based on quantity of players. Go because there's either something to officiate or (if you have a good feel for the game) because you anticipate there will be something to officiate. The keys to rotation are a competitive matchup in the post and/or a player on the opposite wing with a teammate either in the corner or moving to the corner. The latter key assumes the offense is setting up for a tray or a baseline drive, and you want to be there to either officiate strong-side rebounding or the drive to the basket. If the keys aren't there, don't rotate. The action is sparse and open enough for the C to handle.

The C should A) one-step open low or open high to get a good look between players, with the priority on opening low if at all possible, and B) not be in a hurry to go back to T if the L rotates to C's side. Stay and officiate! Two C's is not at all bad. The ball is moving to the basket in our game; never move away from where the ball is destined to go unless absolutely necessary. Get angles with subtle movements rather than big ones; it's easier to see plays when you're standing still rather than moving around. Besides, player motion is so erratic and constant in the modern game that the moment you try to get an angle it will probably disappear. So you might as well let the players create the angles for you. They always do.

The T can start in the traditional position, but as the lateral ball line moves in, move in with it. Should you need to transition to C, you'll be that much closer. And once you've moved in, even if you don't rotate to C, stay in, because the ball is probably still headed for the basket (the object is to score, after all). Only if the offense completely resets should the T back out and start over.

So there ya' go.