Wasting a Howler Monkey's time . . .

[Pantherdreams]

Let me preface all this by saying I'm still taking the year off from officiating but plan to come to back to the game. So I will comment on things I see as I watch games that make me think.

Secondly I'm not criticizing anything I saw officials do it just made me think about the situation in general.

Thirdly I continue to be of the belief that if you can get upset about something that's happening in a middle school basketball game you are in desperate need of a life.

Specific situation. I'm in the stands watching a middle school game. Two officials (is there even such thing as a 3 man middle school game). Late in 2nd quarter. There are some clock or timer issues and the game loses some flow coming down the stretch. After an in bounds play by team A they try to run a play that gets broken up. There is a mad scramble ball ends up out of bounds and team b ends getting the ball on an out of bounds under team A's basket. 7 Seconds left in the 2nd quarter team B down a couple hoops. Calls timeout.

Timeout goes on. Officials are over confering with the table. No idea what the conversation is about. Presumably about the clock issues coming down the stretch this half. Teams come out of time out and set up. Officials get clock set to 3 seconds and inform both coaches that there are only 3 seconds left in the half.Coach B slips off his cracker and starts to lose his mind. "If i'ld known we'd only have 3 seconds I would have had a totally different timeout . . . you can't do that after the timeout is done . . . you just wasted one of my f^&*ing timeouts . . . etc etc". As it ends up coach gets a couple of techs and hits the showers. Rest of half and game proceed uneventfully. Team B ends up losing by like 15.

So here is my thought. If you are going to make a change based on information from your partner and a team has called a timeout, at what point or any point do you let coaches know what is up or that something is in question. Adjusting the time? If there is a problem with possession arrow or who should be recieving the ball? How much time they may or may not have on game clock, shot clock, back court etc?

I don't think anyone did anything wrong and coach was way out of line BUT in a more significant varsity situation, would you (or how long would you) let a team spend in a timeout while working out information that will have a direct impact on what is said or done tactically in the timeout? Or should we care at all? Just make sure we get the call right by the time play resumes?