+ 1
Its also not the first time this coach has heard it from opposing fans!
Commenting to a female coach about how one of her girls is "out of control"...? Who on this site coined the phrase?: "Don't break into jail."

Preventative officiating. It takes a few seconds to walk over and let them know. I'd rather do that than call a technical in a tight situation late in the game. At least one that can be avoided.

That's why you tell them when they have ZERO left. :)

Fair enough.

What are you preventing? How does telling a coach he has 1 time-out left help to prevent him from getting a T for an excessive time-out?

Preventing him from using his final timeout when he wouldn't normally do so. We also let coaches know about being out of timeouts. It's what we're told to do. Is it for preventing something? Building a rapport? I don't know, and since it's not difficult, I don't care.

I'm surprised this is any sort of issue.

Wow, I didn't know we should be concerned about a coach using his last time out by accident.

My mentors taught me early not to do this. Serves no purpose other than possibly passing on bad information. I will confirm with the scorekeeper(s) for my own benefit, but I leave it to the coaches to find out for themselves.

I also don't let coaches know their which players have 4 fouls.

What if you tell him there's one left and he really doesn't have any left?

Then I've done a crappy job of checking with the scorekeeper(s) to verify the number of timeouts remaining.

Bingo. I never tell them until they're out. It's they're job to keep track. I'm not going to be the guy who tells him he has one, then we have to call the technical foul because the scorer missed something and fixed it.

Is it a big deal? 99.9999 % of the time, no. The one time it goes wrong, though, you will have essentially caused your own heartache.

Okay. LOL. Are we now going to list all the things each of us don't tell coaches now?

I guess the "when in Rome" thing is not good enough for some people. Sorry.

What if the scorekeeper tells you he has one left and then realizes he's made an error and doesn't tell anyone until the coach tries to use the time out.

I'm not being difficult -- I just try not to offer up information that can bite me later.

And here I was thinking my region had the worst training.

For The New Guys ...
 

Things Officials Should Probably Not Be Saying In A Game

Calvin Coolidge once said, "The things I did not say never hurt me." Of course, he was not talking about basketball, but many officials would be smart to heed his sage advice as they communicate with coaches, and players.

Good communication skills are important tools to have on any official’s tool belt. Good communication with a partner, with a player, or with a coach, can go a long way to maintaining control of the game, having good game management, and having a smooth game. Sometimes this communication takes place in oral form, talking to players, or coaches, in some cases to explain a ruling, or in other cases to prevent a violation, or a foul. However, probably for reasons of tradition, there have been things that officials often, or sometimes, say during a game that do not have any basis in the rules, and should probably not be said in a game. This article will cover some of those “best left unsaid” statements.

“He wasn’t set”, is often an official’s answer to a coach who is questioning a blocking foul on his player. This implies that a defensive player must be set, and can’t move, to take a charge, while, in reality, the rules say otherwise. A defensive player does not have to remain stationary to take a charge. A defender may turn away or duck to absorb contact, provided he, or she, has already established legal guarding position, which is both feet on the playing court and facing the opponent. The defender can always move backwards, or sideways, to maintain a legal guarding position, and may even have one, or both feet, off the floor when contact occurs. That player may legally rise vertically. However, if the defender is moving forward, then the contact is caused by the defender, which, in this case, is a blocking foul.

"On the floor”, sometimes stated by officials for fouls against players who are not in the act of shooting, is also not rule based. This implies that a player cannot be on the floor, and shooting, at the same time, when in reality the old fashioned set shot, still used by some three point shooters, is a classic example of a player, on the floor, who is also in the act of shooting. Better statement: “No shot”.

"Don't move”, said to an inbounding player, by an official, before a designated spot throw-in, is another statement that should probably go unsaid. According to the rules, that player can move laterally within a three foot wide area, can jump up, and can move as far back as time, and space, will allow. Better statement: “Designated spot”, while pointing to the spot.

"Hold your spots", said by the referee, or tosser, before the jump ball, is only rule based for some of the players. One exception to this rule, and there are others, is that players on the jump ball circle can move off the jump ball circle at any time: before the toss, during the toss, or after the toss.

"You can't stand behind him”, stated by the referee, or the umpire, before a jump ball, to a player who is directly behind an opponent, both whom are ten feet off the jump ball circle, is not rule based. The rule that players can’t stand behind, within three feet, of an opponent, only applies to players on, and within three feet of, the jump ball circle. Players farther back than that can stand wherever they want, as long as they get to that spot first.

"Everybody get behind the division line”, often said by an official before free throws for a technical foul, or an intentional foul, is also not rule based. According to the rule, the nine non-shooters shall remain behind the free throw line extended, and behind the three point arc, and do not have to stay behind the division line. In some cases, this may allow players to legally converse with their coaches.

"Over the back", reported by an official to the table on a rebounding foul, is, in reality, probably a pushing foul. Over the back is not necessarily a foul. There must be illegal contact to have a foul. A taller player may often be able to get a rebound over a shorter player, even if the shorter player has good rebounding position. If the shorter player is displaced, then a pushing foul must be called, and this should be reported to the table as such.

"Reaching in", reported by an official to the table on a foul against a ball handler, is not necessarily a foul. There must be illegal contact to have a foul. The mere act of reaching in, is by itself, nothing. If illegal contact does occur, it’s probably a holding foul, an illegal use of hands foul, or a hand check foul, and these should be reported to the table as such.

"Coach, you have one timeout left", is a courtesy often extended by officials to coaches, when, by rule, officials should only be notifying head coaches when their team has been granted its final allowable timeout. If there is any miscommunication, or mistake, involving the table crew reporting remaining timeouts, then the officials, by rule, need to stay out of the conversation. Let the coaches, and table crew, communicate about remaining timeouts, other than when a team has been granted its final allowable timeout, which by rule, is required to be reported to the coach by the officials.

"Sit down", is occasionally stated by an official to a coach who is acting in an unsporting way, but who has not yet been charged with a technical foul, is not rule based. Back in the “olden days” of the “seatbelt rule”, this was a common method of dealing with coaches who have gone, or who are about to go, “over the line”. Now, with the coaching box, officials can only tell coaches to sit down after they have been charged with a direct technical foul, or an indirect technical foul, and even then, there are still a few occasions when these coaches can still legally stand up.

"You have to take out your earrings”, is occasionally stated by officials to players in the pregame layup lines who are wearing earrings. It’s only a minor difference in semantics, but it’s probably better, for legal liability reasons, to instead say, "You can't play, or even warm up, wearing earrings". This puts the decision, to remove the earrings, or not to remove the earrings, on the player, or the coach, and possibly, on the parent, and takes any legal liability off the official’s shoulders.

Finally, a thought by Will Rogers, “Never miss a good chance to shut up.”

Actually, central Ohio has a very good reputation for basketball officiating.

Some of you guys really like to latch onto something and drive it into the ground, while steering the conversation away from the point of the post or thread.