In my state, the plumber official will get chosen over the fit one if he does better on the state exam.

I'll hire the one who gets the most calls right.

Jrut/Rich make good points. I like "control what you can control" as a general rule for everyone to follow, myself especially included. I also agree about the high stepping. No question a great official but it detracts from the game too much.

Extreme example coming!!!

Imagine, the ideal official. This official is the greatest official of all time and never gets a call incorrect and no coaches ever disagree with him/her. This official looks perfect and acts perfectly. Simply the best! Now, imagine this same official moving on the court by doing back flips. As a player/coach/spectator/partner, I would find this too distracting. Should I? No, but I do.

When I watch his games, I find myself diverting my eyes from the players/action, to him. There are other annoying things that officials do but they are infrequent. When someone runs, it is literally every step, and running is frequent is basketball.

Well said.

My take is that said referee runs in that fashion because he has moderate pain in his knees---the high stepping gait is less painful that the foot-striking motion of a normal run. Try it out yourself: highstepping gait puts less stress on your knees. I've tried it myself; however, in games officiated I run in the normal fashion.

I have met him at camps a couple of times. He is not adverse to attention.

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Just a reminder: if you want to act like a fanboy, take it to a fan forum. There are plenty.

He runs like that because it keeps him from hamstring injuries. Jeff is a good ref and a better guy. Always makes time to come to board meetings and mentor younger officials. Proud of him for getting a Final 4 assignment.

Completely agree. I was at a camp where Mike Stephens and Jeff Anderson both attended. Stephens was an arrogant prick that said you could ask him any questions, he was there for us, yet when I approached him to ask a question, he looked up from his phone briefly (barely acknowledging me) and then gave a brush off answer. It was clear he had no interest in interacting. FTR - the question was how he watches his videos (what he looks for and focuses on) and what tips he could give me to get the most out of watching myself on video. Relevant since the camp videotaped us and I always end up watching the game instead of focusing on myself. Nobody ever really taught me how to watch myself and on video and use it to improve.

Jeff on the other hand was on the floor and interacting with us and giving us great feedback and tips on position to help see plays better.

It was like night and day. The experience really soured me on Mike from a personal level, especially since he gave this story about wanting to help the younger officials like others helped him and that he loves being the biggest advocate for his guys. I know others that work for him (he is a coordinator for some conferences up here) and they say he is great if you are one of his guys. I do think he is a great official and am happy for him.

What happened to Roger Ayers?

Didn't advance this year, but quite certain he's still alive. Mike Eades is one of his best friends, I'm sure he'll be in Glendale showing his support.

Didn't Hank Nichols run that way? Didn't hurt his career.

You don't say.

There are these types of problems in both men's and women's.

Watching the same official work 3 consecutive conference championships in 3 nights was the only thing that really stood out to me.

Were they for the same supervisor? If so, yeah, that would be a problem. But if 3 different supervisors wanted the same official, that's something different.