Big Baller Forfeits

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by AremRed

I doubt they give a shit about having quality officials. They just want warm bodies who will show up and not cause problems like this.

They will if programs stop paying/participating because the quality of officiating isn't on par with the level of play. Nike's EYBL has 5 stops and at least 2, maybe 3, of them utilize officials from D1 camps.

[SC Official]

Perhaps the statement about coaches being attracted to tournaments that have high-level officials is true in a few cases, but in my experience most of these club/travel/AAU "coaches" (heck, even plenty of real high school coaches) have not the slightest idea what good officiating is.

Sure, part of an organizer's advertising might include a statement such as "all games officiated by Division 1 officials," which would attract some teams, but once you get to the court, most of these "coaches" don't care what level you officiate; in fact, the more you call the game like a sanctioned high school or college game, the more idiotic they act in many cases. And then when you take care of business as would be expected in a high school or college game, all hell breaks loose because you had the gall to actually stand up to these morons for acting the fool. And then situations such as the one in Las Vegas occur because keeping the teams happy is more important than the integrity of the game. While you could have two JV officials who "let 'em play" and everyone is fine with it because "it's AAU" and the games stay on schedule.

And yes, I treat camp settings very differently from non-camp settings when it comes to these kinds of tournaments. Supervisors expect you to officiate at camp like you would officiate a regular season game (in most cases).

[ODog]

Originally Posted by SC Official

And then when you take care of business as would be expected in a high school or college game, all hell breaks loose because you had the gall to actually stand up to these morons for acting the fool.

We're sharing a brain on this thread, SC!

[Raymond]

All this is why I pick-and-choose my off-season officiating.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Raymond

All this is why I pick-and-choose my off-season officiating.

Exactly. And AAU outside of camp is something I basically refuse to do except for one case where the tournament assignor is a good friend and has our back. Otherwise there is no point.

Peace

[BigT]

For 5 years I have been going out of state to work for these national AAU tournaments. I have brought friends who can referee and we enjoy 2-4 days together working a court(s).

I go because I get to do Varisty with kids who have committed to Div 1/2 schools and I get to talk to Div 1 Final 4 referees who are supervisors at this tournaments. I get camp level feedback while making money and spending time with friends.

They beg me to blow fouls, call clear advantage/disadvantage violations, and to keep control of the coaches. Because my crews are consistent in calling a good game coaches rarely give us much of a problem that a good professional warning doesnt take care of. On the other courts I see guys missing big calls and never making it to half court and ignoring the clowns..err coaches and some get sent home or have their pay lowered.

I can imagine the issues at these things and the officials vary widely. And I feel like I have taken advantage and come out on top. Yet it took a lot of hard work and isnt easy especially at my age. Yet I love to see new kids, test out new methods on coaches and see some great ball.

[ODog]

Look no further than the world's best player and leading global ambassador of the game, LeBron James, acting a complete fool (hardly any better than LaVar Ball really) as both a coach and fan at his son's AAU games. There are many videos documenting his behavior, but this will do just fine.

Don't be mislead by the headline or glowing opening paragraphs. Seeing him and his entire coaching staff routinely 5 feet onto the court during live action a half dozen times within the first 90 seconds of the video will give you an idea of the clown show:
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/ba...icle-1.3371462

There are other clips out there of him giving the "it's us against the world; everyone wants to see us lose" adversity speech, while wearing a bucket hat and sunglasses indoors, right out of the Coaching 101 course at AAU University. There's another of him running onto the floor -- as a fan -- and interfering at the scorer's table because he feels there's been an error. It never ends ...

AAU is the scourge of the basketball planet. And not even the world's best player, who has experienced everything under the sun, has the composure or sense to rise above it. The adults really do ruin everything.