Halfway Through A 2-Person Varsity Season, and...

[Nevadaref]

I’m going to have to disagree. I enjoy 2-man officiating a great deal more than 3 because of that physical challenge that it is and the game management skills which are necessary with both the players and coaches. Also, there are times when you simply must make an educated guess. A call or decision is absolutes necessary and you didn’t have the ideal look, but there is no way that your partner can help. This is where experience and the art of officiating have a place as opposed to it being broken down to a science of NCC, CC, and IC.
And don’t tell me about backward areas or low-skill level of play. I work numerous games in CA which uses 2-man (in most of the state) with a shot clock.
I also don’t care for whistle-happy, robot officials. You can achieve freedom of movement and game flow with a few well-placed whistles. You don’t need to have 3 of the 5 starters on the bench with two minutes left in the first quarter and both teams in the automatic bonus before halftime. Over-called games aren’t enjoyable to me.
It also seems that your partner has part of his philosophy backwards. I would suggest to focus on judging the contact situations and getting the hard fouls while letting some of the violations and little stuff off-ball go. Traveling is insignificant compared to a kid getting his front teeth knocked out.
Finally, the level of physical play allowed in the game moves through cycles. I believe that a correction to the hands off and freedom of movement emphases of a few years ago is taking place now.

A cursory look at the NBA over the last 30 years shows some trends. Recall back when the league office decided that the game was too physical in the 90s and made an effort to clean up the rough play in the lane and the banging by the big guys? Now it seems to me that the emphasis on 3pt shooting and transition scoring has spread out the players and lessened the contact because all five guys need to be able to run, jump, pass, and shoot. There isn’t a spot on the floor for a wide-bodied banger who doesn’t move well or shoot particularly well.
So what are officials focusing on now? It’s not post play. It’s back to the basics of protecting jump-shooters and ballhandlers, while rebounding is quite physical.

[Paintguru]

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

I’m going to have to disagree. I enjoy 2-man officiating a great deal more than 3 because of that physical challenge that it is and the game management skills which are necessary with both the players and coaches. Also, there are times when you simply must make an educated guess. A call or decision is absolutes necessary and you didn’t have the ideal look, but there is no way that your partner can help. This is where experience and the art of officiating have a place as opposed to it being broken down to a science of NCC, CC, and IC.
And don’t tell me about backward areas or low-skill level of play. I work numerous games in CA which uses 2-man (in most of the state) with a shot clock.
I also don’t care for whistle-happy, robot officials. You can achieve freedom of movement and game flow with a few well-placed whistles. You don’t need to have 3 of the 5 starters on the bench with two minutes left in the first quarter and both teams in the automatic bonus before halftime. Over-called games aren’t enjoyable to me.
It also seems that your partner has part of his philosophy backwards. I would suggest to focus on judging the contact situations and getting the hard fouls while letting some of the violations and little stuff off-ball go. Traveling is insignificant compared to a kid getting his front teeth knocked out.
Finally, the level of physical play allowed in the game moves through cycles. I believe that a correction to the hands off and freedom of movement emphases of a few years ago is taking place now.

I mostly agree with this. I'm only in year 2 of my basketball refereeing career, so I've worked exclusively 2-man. I enjoy the running and active role that I feel I play, but one thing I do struggle with is catching all the off-the-ball stuff (illegal screens, grabs/holds). This leads to inconsistent calling of games, which can lead to grumpy coaches/players. I think the solution of those that the OP is working with is to not call anything off the ball. However, if I want to show my worth as an official and "graduate" to higher level games, I feel like I SHOULD be calling those off the ball things. Unfortunately, if we combine my inability to get all the off-the-ball stuff with a partner that is not interested in getting those calls, it can lead to issues.

[crosscountry55]

Originally Posted by Paintguru

Unfortunately, if we combine my inability to get all the off-the-ball stuff with a partner that is not interested in getting those calls, it can lead to issues.

Bingo. That was my night in a nutshell last evening. I struggled to adjust to my partner. I make no excuses for that; should have done a better job of it. He didn’t help things, however, when he would insert a marginal illegal screen away from the play or a phantom travel right in front of the bench. That didn’t help me “come back to my partner” in search of consistency.

Not surprisingly...the game had issues.



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[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by crosscountry55

Bingo. That was my night in a nutshell last evening. I struggled to adjust to my partner. I make no excuses for that; should have done a better job of it. He didn’t help things, however, when he would insert a marginal illegal screen away from the play or a phantom travel right in front of the bench. That didn’t help me “come back to my partner” in search of consistency.

Not surprisingly...the game had issues.

You just have to deal with that. Unless you are the assignor or evaluator, you have no control over who your partner is or what he calls, so don’t fret about it and just call your game. I quit trying to match my partner several years ago and believe that I am a better official for it.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

I quit trying to match my partner several years ago and believe that I am a better official for it.

I still try to be consistent with my partner, but some partners are so unilaterally inconsistent, it's impossible for their partners to mirror them.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

I enjoy 2-man officiating a great deal more than 3 because of that physical challenge that it is and the game management skills which are necessary with both the players and coaches.

While on one level I believe that three person is better for the game, I personally agree with Nevadaref.

But who knows, maybe if I worked more three person I could come to discover its own unique challenges and enjoy it?